Andrew Thomason

Rector

Mykentos was able to discover the identity of the Rector by following a series of clues. Firstly, when they were active the Rector made no in person appearances. This was ostenibly for security reasons, as Katatoman desperately wanted to find and eliminate the Rector. When Katatoman was deposed, the Assembly attempted to name the Rector Hilt, but the Rector would decline and instead endorse Mark Thomason for the position. This is very much in Andrew's character, as he is often seen working in the background in support of Mark.   During the Reformation, Andrew was not in a visable position, having been forcibly removed as Hilt by Gavin and was deliberately maintaining a low profile. He had assumed a position on the board of Thomason Holdings, but made no public appearances and largely remained in seclusion at his various properties on Terra. This was in contrast to Mark, who was highly visable and making frequent public appearances and was at the center of a flurry of communications.   In the lead up to the coup when Mark was under repeated attack, Andrew contacted the Rector and asked them to speak to the Assembly. This was in spite of nobody having had contact with the Rector in decades, including Mark. When the Rector does speak, Mykentos questions whether Mark is the Rector as Mark was not in the room. However, Mark was with Ryoto Tokugawa. Only Gavin and Andrew were not present, and during the Reformation Gavin was the Mykentian ambassador to the Old Regime.   During discussions on the role of Mykentos in the establishment of the Fourth Path, Xavier suggests that the Mykentians need their own version of the Rector. Andrew then describes how the Rector operated, something nobody could possibly know.   Prior to meeting with Tlekdoros to negotiate the alliance of Monsos, Andrew accidentally puts on robes similar to the Rector, rather than his ambassadorial robes, commenting that "robes are such odd things."   Andrew later has a long philosophical discussion with Leon about the nature of humanity and whether the Thomasons are still human. He attempts to end the discussion by commenting that he is not accustomed to philosophical debates, in spite of being the one who started it.   The teachings of the Rector included messages to be more self reliant, urging people to grow more of their own food in home gardens and to be less dependent on other worlds for their daily needs. Both Mark and Mykentos would realize that this was precisely the lesson that would be needed for populations to survive after the arrival of the Enmalex. The Thomasons themselves had come to this conclusion only after decades of research, so it seemed the Rector has access to their research. As nobody outside the Anatos Mission had that detailed level of knowledge, it had to have come from someone inside it, someone who went to great lengths to conceal their identity.   In his Thanksgiving speech, Andrew would quote the Rector as saying "That which is greatest is that which is shared." Mykentos would latch onto this quote as an anomaly. He had studied the Rector in detail, and with his near photographic memory could recall all the statements of the Rector, and this was not one of them. Yet, it was something the Rector would have said.   Mykentos addresses Andrew as Rector, and Andrew merely smiles in response.