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Cortazár debriefs Holden as Prisoner 17, supplying Duarte a cumulative record meant to expose significance the captive may not know he carries.
Cortazár's protomolecule treatments have transformed Duarte's body and perception while keeping the scientist's life tied to the High Consul's survival. After Holden reaches Laconia, Cortazár conducts the formal debriefing of Prisoner 17, recording questions and responses in cumulative reports.
Duarte finds the written exchange sterile after directly perceiving living thought and decides to meet Holden himself. He nevertheless values Cortazár's aim: Holden has seen the ring builders' extinction, carried the Investigator's consciousness, and may contain connections whose significance he does not understand. Duarte asks the prisoner to cooperate with Cortazár as part of rebuilding humanity's technological weapon against the ancient killers.
An adult male scientist in a clean lab coat with a compact monitor strapped to one forearm, attentive hands and an absorbed impatient demeanor.
Cortazár is Holden's scientific interrogator and the researcher tasked with extracting usable knowledge from a mind touched by the protomolecule.
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