Biography:
Wooden Heart: Mickey is the first branch to be grown from sheer force of will. The branch grows hanging out over the ocean, which either symbolizes or enables (it’s unclear which) that he can travel farther into space than Sideria and remain for lengthy periods of time away from Atlas. He emanates on Dalgherdia and takes a job as a janitor at the Terran space station. His primary mission is to keep an eye on Tara, but the situation combined with Whirljack’s politics pushes him to become an accomplished spy. He is perhaps too good at his work: Tara barely notices him, except on those occasions when he grabs her attention by whistling – which is his subtle way of putting her on alert when he knows she is being watched by CenGov.
During her time on the station, Tara forms a romantic attachment to the scientist Edom St. John, an extremely depressing situation for Mickey – not the least because Mickey knows the real St. John is dead, and a palimpsest of his personality has been implanted in the brain of Clive Rivers, a dangerous seditionary. CenGov wants St. John to continue his xenobiological research, but in order to do so, they need a host intelligent enough to employ his intellect, and grudgingly employ one of their prisoners, the unstable Rivers. Mickey becomes so uneasy at the situation that he grows yet another branch, Tommy, and the two of them work in concert, with Tommy setting up a business concern (the nightclub Tom O’Bedlam’s) in case Tara needs a quick refuge.
Mickey’s concerns are founded. In an attempt to be rid of both Tara and Rivers, and to hide the findings of their research, General Panic rigs an explosion in their lab. Mickey predicts this and is on the scene, leading Tara through some ductwork out of the burning building. He tells her to flee into the city; as she leaves, she notices that Mickey’s kind eyes remind her of Sloane.
After Tara leaves the station, Ash continues his dual life – even after he emanates as Patrick. Mickey’s intelligence is too valuable to lose, especially once Patrick becomes prince. However, the information leak, combined with Mickey’s occasionally unexplained absences, cause General Panic to suspect him. She shoots him and he transforms into the mothman. Knowing that Mickey’s cover is blown, Ash uses alchemy to cause as much damage as possible to the station before he eludes them – by transforming into the harmless-seeming Tommy in Dalgherdia city.
Mickey’s transformation is recorded by the security cameras and is noted by the RR-2 AI when it does a routine analysis of CenGov’s classified data. When Tara becomes suspicious of Sloane and Cüinn, she asks the AI about the Atlas Tree, and he shows her the footage of Mickey. This is key to her finally understanding the truth about Ash.
After the establishment of Ailann as Archon, Tara employs Mickey as her physical trainer. It is really a cover for his position in SSOps (Skarsian Secret Operations). Mickey emanates often so that he and Tara can spar – which generally ends in a sexual liaison. Mickey always allows Tara to win despite the fact that he researches and masters any martial art he can find – literally thousands of them. One of his major tasks in SSOps is to get control of the drug trade – that is, anything decreed truly harmful (such as Black Opium 25) is eliminated while SSOps takes a cut of the distribution of all other contraband – and actively promotes Tara’s productions from RR-2. The major distribution center is Tom O’Bedlam’s on Dalgherdia – Mickey recruits Eloise, one of Tommy’s bartenders.
After Patrick’s disclosure, Mickey openly becomes the director of SSOps, leaving the more shadowy operations to Chase. Part of Mickey’s task means facing off against the Ennead, a galactic crime syndicate whose major source of revenue is trade in opium and Gyre. One of Mickey’s most effective operatives is Cara the Arrow, the little girl whose heart Ailann repaired at his ascension ceremony. During the writing of Wooden Heart, Mickey often displays his methodical streak, trying to keep the narrative on track and suggesting that they substitute a timeline of events for much of the text. Mickey is a voice of reason in the pleroma, albeit a somewhat annoying one.
Eden Blues: Early in the novel, Mickey tells Manasseh that because the pleroma consists of a multiplicity of viewpoints, it’s important to have someone stick to the facts, demonstrating a clear understanding of his nature and purpose. When it becomes necessary to take Dalgherdia back from CenGov, Mickey plans the assault with SSOps agents because he knows the science station inside and out. He is unable to lead the troops, however, since Dalgherdia’s location forces the switch to a Goliath emanation. This is predicted, and he leaves instructions for Ari – only they are surprised by the emanation of Valentin, Mickey’s brother.
Mickey’s testimony for the SongLuminants is basically a timeline of Ashtara’s activities leading to the defeat of the singularity attack. Mickey’s occupation is raised in conversation, and the Floatfish is confused by the Skarsian drug trade – how can something illegal be subject to so many regulations? If the Matriarch is promoting it, why not just make it legal? Mickey refuses to answer, miffed that his narrative has been taken off course.
During the other testimonies, Mickey is particularly annoyed by Sloane’s completely fictional account and Suibhne’s mad rantings. However, Cillian’s honesty sets him into a panic – it’s against his nature as a covert operative to reveal information to an enemy. Cillian, however, is a strategist and explains his rationale.
Charles mentions in his testimony that imbuing Dumati with a web of Skattershot – preventing General Panic from escaping – was a plan conceived by Mickey and Owen. After she is captured, Mickey supervises her interrogation personally.
The Poison Garden: At the beginning of the novel, Suzanna mentions that Mickey has been battle-training some of the K’ntasari. According to Tommy, Mickey emanated frequently after the visitation of the SongLuminants and the CenGov attack – he was being paranoid about infiltration, and wanted to supervise SSOps investigations himself. One afternoon, he is lunching with Tara and she is spooked by an observer that Mickey fails entirely to notice. This is the first clue that something is amiss.
