Artemis

Trond Landvik is a Norwegian telecommunication billionaire who desires the best things money can buy. He owns a home that Jazz describes as “stupidly-huge, considering it was just him, his daughter, and his live-in maid” (13). Trond has a penchant for contraband, including Dominican cigars and butane lighters. He also prefers to wear sweatpants and bathrobes over suits and ties. His decision to relocate to the moon shows his love for his daughter, Lene, who was paralyzed in the same car accident that killed his wife. Lene can move more freely on the moon than she could on Earth and therefore enjoys greater independence in Artemis.

As a businessman, Trond is cutthroat: He says that his “whole job is exploiting underutilized resources” (45). He sees an opportunity to make money and takes it, no matter the legality or cost, as when he partners with Administrator Ngugi to take out Sanchez. Trond sees this takeover as good business with a high risk and high reward. He does not account for Jin Chu, the greedy employee who causes the central conflict in the novel.

Ammar is Jazz’s hard-working single father. He is a master welder, but he refuses to join the guild. His fierce independence and business ethic are famous on Artemis and considerably impact Jazz’s own views, as Rudy observes: “I’ve known you since you were a little delinquent. You don’t want to admit it, but you’re just like your father. You have his business ethics […] a Bashara never reneges on a deal” (135).

Though Jazz and Ammar’s relationship deteriorated after the fire in the workshop, he still cares deeply for her. He offers her space but also supports her throughout the mission to save her life and Artemis from O Palácio. When the sabotage is over and Artemis is safe, Jazz’s first act is to buy her father a shop to make up for the one he lost. Ammar considers the gift and tells Jazz, “[W]e’ve fought at times, of course […] And there are certainly aspects of your life that I wish were different. But in the grand scheme of things, you became a strong, self-reliant woman and I’m proud of you” (295). Ammar reconciles with Jazz, even going so far as buying Svoboda a beer—something he normally would not do as a Muslim. He reaches past his preferences to connect with his daughter.

Fidelis Ngugi serves as the administrator of the Artemis colony. She built the entire space program in Kenya, securing funding for the infrastructure that made Kenya desirable to private investors. For this reason, Jazz deeply admires the administrator, saying that “she convinced fifty corporations from thirty-four countries to dump billions of dollars into creating KSC” (37). Her drive is equally important in the day-to-day running of Artemis, as she keeps any one group from gaining control.

This same ambition is also Ngugi’s weakness, as her desire to grow the Artemisian economy places her at odds with others. She and Rudy don’t always see eye to eye, as Rudy focuses on adherence to the law above all other concerns. Jazz and Ngugi likewise disagree on methodology—Ngugi is lukewarm on Jazz’s smuggling—but Jazz believes that Ngugi is more of an ally than an adversary. Both women are deeply invested in Artemis’s success.

Martin Svoboda is a Ukrainian scientist who works in a lab in Artemis. Svoboda bubbles with excitement at the chance to inspect new technology, build new devices, and dive into technical details. When Jazz gathers a group to discuss blowing the smelting factory, Svoboda brings “a digital projector and roll-up screen,” and she describes him as “happy as a pig in shit” (213).

Jazz initially sees Svoboda as a friend, but the two demonstrate potential for more from their first scene in the book, when Svoboda asks Jazz to try his reusable condom. Though he’s ostensibly seeking testing data, he also wants to see if Jazz is having sex with anyone. This awkward request leads Jazz to tell him that he needs lessons in how to talk to women. The pair’s romantic relationship blooms as Jazz reaches out to Svoboda in her greatest despair, seeking shelter with him when she’s on the run. She knows that she can trust and rely upon him.

Svoboda and Jazz share their first kiss shortly after she wakes from her near-death experience. Svoboda kisses Jazz on the cheek as she is in her hospital bed—a bold act that surprises Jazz and immediately embarrasses Svoboda. Jazz doesn’t let him finish his apology but reaches up and kisses him. She lets her guard down, trusting him with her love and affection.

Rudy serves as the single sanctioned law enforcement officer on Artemis. His primary directive is to keep Artemis safe and functioning. Readers’ first introduction to him is Jazz’s highly sexualized description of him:

[He’s] a seriously good-looking man. He’s two meters tall and blond as a Hitler wet dream. He quit the Royal Canadian Mounted Police ten years ago to become Artemis’s head of security, but he still wears the uniform every day. And it looks good on him. Really good. I don’t like the guy, but… you know…if I could do it without consequences (24).

Jazz’s description illustrates Rudy’s conventionally heroic qualities, which appear again and again in the narrative. Rudy hunts down criminals with single-minded intensity. He has been after Jazz, for example, since the fire at her father’s shop, but he prioritizes murderers over petty criminals, as when he leaps out the window of a third-floor restaurant in pursuit of a killer. As “what passes for law” in the libertarian environment of Artemis (24), Rudy often plays the role of judge and jury as well as cop: He metes out justice in a way comparable to Batman or an Old West sheriff.

Though Weir sets Rudy up as the pinnacle of strength and justice, the novel’s climax subverts any expectations that he is its hero. When Jazz rescues Artemis from the chloroform leak she created, she enters Rudy’s office to find him passed out on his desk. Jazz becomes the ultimate hero as she rescues Artemis and Rudy from the poison; she even does what Rudy would have wanted by placing Lefty in handcuffs instead of killing him or leaving him free. Rudy serves the narrative role of showcasing Jazz’s growth.

Dale starts the book as Jazz’s enemy, the revelation that Dale was sleeping with Jazz’s boyfriend having caused seemingly irreparable damage to their friendship. However, their friendship rekindles after Dale helps Jazz escape after her first sabotage. She offers him money for his silence, but Dale just wants to meet at the pub once a week; he understands her business ethic will prevent her from reneging on the deal. His knowledge of her character also shows as they discuss Jazz’s initial contract with Trond. He notes, “[I]t’s not your style. It was risky—and you’re really smart. You don’t take risks unless you have to” (184). Dale knows that desperation is the only thing that would cause Jazz to risk everything, though he doesn’t know about her profound shame and sense of debt to her father.

Dale serves as Jazz’s sidekick through the final mission. He keeps her safe and saves her life. Dale and Jazz’s friendship also illustrates the diversity of Artemis. Jazz is a Saudi citizen with a devoutly Muslim father, while Dale is a practicing Jew who goes to synagogue every Sabbath.