James MacKelvie
Names: James MacKelvieJim MacKelvieJimMacKelvie
First appears in Book 3: Diamond Mask, chapter 24 (SECTOR 12: STAR 12-337-010 [GRIAN] PLANET 4 [CALEDONIA] 13-14 AN GEBLEAN [24-25 NOVEMBER] 2077)
Appearances
What you know
Book 3: Diamond Mask
- Ch 24Jim MacKelvie is Caledonia's chief CE geophysicist; he fears the diverted magma would not stay coherent over three hundred kloms.
- Ch 24Went down in the small deep-driller with Tormod and Ailsa to get an in situ magma analysis within fourteen hours.
- Ch 25Jim MacKelvie commands the drill-rigs during descent and leads the eight-person degassing metaconcert that separates volatiles from the magma.
- Ch 25Jim MacKelvie leads the other CE operators in the metaconcert; he is stunned when someone else speaks to him by farspeech in the asthenosphere.
Connections
- leadsdegassing operation
- leadsCE operators
Key moments
- Book 3 · Ch 24Supper council
The operators discuss Neelya's diversion plan and its risks; Jack says yes to designing a new approach using two metaconcerts to separate volatiles and delay eruption.
- Book 3 · Ch 24Dual metaconcert plan agreed
Jon proposes pairing himself and the Dirigent in a double metaconcert to contain Caledonia's magma; the group agrees, and the driller team goes to collect magma data before training.
- Book 3 · Ch 25Degassing begins and the queue ruptures
Jack and Dorothea form a lid over the magma reservoir while the other eight separate volatiles. Hours in, the rising queue breaks through the sheath and the alarm sounds.
- Book 3 · Ch 25Dysergism and flashover
Diamond's unexpected surge of creativity overwhelms the metaconcert, the reservoir lid collapses and flashover badly injures her. Jack rebuilds the metaconcert and a new, thicker lid holds.
- Book 3 · Ch 25Mysterious helper joins the metaconcert
As Jack prepares to abort, an unidentified powerful mind speaks by CE-enhanced farspeech, offers to phase in as a creativity brainboard and shouts to continue; Jack recognizes it with hysterical laughter.