Shira is a twenty-something psychoengineer working within the corporate multi of Yakamura-Stichen. After losing custody of her son, she returns to her childhood home in the free town of Tikva. She feels emotionally numbed by her divorce and her lingering teenage heartbreak. In Tikva, she takes on the complex task of socializing a newly created cyborg, forcing her to reevaluate her capacity for human connection.

Yod is the tenth iteration of a cyborg created to defend the town of Tikva from information pirates. He is physically indistinguishable from a human male but possesses incredible strength, speed, and sensory capabilities. Uniquely, he contains programming designed to give him human personality traits and emotions. He reads literature like Frankenstein and actively questions his own nature and purpose.

Gadi is a famous designer of stimmies (virtual reality experiences) who lives a hedonistic lifestyle in the corporate multis. Banished from his corporate enclave for inappropriate behavior, he returns to his father's house in Tikva. He struggles with his father's relentless disapproval and constantly seeks external validation. He relies on illegal sensory spikes and superficial charm to mask his deep-seated insecurities.

Malkah is Shira's grandmother and the head of security programming for Tikva. An eccentric and brilliant coder, she provides Yod with his personality and human traits to balance his capacity for violence. She actively engages in cyber warfare against corporate hackers to protect her town. She narrates a historical bedtime story to Yod to help him understand his purpose.

Avram is a Base Overseer in Tikva and a brilliant robotics scientist. He works in secret to build illegal cyborgs capable of protecting the town from corporate raids. He views his creations strictly as tools and weapons, lacking the emotional empathy his colleague Malkah provides. He applies this same rigid, demanding expectation to his human son.

Josh is Shira's ex-husband and a dedicated corporate citizen of Yakamura-Stichen. He acts as a marrano, hiding his Jewish heritage behind practicing revivalist Shintoism to blend into the multi's corporate culture. He uses the legal system to take sole custody of their son, aligning himself completely with his employer's rigid social structures.

Ari is the young son of Shira and Josh. He becomes the focal point of a bitter custody battle when his parents divorce. His existence outside of Tikva causes his mother constant anxiety and motivates her initial actions.

Riva is Malkah's daughter and Shira's largely absent mother. She works as a notorious information pirate who liberates corporate data and provides essential resources to the public. She operates purely on tactical logic, viewing familial attachments as secondary to her ideological war against the corporate multis.

Nili is a mercenary and assassin from an irradiated, female-only community in Israel. Her body features extreme cybernetic and genetic augmentations that grant her superhuman physical abilities. She arrives in Tikva to assess whether the outside world is ready to learn about her hidden society.

Judah Loew is a hotheaded kabbalist who seeks to protect the Jewish ghetto of Prague from violent persecution. Recognizing that words and debates are insufficient against hostile mobs, he uses mysticism and river clay to construct a powerful protector for his people.

Joseph is the Golem of Prague, an artificial being created by Judah to patrol the ghetto at night. He possesses immense physical strength but lacks a complete understanding of human norms. He works as a shamash in the synagogue while acting as an unofficial policeman.

Chava is a widowed midwife living in the Jewish ghetto of Prague. She teaches Joseph how to read and write, treating him with more patience than others do. She represents the human connection that Joseph desires but can never fully attain.

Thaddeus is a Spanish priest and member of the Inquisition. He actively stokes anti-Semitic hatred in Prague, challenging the Jewish leadership and attempting to incite mob violence against the ghetto.

Gimel is one of Avram's earlier, partially successful cyborg experiments. Lacking the sophisticated socialization programming of later models, Gimel functions simply as a domestic servant and basic service robot within Avram's household.

Lazarus is the unaugmented leader of an underground resistance group operating in the Glop. He aims to unite the disparate street gangs into a cohesive force capable of challenging the dominance of the corporate multis.

Dr. Rhodes is a top cybernetics expert working for the Yakamura-Stichen corporation. He displays an intense, predatory interest in Tikva's technological secrets, specifically focusing his attention on Yod's capabilities.