David
Names: DavidDavy MacGregorDavyDavid Somerled MacGregorDadthe Great EnemyIntendant MacGregorPlanetary Dirigentthe DirigentMacGregorDirigent MacGregorPlanetary Dirigent of EarthEarth DiligentDirigent of EarthEarth Dirigentthe ScotsmanFirst Magnate
First appears in Book 1: Intervention, chapter 50 (4)
Appearances
What you know
Book 1: Intervention
Book 2: Jack the Bodiless
- Ch 13Son of Jamie MacGregor and European Intendancy administrator; considered the only serious rival to Paul Remillard for First Magnate and may doubt Unity.
- Ch 14Davy, Intendant Associate for Europe and friend of Denis Remillard, has decided to run against Paul Remillard for First Magnate.
- Ch 21Rejuvenated in a regentank before his second marriage, he looks young again, and love has strengthened his creative metafunction, making him too strong for the Hydra to kill, in Fury's view.
- Ch 21A former xenopsychology teacher, son of Jamie MacGregor, he served in the European Intendancy and is a Magnate-Designate competing with Paul Remillard for First Magnate.
- Ch 21Davy is the son of Jamie MacGregor, an Intendant Associate for Europe, and was rejuvenated by marriage to Margaret; he declined the magnateship.
- Ch 21Davy says it was his wife Maggie, not the regen-tank, who rejuvenated him, and he refuses to be separated from her.
- Ch 25He opposes Paul Remillard for First Magnate and privately suspects a Remillard, perhaps Paul, murdered his wife and Brett McAllister.
- Ch 25Davy is sympathetic to the prohuman view but not to the conspirators' ultimate aim; they campaign for him as First Magnate and hope he will join.
- Ch 26A Grand Master coercer who decided not to withdraw as candidate for First Magnate despite his wife's murder, opposing Paul Remillard.
- Ch 26Davy concluded that Margaret's dying word 'five' meant her murderer was a metaconcert of five minds, not a single person.
- Ch 26Davy withheld the clue from the Krondak Evaluator because he had blanked it out in grief, along with Margaret's dying cry.
- Ch 26Davy argues that mental probing must be strictly limited by law and never used casually, to avoid becoming as totalitarian as the Simbiari Proctorship.
- Ch 26Davy has dour, swarthy looks and a studied manner, though he inherited Jamie MacGregor's rangy build and beaked nose.
- Ch 28Davy is to be appointed Planetary Dirigent for Earth, an office traditionally given to someone who does not want it.
- Ch 28Davy is grieving his wife Margaret, believes she was murdered, and doubts that humanity should join Unity.
- Ch 32As Dirigent for Earth he signed the new law on 10 May 2052 and can grant executive clemency that even the Lylmik cannot countermand.
- Ch 35Davy MacGregor is the Planetary Dirigent for Earth, a former Intendant Associate for Europe who has been rejuvenated and resembles his late father Jamie.
- Ch 35MacGregor has been trained by the Lylmik, has strong coercive-redactive faculties, and can read minds; he is an art lover and fantasy book collector.
- Ch 35MacGregor pardoned Teresa and Rogi unconditionally, judging both were compelled to break the law of the Proctorship.
- Ch 35He bluffed Rogi with a threat of brain damage, then admitted he would not have done it and lacks authority for such mental harm.
- Ch 35MacGregor's wife Margaret Strayhorn was murdered; he is determined to find and punish the killers, and suspects the Remillard family.
- Ch 36He appealed to the Lylmik Supervisors, who ruled he lacked grounds to continue investigating the family; he sealed the results and withheld them from the Human Magistratum.
- Ch 44MacGregor is the Dirigent, Earth's leader; he is en route to Concilium Orb and unreachable by Marc's farspeech or phone.
Book 3: Diamond Mask
- Ch 5Masha's maternal uncle, who supervised her at Edinburgh and later became Planetary Dirigent of Earth.
- Ch 7Davy became Planetary Dirigent of Earth and reopened the investigation of the Dynasty to find his wife's killer.
- Ch 8The Planetary Dirigent of Earth is a hostile magnate who would publicly demand Remillard impeachment if he learned of the Hydra murders.
- Ch 12Davy is Dirigent of Earth, optimistic that misgivings about Unity can be resolved within twenty years; he treats Tamara as a mother.
- Ch 12Davy makes no attempt to stop Rory's accusation and smiles sardonically.
Book 4: Magnificat
- Ch 3Earth Diligent with a personal vendetta against Fury and Hydra; the Lylmik forced him to drop the matter and he thinks they are dormant.
- Ch 9Davy MacGregor is Earth's Planetary Dirigent, a distant relation of the bride, uncongenial to the Remillards; Paul fears he may seek revenge for his wife.
- Ch 12Davy is Planetary Dirigent of Earth, twice rejuvenated, who lives in Cynophile Tower and refused Paul Remillard's offer to head the Unity Directorate.
