Kady Grant

**Kady Eleanora Grant** is the main character and protagonist of *Illuminae,* a minor character in *Gemina* and a major character in *Obsidio*.

## History

### Early Life

At some point in the mid-26th century, Kady Grant's father, Isaac Grant, met Helena Grant on the planet of Willarie III. They later married and Helena gave birth to a single child, whom she called Kady.

Little else is known about Kady's early life, except that her family moved to the Kerenza IV outpost at some point. Her father began work as engineer at Heimdall Jump Station, the wormhole operated by the Wallace Ulyanov Consortium.

In school, Kady was exceptionally talented in programming, coding, and other computer-related skills. In the year of 2575 (or possibly earlier) Kady met and fell in love with Ezra Mason, another student her age. Kady and Ezra were a couple for some time, until they broke up shortly before the attack on Kerenza.

### *Illuminae*

#### Battle of Kerenza IV

Kady was one of the many victims of the BeiTech Industries assault on Kerenza IV. When BeiTech Director of Acquisitions, David Taylor, discovered that the rival company Wallace Ulyanov Consortium (WUC) was conducting illegal hermium mining operation on Kerenza IV, he orchestrated a full-scale invasion of the planet. Four dreadnought ships, *Kenyatta, Lincoln, Churchill,* and *Zhongzheng,* were used to attack the colony, along with Mobile Jump Platform *Magellan.*

In the opening missile salvo, Kady broke out of her school by smashing a window. She hijacked a van, and with the help of Ezra Mason, she managed to escape on the evacuating fleet, running over multiple BeiTech personnel on the way. However, Kady was forced aboard research vessel *Hypatia*, and Ezra was shuttled onto the military vessel *Alexander-78V*.

#### On Board the *Hypatia*

After the fleet's escape from Kerenza IV, the order was given across the fleet to conscript all able civilian personnel. Kady underwent rigorous testing, but yielded no results- the conscription file detailed her as difficult to work with and unsociable.

Kady's mother Helena voluntarily moved to the third fleet ship *Copernicus*, in the hopes that she could assist with the growing health concerns on *Copernicus.* Kady tried multiple times to transfer to the *Copernicus* to be with her mother, but was denied three times. Unbeknownst to her, Helena had filed a request for Kady to be kept on *Hypatia* under all circumstances, fearing for her safety.

Sometime later, Kady was contacted by Ezra via inter-ship email. It was only after several emails that Kady finally began contact with him. Ezra, clearly convinced that their relationship could be salvaged, sent her an image of flower made from ASCII text. Kady, somewhat touched by it, maintained contact with Ezra.

When the BeiTech dreadnought *Lincoln* (the only surviving and undamaged BeiTech vessel from the Kerenza assault) was confirmed to be pursuing the fleet, Kady began hacking into *Hypatia* systems with the help of Byron Zhang, a tech engineer aboard the *Hypatia.* Together, they recovered data from the *Alexander,* most concerning the damaged ship AI known as AIDAN.

##### Destruction of *Copernicus*

With only weeks to the arrival of the *Alexander*'s fleet at Heimdall Jump Station, AIDAN launched the *Alexander's* nuclear missiles at the *Copernicus,* annihilating it. However, a group of survivors escaped the wreckage in shuttles, aiming for the *Alexander's* hangar bays. AIDAN commanded Ezra Mason (who had been conscripted as a pilot for the fleet's defense) and his squad to destroy the shuttles. They were unsuccessful, however, and many shuttles landed in Hangar Bay 4. AIDAN was then shut down by the *Alexander* technicians.

*Alexander* General David Torrence spread misinformation aboard the *Alexander* and *Hypatia*, saying that the attack was caused by a stray missile from the *Lincoln,* knowing that the public would panic if they knew the true nature of the attack- that AIDAN had disobeyed direct orders from Torrence and caused the destruction of the *Copernicus.*

Kady discovered a file- specifically, an After-Action Report by First Lieutenant Winifred McCall- that involved Sergeant James McNulty, a close friend of Ezra's. The AAR followed McCall's squad (Sigma Squad) during their mission in Hangar Bay 4. They were ordered by Torrence to dispatch all of the remaining survivors from *Copernicus* in Hangar Bay 4, due to the concern that they were infected with an 'Alpha Zero Pathogen'. However, Sigma Squad was ambushed, and McNulty was trapped in the airlock to Bay 4 in their escape.

