Neil is the protégée son of Victor and Serena O’ryan. Tossed around and bullied as a kid, Neil is the picture of torture. He suffers in silence in his early childhood, and takes it all in. In his childhood days, he would spend time reading every technology magazine he would see in the library. This introduced him to the world of computers. When in high school, while others are in the gym watching cheerleaders or in the court playing basketball, Neil would be alone—either in the lagoon reading magazines that he borrowed from the library, or in the computer lab room, occupying his mind with information all related to technology, specifically computers. No wonder, when he got a scholarship (he spends endless hours in front of his computer or in the school computer laboratory room, surfing the net for Colleges offering school subsidy, and when he found one, he did not hesitate to apply for a scholarship to Harvard University to take Bachelor of Science in Information Technology as he thinks that nearly every business needs information technology graduates, and he can live wherever he wants without having to worry about finding a job. At Harvard, Neil meets the love of his life, Pamela; the charming and pleasant freshmen’s block head. Even at Harvard, bullies found their way to belittle Neil. As he didn’t want to pick a fight, Neil would just stay in his dormitory, tweaking his computer even at the wee hours of the morning. With his pc, he found a more favorable environment—a virtual zone where he would be anything but what he is at present. One of the courses that he took while in Harvard requires students to create a mobile or gaming app. He decided to use the opportunity to develop the app he already had in mind. He was in his 2nd year in Harvard then. When the day that students were to present their designs, his work was utterly criticized by some ill-meaning students making him feel so sorry for his self. That was the turning point in his college life. Even though Neil was really passionate about his course and intended to graduate, this even put his college education to come to an end. He drops out of the University to join the army–an unexpected move for many. He serves his country well until he gets discharged later on due to unforeseen circumstances. It was only confirmed that because of his constant extended exposure to the ionizing radiation given off by his computer monitor, which he religiously opens during the night when everybody else is fast asleep and after a whole day training, just to communicate with Pamela, and to spend more desirable time within the virtual world, which he so desires to conquer, he eventually developed what is called a computer induced medical problem. In just a couple of years that he was in the Army, he was considered candidate for glaucoma in one of the yearly physical examinations that was conducted to check if he is still fit to continue in the service. After religiously following the army Surgeon, his vision was saved. They call them Surgeons instead of Doctors because the medics out in the units are nicknamed “Doc.” When he was again fit to go back to the army, Neil decides to leave instead. Throughout the story, Neil is haunted by the ghost of his father and repeatedly tries to convince himself that he will not be like his father. ‘I will not be like daddy’ is the alarm ring set on his mind. Neil is evidently battling with self-esteem but he tries keeping a float no matter what. He aims at being better than his dad. Neil, having been discharged from the army seeks to rebuild his life. His close friend Amar, an established computer engineer, guides him on this path. Amar is impressed by Neil’s computer skills and offers him a job at his company. He now works for his friend, another submissive factor of his life. He goes right from taking orders from his army superiors to taking orders from his childhood friend. He is always on the receiving end. Devin and Rufus, two of his friends, also play significant roles in the development of the story. Devin is also a close friend of Neil and a professor in the University of Montana. He is an avid historian and a charming buddy. Rufus, on the other hand, is Neil’s closest and best friend. He has been there for Neil and Pamela all their lives. Rufus’s annoying behavior is much to put up with. Not many can stand him. He tends to annoy more than please. Neil understands him and is not bothered by his behavior. Neil can relate to Rufus given his own past esteem issues, he can feel with how Rufus feels when he is shunned by others and this makes him more comfortable around him. Jill is the accepting sister of Victor, who also happens to be Neil’s crying shoulder. She is the closest that Neil considers as her second mom, as her biological mother, Serena, could not seem to have time for him since his father, Victor got sick. Jill knows most of Neil’s secret and is always the first person to know what his present concerns are, and seems to know Neil more than his parents do.

Victor O’ryan, is too heavy for good health, but is not afraid to gain more weight. He adds pound after pound as he is a heavy drinker. Victor is married to Serena O’ryan, a nurse by profession, but has, since marrying Victor, resigned from her job to take care of his ailing husband instead. At age 28, Victor met Serena while confined in a hospital after being diagnosed of having developed fatty liver disease that needs to be treated immediately to avoid further damaging effects to his liver. While at the hospital, Serena, who was one of the roaming nurses, learned so much about Victor (the raucous, attention-craving, humorous person that most of his close friends came to know him as the real him), and developed fondness with him within a short time. When Victor was discharged from the hospital, he started courting Serena. The latter who has been so engrossed in her job that she didn’t have time to notice that there is more than the four corners of the hospital, finally realized that she, too, need a breather. With the stress-free Victor, she found respite. Suddenly, she could laugh and not be too concerned about others’ needs, and just found being with Victor relieving. Their frequent clandestine encounters soon ended up with each other’s exchange of “I do’s.” Victor was 36, Serena 35 when they were married. Unfortunately, their romance was short-lived. Shortly after they were married, Victor returned to his casual drinking spree with his friends. Eventually, Victor’s greed became even more evident in his over grown status and his social stupidity. He is a total disappointment to his son, Neil, who was born two years after Victor and Serena got married, who craves nothing more than not to be like him. Victor has a daughter, Jill O’ryan, Neil’s sister. Victor is a pompous idiot whose lack of better judgment is evident. Having married nurse shows more of fortune has favored a fool.