Altered Carbon

Takeshi Kovacs is the protagonist and narrator of Altered Carbon. He is a former member of the Envoys Corps and possesses unique skills and strengths as a covert operative. His training equips him to control his emotions, and he does not allow the traumatic events that have shaped his life to affect his work. He suppresses upsetting thoughts, calling them “emotional rubble [he] got used to seeing, like the silt on the surface of [his] soul” (66). He initially treats his grief and anger as obstacles to be suppressed, aligning himself with the mercenary logic of working for whoever pays him. He even prides himself on his control of his emotions and the advantages this gives him in his work. This is his attitude when Laurens Bancroft hires him to investigate his suspicious death.

Kovacs proves to be a dynamic character, however, and he eventually becomes furious on observing the injustices around him. As he uncovers the conspiracy concocted by the Meths, Kovacs shifts from detached professionalism to a pursuit of vengeance. He decides: “Someone was going to pay for all this. Personal. But this was more than personal” (312). After he witnesses innocent people being abused and murdered in the pursuit of power and pleasure, he is unable to compartmentalize his pain like he once did.