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Peter Billings

Pete

Peter Billings is Silo Eighteen’s sheriff, once Juliette’s deputy and later her ally; she now counts him among those lost.

Story so far

Peter grew up in the mids, the son of a hydroponics plumber and Rebecca, a nursery worker. He worked in Justice and shadowed a judge before becoming a candidate for sheriff. Although Bernard Holland said Peter had accepted that position, Peter instead began as Juliette’s deputy. He soon carried out orders to arrest her, charged her with conspiracy, and took her to prepare for cleaning, wearing the sheriff’s badge after her removal. During the rebellion, he defended IT’s gate and fell clutching his shoulder after an attacker fired toward it.

As sheriff, Peter delivered meals to Lukas and initially expected the rebellion to be crushed. But while escorting Lukas toward death, he began questioning events as he overheard Juliette’s argument with Bernard. He listened to Lukas when Juliette’s voice came over the radio, found her in the airlock, called for help, and visited her during recovery. He hoped she would become mayor while urging her to delay rash action. Later, he and Lukas opposed her proposal to reveal the other silos; he also handled complaints about digging, tried to calm a public disturbance, and monitored her decontamination.

When the airlock doors opened without his intervention, Peter refused to shoot the people crowding into the sheriff’s office. He tentatively compared the vapor to the argon used during Juliette’s cleaning, then reported people reaching the outside, behaving erratically, and collapsing. Sheltering in the galley, he said he was having trouble breathing. Juliette subsequently believed him lost in her silo’s destruction and continues to count him among the people she has lost.

Role

Peter is the sheriff whose final reports describe the uncontrolled opening of the airlock and people collapsing. His death is Juliette’s belief rather than a directly witnessed outcome in these facts.

Relationships

Juliette — Peter arrested Juliette under orders, but later helped rescue her and supported her becoming mayor; she now believes him lost.
Lukas — Peter brought Lukas meals and later listened to him during the crisis over Juliette’s return.
RebeccaBk 1 — Rebecca is Peter’s mother and works in the nursery.

Earlier in this series

Also appears in books you've already read — spoiler-safe to their endings:

Sources — 20 recorded facts, by chapter
Chapter 5
  • Lukas reports that Billings has received a dozen complaints about the possible consequences of digging.
Chapter 9
  • Peter Billings is the new sheriff.
Chapter 11
  • Peter and Lukas opposed Juliette’s proposal to tell everyone that their silo was not alone.
Chapter 16
  • Sheriff Peter Billings tries to calm the shouting crowd.
  • Peter directs Juliette into the judge’s chambers during the disturbance.
Chapter 21
  • Peter Billings watches decontamination from the sheriff’s office.
  • Peter confirms a perfect vacuum over the office radio.
  • Peter tells Juliette that the dig broke through about half an hour earlier.
Chapter 25
  • Peter Billings seals all the airlocks after Juliette removes her suit.
Chapter 34
  • Peter reports that the yellow inner airlock door has opened without his intervention.
  • Peter reports that the outer airlock door is also open.
  • Peter refuses to shoot people who have crowded into the office.
  • Peter tentatively agrees that the vapor resembles the argon he saw during Juliette’s cleaning.
Chapter 35
  • Peter reports that people are getting through to the outside.
  • Peter reports difficulty breathing while sheltering in the galley.
  • Peter reports that the people streaming upward are acting erratically and collapsing.
Chapter 36
  • Juliette recalls Peter’s report that the airlock was open and people were collapsing.
Chapter 41
  • Juliette believes Peter has been lost in the destruction of her silo.
Chapter 42
  • Juliette reports that Peter saw the outside after the silo doors opened and people began dying.
Chapter 48
  • Juliette counts Peter among the people she has lost.
Character portrait