- Ch 12Davy fears Unity's effect on the Mind of Humanity and would be glad to see humans leave the Milieu, but refuses to use force to settle it.
- Ch 12Davy refuses to spy for the Rebels or report to Paul, and vows to see the Fury and Hydra destroyed whatever Remillards are caught in the crossfire.
- Ch 12Davy says he will neither oppose nor promote Unity, keeping an open mind.
- Ch 18Davy MacGregor is Dirigent of Earth; his wife Maggie was killed hours after moving into their Rialto flat, and he resents the older Remillards' secrecy.
- Ch 25Dirigent of Earth, he agrees to lobby Rebel and fence-sitting magnates before February's Concilium meeting since he is not seen as an opponent of the Rebels.
- Ch 25He relies on Esi Damatura as his deputy, who has turned against Marc.
- Ch 25Earth Dirigent who had doubts about Unity and resolved them; he is undertaking a new effort to present the Milieu's case.
- Ch 27Davy is lobbying effectively for Unity and rumored to become Acting First Magnate in February, enabling a purge of Rebel-inclined Directorate members.
- Ch 30Davy MacGregor, a former Earth Dirigent with public doubts about Unity, is about to become First Magnate at the Concilium session.
- Ch 31Newly elected First Magnate of the Human Polity, he is a former Edinburgh professor of Xenopsychology and a prominent apologist for Unity.
- Ch 31He refuses to arm loyalist humans, holding that nonviolence is essential to lasting mental harmony, as his father Jamie MacGregor and the Oslo Congress delegates believed.
- Ch 31He is a widower; his wife Margaret was killed, and her killers were brought to justice.
- Ch 32He called for the loyalty oath in farsensory metaconcert; 68 percent of human magnates declared themselves faithful adherents of the Milieu.
- Ch 33Davy MacGregor will send a message to Marc five days later outlining the Milieu's response.
Connections
- family ofJeanson
- friend ofPaulclose friend and rival
- family ofWill MacGregorfather
- family ofJamie MacGregorfather
- friend ofCordelia Warszawska
- friend ofDenis
- partner ofMargaret Strayhornmarried nine months earlier
- friend ofTom Spotted Owlformer student of MacGregor
- family ofMargaret Strayhornhusband and wife
- family ofKaty MacGregorsister
- enemy ofDenis
- related toBart Ziegfieldassistant to
- related toLylmiktrained by
- ally ofMarc
- family ofGrannyher maternal uncle
- family ofKatharine MacGregorsiblings
- related toHamishdog and companion
- ally ofEsi Damaturadeputy
- enemy ofMarc
Key moments
- Book 2 · Ch 14Plan to help Davy MacGregor defeat Paul Remillard
Gerrit proposes spreading word of Paul's suspected involvement in the murder; Anna decides they will use every weapon to help Davy win, with strategy to be set that night.
- Book 2 · Ch 21Fury brings the Hydra to the President's House
On Halloween, Fury has the Hydra lurk in the shrubbery near the President's House, intending possibly to attack Davy MacGregor, and orders it to study MacGregor and Strayhorn silently.
- Book 2 · Ch 21Dinner party at the President's House
Socorro Ortega hosts a Mesoamerican dinner for the Poltroyans, MacGregors and Remillards; talk covers Poltroyan fetal education, proctor races and coadunation, and Margaret's pregnancy is toasted.
- Book 2 · Ch 21Hydra attacks Margaret Strayhorn
Margaret answers the door to trick-or-treaters, who are disguised operant children. The Hydra strikes at her crown chakra, burning her scalp in a lotus pattern. She blocks it and collapses, survives, and recalls only a presence.
- Book 2 · Ch 23Adults seen in the connubial vat
Through the viewing window, Marc sees Ilya Gawrys, Katy MacGregor, Davy MacGregor, Margaret Strayhorn, his father Paul and Laura Tremblay in the vat.
- Book 2 · Ch 23Margaret murdered by Hydra
While Davy is away, Margaret unpacks in their Rialto apartment and Hydra, invisible, enters and destroys her mind. She screams 'Five' to Davy.
- Book 2 · Ch 23Paul reports Margaret's death
Paul tells Lucille that Margaret is dead, apparently a suicide, while Marc listens by farsense.
- Book 2 · Ch 25Anna warns Adrien of Davy's suspicions
Anna tells Adrien that Davy believes Margaret and Brett were murdered by a Remillard, and argues Adrien is the only one provably innocent.
- Book 2 · Ch 26Lylmik Supervisors discuss Strayhorn murder
At the Christmas fête, four Supervisors tell Unifex of Margaret Strayhorn's murder and the danger to Davy MacGregor; he refuses Lylmik intervention despite their suspicion that he knows the killer.
- Book 2 · Ch 26Hydra and Fury confer
Hydra proposes recruiting Jack; Fury tells her to stay away from Davy and wait, promising a nervebomb.