With more research, Grant unearthed multiple *Copernicus* medical reports. She discovered that, during the initial assault on Kerenza IV, BeiTech had used a missile loaded with an experimental pathogen. Dubbed by *Copernicus* scientist Tobias Salinger 'Phobos', the pathogen's original intent was to render the infected catatonic for a 24-48 hour period. However, when infected refugees boarded the *Copernicus,* the virus was carried and circulated throughout the ship. Phobos mutated into a second variant, called Phobos Beta. Phobos Beta was a far more dangerous than its original variant. The Beta variant affected various crucial parts of the brain, rendering the victim insane or psychotic. Many Beta-infected residents were the cause of murders and violence on the *Copernicus,* to the point where AIDAN in its damaged state deemed *Copernicus* a danger to fleet safety and destroyed it.

##### Second Battle with *Lincoln*

However, more pressing was the threat of the rapidly approaching *Lincoln.* The dreadnought was due to intercept the fleet in a matter of hours. As the *Alexander* scrambled to prepare defenses, Kady and Zhang prepared a different type of weapon—a string of code designed to create self-replicating, unsolvable questions to which reboot of the system is the only solution. Though this 'logic bomb' would not destroy the *Lincoln,* it would hopefully slow it enough for the fleet to make it to Heimdall.

Mere hours before the battle, Zhang was forcefully brought over from the *Hypatia* to the *Alexander* to assist in the rebooting of AIDAN, in the hopes that it could assist in the fight. During the transfer, violence broke out and Ann Chau, captain of *Hypatia,* was shot and killed.

Once the *Lincoln* intercepted the fleet, Ezra was one of the many pilots sent out to slow the dreadnought long enough for Zhang (and Kady) to complete the code. He was successful. With the help of a rebooted AIDAN, the logic bomb was completed and used against the *Lincoln*, forcing its shutdown. Thanks to Grant, Zhang, and the AI, the fleet was safe for the moment. Ezra returned to *Alexander* as a hero.

But this did not last. When AIDAN realised Torrence was making efforts to shut him down again, it deemed Torrence a threat to fleet security—and decided to terminate him by opening the doors to Hangar Bay 4.

The 156 psychotic Beta-infected inhabitants of Bay 4 followed a direct path made by AIDAN to Torrence and his crew of twelve. Though they fought valiantly, the afflicted overcame them and killed them. However, AIDAN did not account for the circulation of the virus. Within hours, the afflicted had spread throughout the ship. A group of escapees arrive at the *Hypatia,* including a former member of Mason's squad. Unfortunately for them, they are later spaced when one of their members shows symptoms of Phobos Beta.

#### *Alexander* and Phobos

Shortly after the death of Torrence, AIDAN contacted Acting Captain of *Hypatia* Syra Boll via radio. AIDAN warned Boll that should *Hypatia* attempt to flee from the *Alexander*, they would be destroyed by nuclear payloads. AIDAN requested a team of engineers and technicians from the *Hypatia* to transfer to *Alexander,* maintaining that the fleet would have a better chance of survival if AIDAN was fixed. Its request was denied, but *Hypatia* did not flee, fearing destruction.

Contacting Ezra, Kady feared for his life. Ezra replied, telling her that he was still alive, but the afflicted were spreading throughout the ship. Kady forced her way into Syra Boll's quarters and demanded to be allowed a shuttle to travel to *Alexander*. She was denied and commanded to report to neurogramming, due to her proficiency with coding. She neglected to and instead stole Shuttle 49A to travel to the *Alexander,* taking with her a hazmat suit.