A few weeks later, Mickey informs Tara that there is a problem with the SSOps distribution network – and that the corpses of missing operatives are found drained of blood. Mickey and Tara go to Dalgherdia – while she oversees the re-opening of the old science station as a new branch of RR Labs, Mickey conducts an investigation. He uncovers the existence of an anti-Archonist vampire cult, but before he can fully explain to Tara, Seth emanates.
Mickey’s intel gives Seth a groundwork for his infiltration of the vampire cult. He knows the time and lace of the meeting, and Mickey had also arranged for an SSOPs raid after the meeting had begun. In addition, Mickey had received a message from Wyrd Elma – but in the usual matter of prophecies, the meaning remains oblique until later in the story. Mickey points out to Seth that Lilith’s top minion is the man Tara spotted at the café.
Lilith reveals to Seth that the purpose of the vampire cult was to form a group so outlandish that Mickey couldn’t possibly infiltrate it – she’s well aware of Mickey’s capacities and didn’t want his interference.
After Lucius’s collapse and Ash’s return to Goliath, Aran emanates on Dalgherdia. Tara tells him that she wants to return to Dolparessa. Mickey argues for the immediate continuation of the search for Lilith, but Aran vetoes it – he sees that Tara is exhausted and needs comforting surroundings.
When Owen is abducted, Mickey is able to trace him through his knowledge of Eirelantra station. He is befuddled by the fact that Lilith has a gun – he doesn’t know how it could’ve gotten past security. Ethan tells him that the gun was laced with nul-matter.
In “The Laughing Cloud Prophecy,” Mickey offers a completely rational, evidence-based explanation of the unusual events at the opening of Tommy’s casino. This explanation satisfies nobody but Mickey. Tara speaks highly of the martial arts training she has received from Mickey in “The Prophecy of Games.”
The Perpetual Rose: Tara shows the trading cards to Rand, telling him that Cüinn and Mickey tabulated the statistics. Mickey is mostly in the background of the story, aiding with the development of glowkrill and strategizing about the attack at Nightside. When the spreadsheet for the trading cards is revealed, Tommy points out that Mickey has had 423 sexual encounters with Tara, the second highest number in the pleroma. Mickey emanates briefly at the end of the tale to help with the cleanup on Shambhala.
The Portable Grove: Mickey instigates the investigation of Tara’s ancestry, but he is soon replaced by Thomas – Tara has discovered the candles, and evoked Thomas by burning one.
Mickey indicates on the cross-pollination survey that he is interested in Lucius, so Tara sets them up. In the second stress-test, he ends up in a fountain full of bubble-soap with Lucius, Lens, Valentin and Ailann. Lucius is interested in Ailann because he likes a man “with a firm anther,” so Mickey gets into a contest of one-upsmanship with Ailann. Lucius, intoxicated by bubbles and champagne, succumbs to Mickey’s charms while Ailann is distracted by Evan and Daniel.
Mickey takes Lucius, Valentin and Lens to Suibhne’s Turkish bath on the third floor. They witness the domination contest between Cillian and Marius while the dessert buffet is displayed. Mickey seduces Tara with his dessert, nau’gsh shave ice with lychee sorbet and cendol.
Correspondence Chart Entries from The Portable Grove
| Denotation | Michael “Mickey” Riley (Hebrew: he is like God; Gaelic: valiant). |
| Numeration | 5th emanation of Ashtara; 5th branch of Atlas; 43 in the correspondence chart. |
| Age | 27 |
| Hotness | 8/10 |
| Vital Statistics | 1.770 meters tall, cock size 16.62 cm when erect. |
| Description | Blandly handsome; capable of playing dumb, but there is a mischievous look in his eyes. Thin, but with wiry musculature, has medium blond hair, cut very short. When not in SSOps uniform, he wears casual slacks or jeans paired with outrageously printed shirts, as if perpetually on an island shore leave. |
| Skills | Intelligence agent and martial artist. Went undercover as a CenGov officer on Dalgherdia, and used being Tara’s personal trainer as a cover for his clandestine operations. |
| Sexual Prowess and Kinks | Fighting gets him hot. |
| Average Duration of Play | 9 minutes, 35 seconds. |
| Totem Tree | Metasequoia glyptostroboides, the dawn redwood. |
| Fixed Star | Tsze Tseang, the vice-general (ι Leo). |
| Color |  |
| Esoteric Symbol | The Etruscan letter (th) |
| Function | Establishing inertia. |
| Official Title | Director of Skarsian Secret Operations. |
| His Prophecy | One who sees behind corners. |
| Dessert | Nau’gsh shave ice with lychee sorbet and cendol. |
Persistence of Weeds Addendum
| Branch Growth Characteristics | Natural branch growth, but was willed into existence by Whirljack (the first known branch of his kind) and was also an overhanging branch capable of existing off-world (the first known branch of his kind). Used as a template for his half-brothers on Goliath, Valentin and Marius. |
| Nul-history | Was joined to Ross and Cüinn, and in the process of synchronization with Owen-Lugh when they were all drawn into Atlas. |
| Proto-conscious Root Concept | Organization, designated Order. |
| Prime Number of Energy Resonance | 191 |
| From Self-Portraits Not-of-Me II: Baby Pictures by Driscoll Garrett |  |