Abigail Stickling: The Architect of Immortality in Constance

Overview

Abigail Stickling is a central off-screen presence who becomes an on-screen antagonist in the second half of Matthew FitzSimmons’ Constance. Co‑founder of Palingenesis, the world’s leading human‑cloning clinic, she is also the estranged aunt of protagonist Constance D’Arcy. Feared for her brilliance and ruthlessness, Abigail faked her own suicide and secretly pursued the holy grail of her field: mind‑body transfer. Her actions—from gifting clones to each family member to orchestrating the murder of Con’s original—form the novel’s hidden plot engine.

Plot Role

Abigail’s role evolves from a ghostly figure to a physical antagonist:

• Inciting event: Her alleged suicide on Christmas 2038 draws Con to Palingenesis and sets the mystery in motion.
• Hidden hand: She manipulated Con from afar, using the cloned niece as a courier for stolen research data encoded in Con’s brain.
• True antagonist alongside her clone: The original Abigail Stickling died by suicide as planned; her clone, nicknamed “Cabigail” by Con, impersonated Con, framed Levi Greer, and killed several people to protect the project.
• Final confrontation: Con meets both Abigails in a secret mountain compound, learning the full scope of the deception. Cabigail ultimately dies after a struggle, and Con inherits Abigail’s fortune.

Motivations and Traits

Abigail is driven by a single overriding goal: achieving true immortality through consciousness transfer. Unlike Palingenesis, which only offered cloning (an “insurance policy” against death), she wanted to leap from body to body, living forever.

Key traits shown through actions:

Chronological Arc

1. Before the novel: Abigail is disinvited from the family after her father’s funeral. She moves to Boston, becomes a billionaire, and co‑founds Palingenesis.
2. 2030–2031: She gifts clones to every family member as a vindictive gesture; only Con accepts.
3. 2033–2038: Abigail solves mind‑body transfer, hides this from Palingenesis, and begins constructing a secret underground complex. She creates a clone of herself (Cabigail).
4. December 2038: The original Abigail commits suicide to fake her death; Cabigail takes over identity.
5. Eighteen months later: Cabigail impersonates Con for six months, frames Levi Greer, and kills Con’s original.
6. Present timeline: Con investigates, is lured to the compound, meets both Abigails, and eventually allows Cabigail to die. Con inherits the fortune and chooses not to continue the research.

Relationships

• With Con: Initially a distant, resentful figure. Abigail sees Con purely as a vessel for stolen data. Toward the end, Con rejects her vision entirely. The relationship is one of exploitation vs. resistance.
• With her clone (Cabigail): Complex and oddly affectionate. They worked together for years; the original Abigail voluntarily died to let Cabigail continue. Cabigail refers to the original as “good company.”
• With Vernon Gaddis: Co‑founders turned adversaries. Gaddis suspected Abigail was murdered and suspected a conspiracy. Abigail orchestrated the plane crash that killed his wife Cynthia.
• With the family: Estranged to the point of contempt. The clone gift was meant as an insult.

Key Decisions and Consequences

Theme and Symbol Connections

• Identity and Selfhood: Abigail’s willingness to inhabit another’s body challenges the notion of a singular self. Her clone’s divergent personality shows that identity is not fully transferable. See the identity and selfhood page.
• Mortality and Immortality: Her quest for mind‑body transfer represents the ultimate refusal of death. The novel critiques this as a destructive obsession. More on mortality and immortality.
• Memory and Consciousness: Abigail encodes her research in Con’s brain, treating consciousness as data. The story questions whether recorded memories equal personhood. Explore memory and consciousness.
• Corporate Exploitation: Palingenesis commercializes cloning; Abigail saw the company as a “unreliable steward.” Her secret work mirrors the failures of for‑profit science. Read about corporate exploitation.
• Family and Estrangement: Abigail’s family history of rejection fuels her bitterness and her isolated, amoral actions. For more, see family and estrangement.

Questions and Answers

1. Why did Abigail fake her own suicide?
She needed to disappear to continue her research free from oversight. The fake suicide, complete with a clone body (the original Abigail), convinced the world she was dead. She had long hidden her true progress from Palingenesis.

2. How did she solve the mind‑body transfer problem?
Abigail solved the Wilson’s disease upload issue by 2033, enabling a clean consciousness scan. She then achieved limited success transferring between close genetic relatives (aunt to niece). The full process required additional data locked in Con’s brain.

3. Why did she frame Levi Greer for the original Con’s murder?
Cabigail, impersonating Con, lived with Levi for six months to create a trail of evidence. A “loose end” needed blame to avoid suspicion that Con’s disappearance was connected to Abigail. Levi’s history with the farmhouse made him a convenient target.

4. Did the original Con consent to her death?
The Abigails claim she agreed after they explained the plan. Con (the clone) disbelieves them, calling it “with-her-consent bullshit.” The novel leaves the question ambiguous, but the audience is encouraged to see it as coercive manipulation.

5. What happened to Abigail’s fortune and research data?
Con inherits the entire fortune, becoming the sole heir. She hires lawyer William Small to clear Levi’s name. The research data remains locked in her head, but she refuses to let Cabigail use it. After Cabigail’s death, Con destroys the underground facility, choosing not to pursue immortality.

For further exploration, see the Constance page, the ending explained, and the questions and answers section.