- Book 2 · Ch 26Davy reveals the 'five' clue
At the Christmas crèche, Davy tells Will and Cordelia that Margaret's dying word 'five' indicates a five-mind metaconcert killer, probably also behind Brett's death, and the question is which five Remillards.
- Book 2 · Ch 26Christmas carols and church
Exotics and humans sing the 'Cantique de Noël' as Davy, Cordelia and Will head into the Protestant Rite church.
- Book 2 · Ch 28Davy named Planetary Dirigent
While dancing, Asymptotic Essence tells Davy MacGregor he is to be Earth's Planetary Dirigent and should study Teilhard de Chardin; Davy reluctantly accepts.
- Book 2 · Ch 32Pardon rider defeated
The Intendant Assembly passed the law easing penalties for operants violating the Reproductive Statutes, but a rider pardoning Teresa and Rogi was struck, with Paul voting against it. MacGregor signed the law on 10 May 2052.
- Book 2 · Ch 35Teresa and Rogi pardoned
Facing media hounding, Teresa and Rogi meet Dirigent MacGregor alone; he asks his questions and pardons both without condition.
- Book 2 · Ch 35MacGregor interrogates Rogi
MacGregor coerces Rogi into revealing all he knows about the murderers of Brett McAllister and Margaret Strayhorn, then reveals a new interrogation machine will test the Remillard magnates.
- Book 2 · Ch 36Remillard family mind-ream interrogation
On October 19 the family is tested with the mechanical mind-ream on ten questions about Fury, Hydra and the murders; Lucille Cartier is caught lying on the tenth question.
- Book 2 · Ch 36Supervisors halt investigation
MacGregor asks the Lylmik Supervisors whether he may continue investigating the family; they say no for now, and he seals the results.
- Book 2 · Ch 44Marc sedated and escapes monitoring
Cecilia sedates Marc to stop his agitation. He recovers, loops his monitor bugs, fails to reach MacGregor, and begins to leave the hospital to protect Jack.
- Book 3 · Ch 7Hydra's murders and the investigations
From 2051 Hydra killed Brett McAllister, attacked and apparently killed Margaret Strayhorn, and killed Addie. Investigations of the Remillards, including the mind-probe, found no proof.
- Book 3 · Ch 12Debate over Unity
Paul, Davy, Tamara, Alan, Patricia, Fred and Minnie discuss whether Unity threatens human identity and whether the Milieu would let humanity secede.
- Book 4 · Ch 3Rogi and Kyle discuss the Fury secret
Rogi insists Kyle keep secret that Fury is probably a Remillard, explaining the cover-up and the need to keep Davy MacGregor ignorant; Kyle reluctantly agrees.
- Book 4 · Ch 9Paul discusses Unity crisis with Poltroyans
Paul tells Minnie and Fred that coadunation news will spark conflict with Rebel magnates and that he plans to ask Davy MacGregor to chair the Directorate, despite risks.
- Book 4 · Ch 12Cordelia tries to recruit Davy
At breakfast in Cynophile Tower, Cordelia urges Davy to reconsider heading the Unity Directorate as an objective insider. He refuses, pledges to keep an open mind, and vows to destroy the Fury and Hydra.
- Book 4 · Ch 18Dorothea and Davy ride a gondola
Dorothea and Davy MacGregor discuss Fury, Denis, the Remillards and Marc; Davy voices resentment of the Dynasty.
- Book 4 · Ch 21Milieu injunction against Mental Man
After a month of silence, Davy MacGregor and the Planetary Dirigents referred Mental Man to the Concilium and forbade CEREM and Marc to publicize it or nurture embryos beyond seven weeks; many humans defied the dictum, starting the Rebellion's final act.
- Book 4 · Ch 25Dorothea reveals her face and coadunating children
At the Couthy 'Shroom, Dorothea removes her mask; the group learns children are coadunating and that Jack and Dorothea have had an unprecedented experience, to be kept secret.
- Book 4 · Ch 25Davy agrees to lobby Rebels
Paul and Fred propose Davy approach Rebel and undecided magnates before February's Concilium; Davy accepts if the Remillards do not interfere.
- Book 4 · Ch 30Marc and Cyndia discuss Molakar
Back home, Marc explains the exercise's limits and his plan to destroy Molakar; Cyndia begs him to ask Davy MacGregor for a compromise, and he reluctantly appears to agree.
- Book 4 · Ch 31Marc's ultimatum
After the Concilium's opening meeting, Marc corners Davy and demands he pass to the Lylmik a compromise: the Rebels may stay unUnified, or he will fight, showing weapons in his mind.
- Book 4 · Ch 31Davy consults the Supervisors
Davy relays the ultimatum to the four Supervisors in Syrel. They say Unifex vetoed arresting Marc. Davy refuses to arm loyalists, plans a loyalty oath and expulsion of refusers, and rejects the compromise.