Danté Paglione

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Danté Paglione is a fictional character in Scott Sigler’s novel Ancestor. The older brother of Magnus Paglione, Danté is also the current Chief Executive Officer of the Genada Corporation, for whom they both serve.

Character Background

Life Prior to Genada

Danté and his brother Magnus hail from Manitoba, Canada. While much is known about Magnus prior to joining Genada, there is little information about Danté’s prior life.

In the Employ of Genada

Genada Corporation Logo

Danté was the CEO of the Genada Corporation which was passed to him through his father’s allocation of fifty one percent of the voting stock to Danté. Under his direction, Danté built Genada into a billion dollar biotech company. His brother Magnus was a senior manager in charge of security operations for the company and directly reported to Danté.

Danté was the driving force behind the Ancestor project which began with the recruitment of the top scientists in the business; Dr. Erika Hoel because of her success with reviving and extinct animal, Dr. Liu Jiandan (Jian) because of her gift with bioinformatics and Dr. Claus Rhumkorrf who oversaw the scientific portion of the project and was known for getting results. Danté was also able to gain P.J. Colding’s loyalties from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), after Colding’s wife died from a liver condition that the Ancestor project could have saved her from. Next, Danté secured both the Baffin Island facility, the Black Manitou Island facility, and locked in an agreement with Sara Purinam and her crew to pay off their 747 and pay each of them $100,000 dollars a year to be on retainer to fly at a moment's notice in Genada’s C-5 mobile lab. Finally, he sent his personal assistant, Bobby Valentine, around the world to collect the rare and elusive DNA samples the team needed.

When Magnus alerted Danté to Sydney Chapman and the CIA eliminating the Novozyme operation due to an outbreak, Danté immediately ordered the project be moved from Baffin Island to the Black Manitou Island facility before the CIA could shut down their research. Danté knew they needed more cash flow in order to relocate and continue the research so he assembled five B-list investors who, after hearing Danté’s proposal, signed up to fund the project.

Upon learning that Magnus murdered the CIA mole on Baffin Island, Danté was enraged to the point of considering his brother a liability. Magnus reasons that repercussions for the murders were low as dead Americans on Baffin Island, which was Canadian soil, would cause both nations to be in a precarious position with their respective public images. Realizing that his brother was actually ingeniously correct, Danté went on to trust Magnus’ security prowess. In general, Danté unequivocally trusted his brother when it came to Genada security matters, or it should be said that he had no choice but to trust his brother.

After relocating, the scientists have a breakthrough with the genome for the Ancestor and are able to implant the majority of the host mother cows. An autopsy of one of the fetus shows promising results and Colding quickly informed Danté of the good news. However the autopsy angered Danté and caused him to send Magnus to the facility to oversee the operations.

Shortly after Magnus arrived, Jian is caught calling the CIA to blow the whistle on the Ancestor project. Magnus informed dante of the breach and recommended they either move the project or better yet scrap it. When they trade verbal spars over the decision, Danté acquiesced and told Magnus he would be out to the facility to assess the situation in four days. Magnus didn’t buy the ploy and realizing Danté would be arriving at the first chance he got, he demands that Sara relocate the C-5 mobile lab along with the scientists and host mothers to the Genada headquarters in Manitoba.

Several hours later, an air raid siren is sounded to alert of Danté’s arrival. On his way to eliminate Sara and Tim Feely, Magnus watched from afar as his brother and Bobby Valentine land their helicopter amidst a host of Ancestor’s. He then witnesses Bobby being dismembered by the creatures and knew his brother would suffer the same fate. As he ran up the trail Rhumkorrf and Colding watched on the monitor in the security room as seven creatures pick Danté off in mid stride, simultaneously tearing his leg off and throwing him in the air where two other creatures rip him in half.

Danté never learns of Magnus’ failed plan to destroy the C-5 mobile lab, in order to recoup the expense of the Ancestor project through the insurance claim on the plane.

Attributes

Name

The character’s full name was Danté Paglione. No nickname was used for this character.

Outward Appearance

Danté was described physically as having a deep tan and thick raven black hair done in a Hollywood hairstyle. He had high, pronounced cheekbones, a regal looking face, and a wide strong nose. With his charming bright white smile, Danté is described as having “the face that led a billion dollar biotech company, perfect for the cover of business magazines and keeping investors enthused.”

Although his exact age was not revealed in the novel Ancestor, Danté was described as being six years older than his brother Magnus. Also, no specific height or weight was provided for Danté, rather he was described generally as being a big man. In comparison, his brother Magnus is described as being massive.

Personality

As the CEO of the Genada Corporation Danté always exuded confidence and was every aware of this attribute. All of his machinations were inexorable exhibiting forethought, which over time, made Genada into the worlds largest biotech company.

As an executive, Danté demanded punctuality and prized efficiency. In fact, he gave his employees every opportunity to work as demonstrated by computers networked to the Billups IX he supplied in Jian’s rooms in both the Baffin Island and Black Manitou Island facilities. Danté spared no expense in providing his employees with every tool and piece of equipment they needed in order to get the job done. Generally, Danté portrayed a friendly and familiar persona with his employees but the truth was that if his expectations were not met he was quick to rid himself of the offending employee. Underlings familiar with Danté’s communication style also came to realize that he when speaking to him he liked to receive a little good news first then go into the business of the day.

As a person, Danté prized control, calmness and methodical execution of perfection. In his Manitoba office, he displayed a series of original Leonardo DaVinci sketches that he owned. He felt these sketches exhibited the aforementioned traits and he often admired them. In comparison his brother Magnus embodied barely contained rage.

Danté’s personality became erratic over the course of the novel Ancestor because he felt pressure both personally and financially for the Ancestor project to be a success. Besides investing three quarters of a billion dollars in the project with no immediate results, Danté was also concerned for his own health. He suffered the same congenital heart defect that killed his father and a success in the Ancestor project would equate to a prolonged life span. Any perceived setbacks caused Danté to switch emotions from a smile to a narrow eyed snarl. Magnus is the only one that knows of Danté’s heart condition and this knowledge caused a strain in their relationship as Magnus felt Danté was ruining the company their father in order to serve his own purposes.

Skills

Danté was adept at garnering the financial support. While Magnus was born with size, strength and vicious instinct, Danté inherited his fathers silver tongue. Danté considered raising money to be his killing field. Through his confidence, passion and familiarity with the Ancestor project, he was able to convince, rather easily, all of his B-list investors to financially support the project. Danté’s B-list investors were members of the One Percent Club, that is to say, the richest people on the planet.

External Links

See Also