Torvald Meling — co-founder of Hesperus Initiative (2078) with Dr. Livia Conti. The public face of the company’s 22-year recruitment effort for Venus terraforming. Gave the company’s first major interview following deployment of its unmanned habitation module into the Venusian cloud layer in 2100, addressing the persistent industry rumor that Hesperus is a covert antimatter propulsion programme. His characterizing line: “We are trying to make a planet survivable. That is the entire company.”