Ten Characters (Real and Fictional) Who Influenced The Delphi Effect

When I think back through the many books, movies, and television shows that I’ve loved over the years, there are dozens–maybe even hundreds–of characters whose personalities and attributes linger in my mind. Sometimes, it’s because the character reminds me of people I’ve known in real life. Other times, it’s because some aspect of the character resonates with elements of my own personality.

So when I saw this guest post topic, I knew I’d need to narrow it down a bit, especially since there are so many historical figures I could choose from for my CHRONOS Files series.. The following characters are, therefore, ones who in some way influenced either the story or key characters in my upcoming Delphi Trilogy.

Fiver from Richard Adams’s Watership Down

This is one of my very favorite books. Adams does a wonderful job of making the characters in this bo      ok real and engaging, and that can be difficult to do when your characters are all rabbits. Fiver is the smallest of the main characters, and rather fragile due both to his size and his psychic abilities. His visions are similar to those of a character that we meet in The Delphi Effect, Jaden Park, although I’d argue that Fiver’s type of prophecy is a little more useful to those around him.

Echo from Dollhouse

I’m a huge fan of Joss Whedon’s work, but I somehow missed Dollhouse when it first aired. I finally binge watched it last year, and while I think it kind of fell apart at the very end, it occurred to me that there are some similarities between Echo and Anna. Echo is programmed with different lives as part of her work at The Dollhouse, and while she’s not supposed to keep those memories, she does end up with certain echoes (which I’m guessing is one reason for her name) from their past. Those echoes combine, in some sense, to form her personality. In much the same way, Anna’s memories from her various hitchers have shaped her, almost to the point where she’s not sure what elements of her personality are inherently her own.

Johnny Smith from Stephen King’s The Dead Zone

I love the struggle that Johnny faces as he’s deciding whether to commit an immoral act (murder) in order to stop a madman who could potentially kill millions. It’s essentially the classic question of whether one would kill Hitler, given the chance. Anna will have a similar dilemma in The Delphi Trilogy, and I’m still not sure what she’ll do when faced with that final choice.

Cole Sear from The Sixth Sense

Like Cole, the kid from the M.Night Shyamalan movie, Anna is connected to dead people. Unlike Cole, however, she doesn’t see them, aside from the occasional brief and ghostly glimpse in the mirror. They’re just passengers in her head, until she can figure out what will help them move on to whatever lies beyond.

Shawn Spencer from Psych

In Psych, one of my favorite shows from a few years back, Shawn is an exceptionally observant individual who bills himself as a psychic. As Anna mentions in The Delphi Effect, Aaro n Quinn is pretty much the reverse. He actually gets psychic vibes, but his grandfather tells clients that Aaron is just very, very observant. And unlike Shawn’s outgoing personality, Aaron prefers to stay in the background. It’s not exactly easy being in a crowd when you pick up on every impulse to “go medieval.”

Spiderman

Okay, Aaron’s not exactly like Spiderman. He can’t swing from building to building and was never bitten by a radioactive spider. But his vibes are very similar to Peter Parker’s “spidey sense,” something that Anna teases him about from time to time.

Prince

Deo, Anna’s foster brother, has a penchant for monochromatic clothing and his gender identity is definitely fluid, much like the late singer-song  writer. And he’d totally want that jacket.

Captain Jack Harkness from Torchwood and Doctor Who

In the Whovian universe, Captain Jack will do the one thing that Doctor will not — he’ll kill people if he feels it must be done to prevent a greater evil. There’s a bit of Jack in Deo, although we’ll see that element of his personality a bit more clearly in the upcoming books of the trilogy.

John Casey from Chuck

Daniel Quinn, Aaron’s older brother, has a very by-the-book personality and he can be a real pain in the ass. But like NSA Agent John Casey, he’s willing to bend the rules to protect friends and family when the chips are down.

Hannibal Lecter from Thomas Harris’s The Silence of the Lambs

Graham Cregg doesn’t slurp up people’s organs with a nice chianti and fava beans, but he is somewhat similar to Hannibal in his urbane calm, even while doing some really awful things. Unlike Hannibal, however, Cregg would argue that his actions serve the greater good.