Arclight recap #8

THE ADULTS - Pt. 1

Obviously in YA the teens are stars of the show, but there's still an adult presence nearby to create the sense of authority that's often at odds with the main characters. With Arclight, there are a few adults who have a real impact on every day life for the teen heroes:

HONORIA WHIT

In Arclight, Honoria was the facility's leader, as well as the oldest known citizen. An imposing woman in both size and demeanor, she was battle hardened and absolutely ruthless in her resolve to protect the people under her charge - which was pretty much everyone. 

Stand-offish at best, and outright antagonistic at worst, her history proves to be longer and more complicated than any of the main characters could have imagined. And as the layers of lies she's told are stripped away, it becomes clear that ruthless isn't an overstatement. She will literally do anything she thinks gives mankind an edge over the Fade, even if it means kidnapping, lying, or abandoning a handful of her own people and friends to a fate they believe worse than death.

And speaking of death, she's not above murder, either. Not if she thinks the person being killed no longer qualifies as human. For this, and after nearly killing one of the Arclight's children, she was stripped of her authority at the end of the novel, but the others were left with the sad realization that there was no real punishment they could hand out beyond that.

When Meridian picks up, she's living in a sort of self-imposed exile to her rooms in the Arclight-below, but when new events require her unique knowledge of the past (specifically the world before the Fade) following Honoria's lead may be the only choice the humans have left.

MR. PACE

Both teacher and protector, Mr. Pace was one of the people who went into the Grey when Marina was discovered. He's the one who brought her inside the Arclight. But when he's not assigned a rifle, he's one of the teenagers' instructors, making sure their lives are more than base survival.

Throughout Arclight, other pieces of his life came into play. He's the father of Marina's best friend, Anne-Marie, and Anne-Marie's brother, though neither call him "Dad." He's also one of the few who will go toe-to-toe with Honoria when she's out of line, eventually earning him the position of one of the few adults Marina trusts.

In Meridian, the family ties are explored in more detail, as Anne-Marie's family is a key part of the story. To both girls' surprise he's a man with secrets of his own, the kind that could make them question everything they know to be true. And for Mr. Pace, he finds that protecting the Arclight is a lot simpler than protecting his own.