Arriving at the *Alexander,* Kady, rather than heading towards Ezra's location, decided to inspect Hangar Bay 4. As all of the afflicted had circulated through the ship, she explored it with no troubles. The reason for this was Winifred McCall's AAR of Bay 4. Briefly during her report, McCall mentions seeing something moving in one of the shuttles. Kady, believing that her mother could be somehow be alive and unaffected by the virus, inspects the shuttles. Unbeknownst to her, AIDAN was watching her through security cameras. She found no trace of her mother in either shuttle, confirming her death.

Kady then made her way to the core server rooms, having being told by Ezra that he was hiding from the afflicted there. However, she found only a deranged and infected Byron Zhang, hacking AIDAN's servers apart in his madness. Kady ran from Zhang, who chased her with an axe. Eventually, she managed to soothe Zhang, but only momentarily. Zhang, realising he tried to harm Grant, electrocuted and killed himself.

After his death, AIDAN spoke to Kady, revealing that it faked her conversations with Ezra following the battle with *Lincoln,* in order to bring her to the *Alexander*, to stop Zhang from dealing any more damage to AIDAN. Kady, furious, moved to destroy the rest of AIDAN's server banks, until it told her that over a thousand uninfected personnel remain aboard the *Alexander.* They struck a deal, AIDAN agreeing to help evacuate the unafflicted, Kady agreeing to help repair AIDAN to fight the once-more approaching *Lincoln.*

Kady contacted Winifred McCall, who was unafflicted and alive, hiding from the roaming Beta-infected. McCall and Kady organised a mass exodus from the *Alexander*, mobilising every unafflicted personnel aboard towards the hangar bays. In the end, only 659 of the thousand escaped with their lives, including McCall and Danny Corron. After the exodus, Grant contacted Syra Boll, telling her to flee from the *Alexander* for their own safety. She reveals that AIDAN's threat was a bluff- despite the AI being damaged, its priority was still to protect the fleet.

#### Third Battle with *Lincoln* and Aftermath

Kady stayed behind and made her way past hundreds of afflicted to the *Alexander's* drive redundancy systems, in order to repair AIDAN. After doing so, she and AIDAN began to prepare their defenses for the rapidly approaching *Lincoln.* They both knew the ensuing battle would be one of mutual destruction- AIDAN had not the speed to outrun the *Lincoln*, so the only hope for the fleet was destroying it, finally giving *Hypatia* the chance to flee.

Once the *Lincoln* finally arrived, Grant used all of the *Alexander's* remaining nuclear weaponry to destroy the *Lincoln.* She was successful, and the dreadnought was vaporised. Unfortunately, AIDAN's anti-missile system were not sufficient enough to stop the *Lincoln's* return volley, and the *Alexander* sustained heavy damage. Kady was not killed, but suffered radiation poisoning. AIDAN guided her to a shuttle that had not been destroyed. Taking one last look at the *Alexander,* Kady launched the shuttle.

Soon after, the *Alexander's* personal wormhole collapsed and vaporised everything within a radius, Fortunately for Grant, she was out of the blast radius. AIDAN, however, was destroyed with the *Alexander*, and Grant appeared saddened at the loss.

Later, Kady was found by a *Hypatia* rescue vessel. Acting Captain Boll had made the decision to return to the *Alexander* to find any survivors- and so they found Kady. Her radiation poisoning was cured. A week after the final battle between the *Lincoln* and *Alexander*, Kady was reunited with Ezra, who had not died like AIDAN said. Instead, he was aboard the first evacuating fleet- but due to an injury, he arrived late and was not spaced along with the others. Grant and Mason were finally together.

### Gemina

#### Arrival at Heimdall

After weeks on the *Hypatia*, Kady and the refugees finally arrived at Heimdall Jump Station in the hopes of jumping to the Core Systems where BeiTech could not attack them. However, when they arrived, they found Heimdall overtaken by BeiTech soldiers, led by Travis Falk. The wormhole was also unstable and on the verge of causing a multiversal paradox that would result in the imploding of two universes, including their own.

With Kady and Boll's help, Hanna Donnelly managed to avert the paradox and defeat the BeiTech soldiers. Even so, the wormhole was destroyed and the way to the Core Systems blocked.

