Tannen Darley

Appears in: Zelerod's Doom
Sime - Male
A semi-junct Sime nearing final crisis, he made his second fortune investing in Risa Tigue's schemes for Keon's growth and became a power in the Gulf Territory legislature.  At first, he's too ill to make the long trek with Risa to Nivet Territory.
(Attributed to Jean Lorrah, via e-mail ---  May 11, 2013)   Tan is too old to disjunct, and is not consciously trying to do so. However, he now knows in his heart that Gens are people, the triumph and tragedy of unity with a small "u." Once a junct Sime undergoes that epiphany s/he is on the path to disjunction--but what would be disjunction crisis in First Year becomes Kill crisis in an adult, because actual disjunction (separation from the Kill) is physically, though not emotionally, impossible.
There are various ways to satisfy Kill crisis. Direct Gen transfer will work, often for years, if a matchmate can be found. But more often than not there is no matchmate, and a channel or Donor has to try to create the illusion of the Kill until the day when that won't work anymore and the only way to save the Sime's life is to trick him/her into taking a real Kill, a Pen Gen. But that, too, will only work so many times--and one day the sime will reach true disjunction crisis, and die rather than ever Kill again.