One of those kidnapped researchers is mathematician Daniel Sheppard who is shown to be unfashionable, socially awkward, not physically fit, brilliant but reluctant to express his opinion on anything about which he is less than 100% certain, and comforted by the unquestionable reliability of numbers. In other words, he is a stereotypical fictional math professor, and he goes on to play a major role in this novel and its sequel.

Spoiler alert: Don't read below this line if you want to be surprised by the ending of this novel.

Spoiler alert: Don't read below this line if you want to be surprised by the ending of this novel.

Spoiler alert: Don't read below this line if you want to be surprised by the ending of this novel.

Although a reluctant participant at first, Sheppard rises to a position of authority in the International Space Agency and ends up being the only adult on a space ship carrying 100 children to safety. This "Ender's Game"-ish scenario is where the sequel Regenesis picks up, but there is even less math in that book and so I don't currently plan to give it a separate entry in this database.