Steven

My approach to Steven was to remember what it was like for me in college. Everything’s a little bit unreal. You’re learning stuff, which the professors tell you is state-of-the-art knowledge, but that doesn’t really register as something special. And it didn’t register for Steven. He was discovering things that were not only new but extremely powerful and dangerous. To him, putting together his dissertation was just another course and another degree. For the rest of the world it was much, much more.

Eli

When I think about Eli, I see a girl who worked her way up from some pretty humble beginnings, not wanting to make the same mistakes her mother made, especially with men. But when she fell in love with Steven, she broke one of her most important rules: not to lose control of her life. She was strong and fought, but in the end, she lost everything she had worked so hard to get. And in losing, she actually won. She gave up on her old dreams to became part of a much larger one.

Julia

I consider Julia as two people. One is a mystic and the spiritual leader of her people. The other is a practical woman who confronts her fears with courage and determination. She doesn’t have Eli’s grit. Instead, she has a quiet resignation about what she must do. Julia is not perfect and not above the suffering around her. I am proud of Julia, but at the same time, I am sorry for her. Her life is not an easy one.

Bennie

So everybody is a Bennie once in a while—socially inept and completely aware of it. But there are better things in life than worrying about social status. Bennie’s life is richer than all of his friends' because he understands himself and knows that somehow, deep within him, there are magnificent things—if he could just get himself out of the way!

General

I thought of Patton and MacArthur. The country has had some great generals. The good ones got their power through a tough devotion to their men and their beliefs. The General is no different. He sees Steven as a real threat to national security, and more importantly, to his troops. I like the guy, but I wouldn’t want to be his enemy.

Prosecutor

Yes, we need lawyers, but do they need to be so opportunistic? For the prosecutor, Steven's case was more like a fleabite on the way to higher office. And yes, he wants to be Governor. I wondered if one day, while he was putting on the ninth hole, he would think about this case and the fireball of history that had passed him by while he was plotting his way to the Governor's Mansion.