Diana: The Investigator at the Heart of The Book of Elsewhere

Overview

Diana is a scientist working for a U.S. black-ops unit that monitors and studies the immortal warrior Unute (also known as B). Unlike the soldiers and operatives around her, she comes from a research background — she calls herself “a scientist, not an operator or a detective” (Chapter 20). Her core drive is understanding: she wants to know what Unute is, how his deathless nature works, and what the deeper forces at play might be. Over the course of the novel, she transitions from a cautious observer to a direct participant in conflicts involving the Life Project, the hidden god Alam, and the ancient entity known as the Thowless. Diana becomes one of the few humans Unute genuinely trusts, and her actions help shape the final resolution.

Plot Role and Motivations

Diana’s primary plot function is to investigate phenomena surrounding Unute that defy conventional explanation. She spearheads the scientific analysis of his biology, his rebirth cycles, and the babirusa creature that has hunted him for 78,000 years. Yet her motivations are not purely academic; she admits early on that “what I’ve always wanted is to understand” (Chapter 8). This quest for knowledge drives her to push beyond official boundaries — she quietly tracks down former members of the Life Project, confronts dangerous individuals, and ultimately puts herself in harm’s way to uncover the truth.

Her secondary motivation emerges as loyalty to Unute as a person, rather than just an asset. When the patchwork monster (made from Unute’s own tissues) escapes and kills Keever, Diana does not hesitate to warn Unute and share what she knows. She also resists the military’s pressure to weaponize Unute’s abilities, even though her superiors clearly expect her to work toward cloned supersoldiers.

Key Traits Shown Through Actions

Methodical caution: After feeling watched in her home, Diana performs a full bug sweep with a “broom” device and checks every surface before concluding nothing is there (Chapter 12). This carefulness defines her scientific approach.

Bravery under duress: When the invisible, scuttling entity scratches her face, she immediately calls Unute for help rather than freezing (Chapter 12). Later, when Agatha Bennett (formerly Plomer) attacks her, Diana shoots her in self-defense and then calmly arranges cleanup with “Unite Cleaning” (Chapter 20).

Emotional honesty: She admits her own fear and uncertainty openly. After killing Bennett, she thinks, “I’m not brave. I’m a scientist, not an operator or a detective” (Chapter 20). This self-awareness keeps her grounded.

Intellectual persistence: She tracks down Bennett through painstaking digital forensics — tracing an anonymous Google review through IP addresses and search histories, narrowing down a unique combination of interests (echidna biology, Farsi, Millie Jackson) to locate a person who officially did not exist before a certain date (Chapter 18).

Chronological Arc

Diana’s arc moves from detached observer to embedded participant:

1. Initial period: She works on Unute’s case, building trust with him and conducting routine research. She is aware of the Eutychus Program (supersoldier effort) but keeps it secret.
2. Thakka’s resurrection: She discusses the impossibility of Thakka returning from the dead with Keever, acknowledging the official cover story (scanner fault) while privately believing him (Chapter 6).
3. The babirusa arrival: Unute brings the pig-creature to the facility. Diana watches it rage and learns its 78,000-year history. She coins a “cull” scale to quantify hate (Chapter 12).
4. Home invasion: The invisible entity attacks her; she calls Unute and establishes a deeper connection (Chapter 12).
5. Investigation of the Life Project: She traces Caldwell’s disappearance to the LP, finds Bennett, and learns about Alam and the faction opposing death.
6. Killing Bennett and Keever’s death: She shoots Bennett when the woman attacks her, then learns from Unute that Keever has been killed by the patchwork monster (Chapter 20).
7. Final confrontation: Diana reveals that the Thowless is stillness, not death, and that Unute and Alam both carry blue lightning. She witnesses Shur’s suicide and Unute’s release of the babirusa (Chapter 22).

Relationships

Unute (B): The most significant relationship. Diana treats Unute with professional respect and genuine curiosity. He shares memories of his mother and the feathered crown meant to “fix” him (Chapter 10). She becomes one of the few people he trusts enough to discuss his desire for an end, not death but the ability to die — a “horizon” (Chapter 8). In turn, she defends him against the military’s exploitation.

Jim Keever: Diana trusts Keever despite the base’s internal politics. She confides in him about the Thakka cover-up (Chapter 6). His death at the hands of the patchwork monster devastates her (Chapter 20).

Caldwell: A colleague who collects Unute’s artifacts. Diana questions his motives and later discovers he is a mole gathering relics for his own purposes. The tension between their scientific roles and personal agendas drives much of the investigation.

Agatha Bennett (Plomer): A former Life Project insider. Diana finds her through meticulous online tracking, gets attacked, kills her in self-defense, but gains critical intelligence about Alam and the LP’s true goal of opposing death itself.

Dr. Shur: Initially a therapist for the soldiers, Shur is later revealed to be a vessel of the Thowless. Diana confronts her about the jigsaw piece and Stonier, and eventually learns she is not an ally.

Key Decisions and Consequences

These choices demonstrate Diana’s integrity and her willingness to risk her own safety for truth and for the beings she cares about.

Themes and Symbol Connections

• Immortality as curse: Through Diana’s eyes, we see that Unute’s endless life is not a gift but a burden. He tells her, “What I want isn’t a moral…I don’t want to die. But I do want to be able to” (Chapter 8). Diana internalizes this distinction.
• Identity and self-discovery: Diana begins as a scientist defined by her work, but her actions force her to confront her own capacity for violence and loyalty. She kills and then reports it; she grieves a soldier who was not her family. Her identity expands.
• Cycle of violence: The babirusa’s endless rage mirrors Unute’s own cycle of death and rebirth. Diana creates a “cull” scale to quantify that hate, but ultimately both she and Unute seek a way out of the cycle.
• Transformation and rebirth: Diana undergoes her own transformation — from passive researcher to active agent. She also witnesses the literal rebirth of the babirusa at the novel’s end, when Unute releases it in the desert (Chapter 22).
• The nature of gods: Diana learns that gods like Unute, Alam, and the Thowless are not supernatural beings but “agents of change” powered by the same blue lightning. Her scientific worldview expands to accommodate these forces.

For deeper discussion of these themes, see the immortality as curse, identity and self-discovery, and cycle of violence pages.

Five Questions and Answers

1. Why does Diana trust Unute despite his killing ability? She trusts him because he has consistently helped the unit and because he shares his genuine pain with her. In Chapter 8, he admits he doesn’t want death but the ability to die, and Diana sees that as a fundamentally human desire. She also respects that he never lies to her.

2. How does Diana find Agatha Bennett? Through digital forensics. She finds a critical anonymous Google review that was briefly posted and then taken down. Using government resources, she traces the IP to a person whose search history combines rare interests: ancient magic, echidna biology, Farsi, and baking — a unique signature that points to Plomer’s new identity (Chapter 18).

3. What is Diana’s opinion of the Eutychus Program? She never explicitly endorses it. When Unute brings up the supersoldier effort, she stays silent because her boss Caldwell told her not to lie but also not to confirm. Her primary goal is understanding, not weaponization.

4. Does Diana kill anyone? Yes. She shoots Agatha Bennett in self-defense after Bennett attacks her, believing Diana works for Death (Chapter 18). Diana also arranges for cleanup through “Unite Cleaning” after the incident (Chapter 20).

5. What does Diana learn about the Thowless? She discovers that the Thowless is “stillness, not death” (Chapter 22) — a principle of inertia that opposes change. Dr. Shur is a vessel for this force, and Diana realises that both Unute and Alam carry blue lightning, meaning they are agents of transformation rather than static opposites.

For more answers, see the questions and answers page and the ending explained analysis.