Professor Dynamo is one of the gentlest people in Deadlock, which makes his reason for entering a deadly ritual hit harder. He wants his body back, and he wants it for his wife.

What happened to his body

Fifty years ago, during the first Maelstrom, a rift opened in Central Park: an astral gate. Dynamo went to investigate and it atomized his human body. What remains is a spherical blue metallic being with a star inside his head. He hasn't touched an astral gate since, and when asked about the accident he politely does not recommend the experience.

He still teaches at Columbia College, has huge connections in science and academia, and designed his own handgun, the Von Gun, named after Kurt Vonnegut. He used to think of his condition as a curse. These days he calls his body splendid, all things considered.

Marla

Nineteen years after the accident, Dynamo married Marla. They have been married 31 years. She bakes him key lime pies even though he can't eat them. They visit the Paradox Museum, play bridge, and go caroling in winter.

That is the whole reason he is in the ritual. His wish is to get his human body back, and the plan is simple: give Marla a hug and not let go for about three months. The patrons know exactly how to press on that.

His personality

Dynamo is inquisitive and optimistic. He prefers working with people to lying to them, apologizes when he hurts someone in the ritual, and as an undergraduate got into plenty of fist fights.

Relationships

  • Ivy's sister, Sofia Arroyo, is one of his students. He thinks she's a great student, and he has noticed she's been falling asleep in class.
  • Kelvin is a friend, and Dynamo is a fan of his books. They last saw each other at the Black Chateau before Kelvin disappeared.
  • Pocket is his godson. Dynamo was friends with Pocket's father, Maximilian Fairfax, whom he calls a complicated man rather than a bad one. He recognized Pocket right away, and gently scolds them for not telling him they had survived an assassination attempt.
  • Seven credits Dynamo's astral gate research as an influence on his own work. Dynamo says he is flattered and horrified in equal measure.

The short version

Fifty years as a star in a metal shell, 31 years married, a stack of term papers waiting on his desk, and one wish. He just wants to hold his wife again.