P.J. Colding
P.J. Colding is one of the central characters and main protagonist in Scott Sigler’s novel Ancestor.
Character Background
Life Prior to Genada
Before his career with the Genada Corporation, Colding worked as an agent for the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID). It is during his time with the USAMRIID where Colding met his future wife Clarissa and worked with Colonel Paul Fischer who unsuccessfully chases Genada and Colding in the beginning of the novel.
Family
Colding was married once before the events of the book. His wife, Clarissa, was a virologist in USAMRIID where she and Colding met. Two years after Clarissa and Colding were married, they were investigating an attempted biological terrorist attack on U.S. soil. A terrorist group had infected some of its members with H5N1 or bird flu with the hopes of causing an epidemic inside the United States. Colonel Paul Fischer led the group who was trying to treat the infected members. Unfortunately, in an effort to respect the infected, proper restraint precautions were not followed. One of the infected terrorists got loose and tore off Clarissa's mask, coughing and spitting in her face.
Clarissa contracted the disease and quickly contracted secondary infections of pnumonia and viral myocarditis. The myocarditis attacked Clarissa's heart, damaging the heart muscle effectively destroying her heart. Because she was still infected with H5N1 and due to the organ shortage from the nuclear destruction of Detroit, Clarissa did not qualify for an organ transplant. Clarissa was placed on a ventilator, however soon slipped into unconsciousness. With no hope of recovery, Colding was forced to make a horrible decision and remove his wife from life support.
It is Clarissa's death which influences Colding's decision to work for Genada and for the Ancestor project.
In the Employ of Genada
Colding is the head of on-site security operations for the Genada's Baffin Island Facility and subsequently for the Black Manitou Island Facility.
Attributes
Name
The character’s full name is PJ Colding, however throughout the novel, Colding acquires several nicknames.
Sara uses the affectionate nickname “Peej”. It was meant to sound endearing but it slightly annoyed Colding as it sounded unprofessional. Sara technically reported to Colding as he supervised on-site operations therefore Colding initially felt the nickname undermined his authority. To complicate the situation, Clayton picked up on the nickname and used it to thoroughly annoy Colding. However, as the relationship between Colding and Sara deepened, Colding saw the term of endearment for what it was.
Magnus used a nickname for Colding as well calling him “Bubba”. The nickname was meant to sound condescending and derogatory.
