Story so far
Nelson prepared Holston for cleaning, insisting on reviewing the procedure and claiming that altered seals and a spray-on lining would give him more time outside. He later became Juliette’s choice for her suit project because he knew the equipment and did not seem hostile to her.
During her expedition, he prepared the airlock for her return, installed an airtight sample box, and helped with decontamination, receiving a precautionary scrub himself after unusual readings. Having built the last two cleaning suits, he also helped examine the recovered samples: he measured wear on the hill sample’s gasket and heat tape, but suggested that unexpectedly worse damage to the control might mean the containers had been mislabeled. He sealed the lead-lined trunk, showed Juliette the argon supplies, and worked with her on breathing valves.
Nelson was absent when Lukas later looked for him in the Suit Lab. Following her silo’s destruction, Juliette believed him lost and continued to count him among the people she had lost; these facts establish her belief rather than independently confirming his death.
Appearance
Nelson is described as a young man. No further physical features are established.
Role
Head of the cleaning lab and a knowledgeable collaborator on Juliette’s suit and sample investigations; believed lost by her after the silo’s destruction.
Relationships
Juliette — Juliette chose him for his suit expertise and worked with him on the expedition and breathing valves; she now believes him lost.
Holston — He helped Holston put on his cleaning suit and explained its purported improvements.
Earlier in this series
Also appears in books you've already read — spoiler-safe to their endings:
Sources — 19 recorded facts, by chapter
Chapter 14
- Nelson is the young IT technician in charge of the cleaning lab.
- Juliette chooses Nelson to assist with her suit project because he knows the suits and does not seem opposed to her.
Chapter 16
- Nelson is a technician who asks Juliette’s father whether he will be on medical standby for the expedition.
Chapter 20
- Nelson enters the airlock after its burn to prepare for Juliette’s return.
- Nelson receives a precautionary scrub-down in the inner lock following unusual airlock readings.
Chapter 21
- Nelson installs an airtight sample box on the airlock’s ready bench while Juliette is outside.
- Nelson refills the decontamination tub after the earlier airlock burn.
- Nelson scrubs the low ceiling of the inner airlock during decontamination.
Chapter 24
- Juliette and Courtnee discuss having Juliette’s father check that Nelson and Juliette are all right.
Chapter 25
- Nelson seals the lead-lined trunk with caulk.
- Nelson’s mother worked as a nurse with Juliette’s father before becoming a doctor in the Deep.
- Nelson built the last two cleaning suits.
- Nelson verifies one-eighth wear on the hill sample gasket and estimates a two-and-a-half-millimeter hole in its heat tape.
- Nelson suggests that the unexpectedly severe damage in the control sample could mean the containers were labeled in reverse order.
Chapter 28
- Nelson showed Juliette where the argon tanks were kept.
Chapter 33
- Nelson is absent from the Suit Lab when Lukas looks for him.
Chapter 41
- Juliette believes Nelson has been lost in the destruction of her silo.
Chapter 48
- Juliette counts Nelson among the people she has lost.
Chapter 61
- Nelson previously used breathing valves with Juliette in the Suit Lab.