Three very important characters in The Twins of Demeter are the organic cyborgs that interface with the three starships. Pictured below from bottom left to top right are Cassiopeia, Andromeda and Aquarius. The only male aboard the ships, Paul, renames them Cassie, Dharma and Carrie. In the book, designers of the starships and the scientists in charge of “population” decided to emphasize racial diversity and so Cassie represents Asian heritage; Dharma represents Euro-Mediterranean, and Carrie is of African heritage.
The Three Organic Cybernetic “Mothers”
The design of the three starships requires monitoring by artificial intelligence and a capacity of this intelligence to maintain the starships as well as see to the needs of the one human passenger placed on board the starship Andromeda. In order to accomplish these requirements, the designers decided to place aboard each ship a female “organic” with the capacity for independent action as well as the capacity to learn, adapt and even acquire emotional responses. The choice of female replicant, rather than male, was made owing to the relationship children would have to the parent encountered after birthing.
The type of cybernetic organic the women represent had been outlawed on earth to prevent social confusion. However, their immense capacity for interaction with their ships made them a necessity in space. When the human male – named Paul – is brought out of stasis, he is attended to by the organic identified as Andromeda.
Within a short time, Paul meets the other so-called organics from the other two ships; Cassiopeia and Aquarius. Paul feels that referring to the “mothers” by their ship designation is awkward and decides to shorten their names for his own convenience. He names his first encounter with Andromeda as Dharma. His choice is intuitive, but the organic “likes” the name. The other two female organics he names Carrie for Aquarius and Cassie for Cassiopeia. Paul also dispenses with the distinction of the organics as a separate artificial intelligence and regards them as women. In time, his decisions matter and create many nuanced aspects of relationship that benefit the journey through the stars and eventual colonization of a new world.
Red Moth Writings 