The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

Rosemary is the alias adopted by the daughter of Quentin Harris, former CEO of Phobos Fuel. Following her father’s arrest for illegally supplying weapons to various Toremi clans, Rosemary finds herself a social outcast and decides to start a new life. She has the biometric identification chip in her wrist replaced and finds a job as clerk of the Wayfarer. Rosemary is in her early twenties and anxious about doing her job well and fitting into the crew. Despite her inexperience, she proves herself both an excellent ship’s clerk and a good crewmate.

Rosemary is a Martian descended from the wealthy Earth refugees who turned their back on their home planet. Though to a lesser degree than Exodans, intermixing has virtually obliterated racial differences between Martians, and, like Ashby, Rosemary has amber skin with short tight curls. Unlike Ashby, however, Rosemary has not grown up in wider galactic society and only has limited experience with a few other species. Her unfamiliarity with other species and places means she serves as a surrogate for the reader. 

Sissix, the Wayfarer’s Aandrisk pilot, is covered in green scales with some paler shading over her stomach. Her head is covered in multicolored feathers that she sometimes uses to express her emotions. She cares and worries for each member of the crew, even Corbin whom she can’t stand.

The Aandrisk are a cold-blooded, bipedal, reptilian species whose family structure differs greatly from that of humans and serves as a metaphor for polyamory. The Aandrisk conception of family is defined by bonds of choice rather than those based on blood. They do not raise their biological children; fertilized eggs are given to groups of adults who have formed a household for the purpose of raising children, something Sissix has already done. During their lives, Aandrisks usually join one or more Feather families, groups of friends and lovers who depend on one another emotionally, and the crew of the Wayfarer is Sissix’s. Every member of a Feather family does not need to be romantically involved with every other member. Within the family, an Aandrisk will usually have several romantic partners and several more sexual partners. 

Dr. Chef is the ship’s doctor, cook, and unofficial therapist. He is a Grum, a species described as a cross between “an otter with a gecko [that] walk[s] like a six-legged caterpillar” (37). The Grum are nearly extinct after generations of genocidal infighting has left their planet ruined. Rather than try to start over on a new colony, the surviving Grum have decided that their species has had its chance and will allow themselves to die out.

Dr. Chef was a field surgeon in the closing days of the Grum’s war and is still in the female portion of his lifecycle—all Grum are born female and then sexually transition later in life. When Dr. Chef learns that his faction was the first to research genetically targeted weapons, he became disillusioned. Nevertheless, he continues to serve as a field surgeon until his final surviving daughter is brought to his tent and dies, after which he suffers a breakdown and spends the rest of the war in a recuperation home. The effects of the war on Dr. Chef are analogous to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a psychological condition that is common among soldiers and civilians in war zones. Dr. Chef suppresses his feelings during the war so that he can continue to function until, one day, he can’t anymore. He has learned that it is important to process trauma and acknowledge his feelings, which he tries to teach to Rosemary.

Ohan are a Sianat Pair and navigator of the Wayfarer. The Sianat are a race of furred quadrupeds who are deliberately infected as children with a virus known as the Whisperer. Once infected, Sianat gain the ability to conceptualize multidimensional space at a much higher ability than any other species, making them the only species capable of safely guiding wormhole boring ships, such as the Wayfarer, through subspace.

Sianat culture and religion revolve around the Whisperer, as they believe that it is a blessing bestowed upon their race—other races cannot contract the infection. It is blasphemous to refuse to be infected or to seek a cure for it, and the Sianat forbid any other species from conducting research on the Whisperer. Once a Sianat is infected, they no longer conceive of themselves as individuals but rather as “plural entities—a Pair” (47). Sianat Pairs have compromised immune systems, so they must isolate themselves from non-Sianats and eat only a bland nutrient paste. The crew takes precautions to avoid getting Ohan sick but still sets a place for them at the dinner table so that they are not forgotten. This is an excellent example of how to both protect and include immunocompromised people.

a side effect of the Whisperer is that Sianat pairs “don’t socialize well, even with other Pairs […] They’re on their own little plane” (47). Sianat Pairs, therefore, can be thought of as neurodivergent with personality characteristics common to neurodivergent humans, such as those with autism, or schizophrenia. The plural nature of the Pairs also means that plural pronouns are used for them, even as individuals. The care the other crewmembers take to only use plural pronouns for Ohan demonstrates how to address and refer to nonbinary people.

Kizzy is one the Wayfarer’s technicians. Despite her complete lack of organization and tendency to get distracted, she is a brilliant mechanic and tinkerer. Kizzy is about 30 years old and, like most people of Exodan ancestry, has dark hair, olive skin, and a flat nose. She was raised by her two fathers on a backwater colony. Kizzy’s difficulty focusing and tendency towards extreme emotional reactions are indicators that she is neurodivergent and has attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Kizzy manages her hyperactivity and obsessive thoughts by absorbing herself in projects and shows that people with ADHD can do high-pressure jobs.

As one of the Wayfarer’s technicians, Jenks is responsible for maintaining the systems of the ship’s AI, Lovey. Jenks is unusually short with many piercings and tattoos. Jenks’ mother was part of a group of primitivists, so he did not receive any prenatal gene therapy, resulting in his small size. Because his size does not pose any health risks, neither he nor his mother see any reason for him to undergo gene therapy, a decision that, along with his body modification, represents Jenks’ commitment to bodily autonomy. Jenks’ belief in self-determination also extends to the rights of AIs to take physical bodies. In one of the book’s examples of pansexuality, he and Lovey love one another.

As the Wayfarer’s AI, Lovey is in charge of monitoring all ships systems and aiding the crew. Since her installation three years before Rosemary joins the crew, Lovey’s personality has diverged from her factory default so that she is unique.