Contact: A Novel

Palmer Joss is a central deuteragonist and a foil to Ellie Arroway. A prominent Christian fundamentalist preacher, he represents a more sophisticated perspective of faith than the literalist viewpoint of his colleague, Billy Jo Rankin. Central to the novel’s exploration of reconciling faith and reason, Joss is far more than the simplistic stereotype of a religious dogmatist. He is intelligent and articulate, and he possesses a genuine intellectual curiosity. Having educated himself in science and classics during his youth as a carnival performer, he first found his faith in the middle of a near-death experience. Notably, he is critical of the excesses within both organized religion and science, arguing against religion’s absurd excesses while also cautioning that science overestimates its own certainty.

Joss’s role in the narrative is to challenge Ellie’s strict empiricism and to articulate a thoughtful, faith-based response to the discovery of extraterrestrial intelligence. His initial skepticism of the scientific establishment is rooted in a belief that scientists “overestimate what they know and underestimate what [people of faith] know” (111). He fears that scientists, in their search for material truth, will overlook the spiritual and moral implications of the Message. However, his interactions with Ellie reveal his capacity for growth and open-mindedness, and their relationship evolves from one of ideological opposition to one of mutual respect and trust. He is one of the few characters who listens to her account of the journey without immediately dismissing her. In the end, his worldview demonstrates that faith and reason are not mutually exclusive, and it is no accident that Ellie chooses him as the keeper of her written testimony.

David Drumlin functions as a frequently antagonistic character and a professional foil to Ellie. An older man who once served as Ellie’s mentor, he is a brilliant but insecure radio astronomer whose ambitions far outweigh his sense of scientific wonder. Portrayed as a largely static character, Drumlin is driven by a powerful ego and a relentless need for professional validation. He exhibits an “extreme intellectual territoriality” (24), viewing science not as a collaborative search for truth but as a fiercely competitive arena in which he must be the “Fastest Gun in the West” (25). This competitive nature makes him initially hostile to SETI, which he dismisses as an unscientific waste of valuable resources that could be used for more conventional, career-advancing projects. He sees Ellie as a rival and responds to her scientific passion with condescension.

When the Message is confirmed, Drumlin’s ambition compels him to pivot from a staunch critic of SETI to an opportunistic leader of the decoding efforts. He quickly positions himself at the forefront of the discovery, using his considerable intellect and political skill to coopt the project and sideline Ellie. His self-serving motivations are aimed at securing personal glory and professional advancement, and he successfully maneuvers his way into being selected as the American representative to travel in the Machine. However, when he gives up his own life to save Ellie from the disastrous explosion that sabotages the American Machine, he is recast in a role of unlikely yet ambiguous heroism. His final, selfless act provides a moment of redemption, suggesting the existence of a hidden capacity for sacrifice beneath his otherwise self-involved exterior.

Peter Valerian initially serves as a mentor figure for Ellie and soon becomes a staunch friend. He represents the soul of scientific inquiry and is driven by pure curiosity. A gentle and unassuming astronomer, Valerian is a static character whose unwavering support for SETI renders him an essential member of the team. While other mainstream scientists like Drumlin view SETI with disdain, Valerian uses its goals to allow his imagination to soar beyond the humdrum rhythm of conventional research. He is one of the few faculty members who encourages Ellie’s interest in the subject and provides her with the intellectual and emotional support that she needs to pursue a professionally risky field.

Valerian’s approach to science is a blend of romantic wonder and rigorous discipline. He repeatedly stresses that all speculation about alien life must be confronted with “sober physical reality” (26), and this approach acts as a “sieve that separated the rare useful speculation from torrents of nonsense” (26). He remains a steadfast ally to Ellie, providing a consistent voice of reason and encouragement. His refusal to be considered for the Machine crew is based in his unwillingness to leave his wife, and it is clear that he is grounded in human connection. In this, he stands as a quiet counterpoint to the cosmic ambitions driving many of his colleagues.

Vaygay is a key supporting character who functions as Ellie’s most important international ally. As a brilliant and worldly Soviet physicist, Vaygay demonstrates a commitment to Overcoming Human Provincialism. He is a Nobel laureate who skillfully navigates the political minefield of the Soviet system, using his wit and scientific prestige to maintain a degree of intellectual independence. His collaborative relationship with Ellie demonstrates that the scientific quest for knowledge can and must transcend the nationalistic rivalries that dominate terrestrial politics. When others are focused on secrecy and strategic advantage, Vaygay champions the open exchange of data and ideas, recognizing that decoding the Message is a task for the entire planet.

Vaygay serves as a voice of sophisticated and often cynical wisdom. While he is a dedicated scientist, he is also acutely aware of human folly and the potential for political and social catastrophe. He is one of the first to speculate that the Message contains instructions for a machine, but he is also one of the first to worry about the consequences of building it. He expresses concern that humanity, in its eagerness, may be walking into a trap, or that contact will result in a form of cultural humiliation, with humans being treated as provincials from a “pathetic little village” (180). Yet despite his world-weary perspective, he remains a humane and hopeful character, forming a strong, affectionate bond with Ellie and the other members of the Five.

S. R. Hadden is an enigmatic billionaire industrialist who acts as an unseen force in the novel, simultaneously embodying the archetypes of the eccentric mentor and the trickster. He is a reclusive genius who has amassed a fortune through Hadden Cybernetics, a company built on his iconoclastic inventions. In the latter half of the novel, he operates from his private, orbiting space station, Methuselah, existing in a realm beyond the reach of society’s legal and ethical constraints. He manipulates events with a detached, almost godlike influence. Obsessed with matters of time, power, and immortality, he eventually decides to fake his own death and launch himself into interstellar space in a cryogenic vessel named Gilgamesh, hoping that a future civilization will someday discover and revive him.

Hadden’s role in the story is largely as a plot device, for he provides crucial assistance at key moments and keeps the quest to build the Machine moving forward despite various setbacks. His suggestion to look for phase modulation leads Ellie to discover the primer hidden within the Message, and he later uses his vast industrial power to ensure that the Japanese Machine is completed. He is at once a cynical capitalist and a visionary who believes in the transformative potential of the Machine. Even as his immense resources push humanity toward its cosmic destiny, he simultaneously pursues his own egotistical quest to transcend death, and his motivations are therefore an odd mixture of altruism and self-interest.

Kenneth der Heer is a supporting character who represents the intersection of science and government. As the president’s science adviser, he is a rational, politically astute man who has been tasked with navigating the immense bureaucratic and diplomatic challenges that arise from the Message. A molecular biologist by training, der Heer is capable of understanding the scientific implications of the discovery, but his primary role is political. He initially acts as a crucial ally and mediator for Ellie when he defends the Argus Project within the White House and attempts to bridge the cultural gap between the single-minded scientists and the cautious, security-focused bureaucrats.

Der Heer’s romantic relationship with Ellie adds a more personal dimension to the narrative, but his professional obligations eventually force him into positions of compromise that conflict with Ellie’s idealistic, uncompromising stance. Because he is a pragmatist who understands the necessity of political maneuvering and makes concessions to antagonistic figures like Michael Kitz, his relationship with Ellie is ultimately doomed, and the romance between the two cools significantly and comes to an end when Ken prioritizes his political obligations over his bond with Ellie. Thus, while he is a steadfast supporter of the project and of Ellie personally, his presence in the narrative highlights the inherent difficulties of maintaining scientific integrity within the high-stakes world of international politics.