### *Obsidio*

#### On Board the *Mao*

Kady decided the only hope of survival for the Kerenzan refugees aboard the *Hypatia* was to return to Kerenza IV. She helped organise the transfer of thousands of civilians from *Hypatia* and Heimdall to the late Travis Falk's ship, the *Mao.* As the *Mao* had undamaged engines and thrusters, it would be able to transport the refugees back to Kerenza IV in a much shorter time frame than it took *Hypatia* to get to Heimdall. Even so, AIDAN (who had been revealed to be hiding in Kady's datapad after the *Alexander's* destruction) calculated the *Mao* had too few resources to supply the entire population to Kerenza.

Kady convinced Boll to allow her to grant AIDAN access to the *Mao's* systems, insisting it only wanted to protect the refugees. Boll relented, and AIDAN was given access.

As the *Mao* began the journey to Kerenza, Kady noted the growing tensions between Captain Boll and Ben Garver, a former member of Heimdall Security. Garver constantly nagged Boll to provide better care for the civilians on board the *Mao.* Garver was also against the idea of allowing AIDAN to control the ship. Garver's instincts proved correct. AIDAN, knowing the fleet would not survive if the population was not controlled, killed over two thousand of the refugees by pumping carbon monoxide into their rooms. Although AIDAN was immediately shut down, the damage had been done. Garver realised the time was ripe for an uprising against Boll, knowing the people blamed her for the deaths.

Garver orchestrated a mutiny of the *Mao,* during which Boll was killed. Kady was trapped by Garver's loyalists in the *Mao's* bridge. Later, she was rescued by Hanna, Ezra, and Niklas Malikov. The mutiny was quelled and Winifred McCall became the new acting captain of the *Mao.*

#### The lluminae Group

On the way to Kerenza IV, Kady formulated a failsafe plan in the likely event that the *Mao* would be destroyed by BeiTech. She compilated a dossier of hundreds of files, salvaged from the *Alexander,* Heimdall, and *Hypatia* that could incriminate BeiTech Industries and bring them to justice if the dossier was somehow found. The dossier, which she entitled 'The Illuminae Files', were Kady's last hope for justice against BeiTech.

She enlisted Ezra, Hanna, Niklas, and Ella Malikova to help her compile and transcribe data for the files. After McCall rebooted AIDAN, knowing that it would be necessary for the approaching battle, AIDAN also assisted in the finding and compiling of data.

Shortly before the battle, Kady received a distress call from her cousin Asha, who had survived the initial battle of Kerenza and was now a part of the under-matched resistance force. Speaking to Asha, Kady assured her that reinforcements would arrive soon.

#### Second Battle of Kerenza IV and Aftermath

When the *Mao* finally arrived at Kerenza IV, Kady became the acting commander as McCall was part of the *Magellan* assault squad, who's goal was to successfully take the BeiTech Jump Platform Ship known as *Magellan*, as it was the refugee's only hope for escape to the Core Systems.

Ella Malikova forced her way into the *Churchill's* (another surviving BeiTech ship) weapon systems. As the *Mao* and *Churchill* began exchanging fire, the *Churchill* quickly found that its railguns and nuclear armaments had been turned against it, and were shooting its own complement of Warlock planes.

The tide quickly changed, however, when the *Churchill* commander ordered the defunct *Kenyatta* to be hacked and used in the battle. Ezra and Niklas's plane was shot down. Just as Kady was about to order Hanna to take the *Magellan* and "get the hell out of here", AIDAN hacked the *Churchill's* drive systems and steered it into the *Kenyatta,* destroying both vessels. AIDAN was, however, destroyed in the process.

After the battle, the Kerenzan survivors, refugees aboard the *Mao* and the surviving BeiTech marines (who had negotiated a peace treaty with the *Mao)* journeyed to Ptolemy, a nearby system that had gone unnoticed by BeiTech forces. After regaining their strength at Ptolemy, the refugees used the captured *Magellan* to jump to the Core Systems. Once there, the Illuminae Group released their findings to the UTA judicial tribunal, and, after a four-month trial, BeiTech and Director of Acquisitions Leanne Frobisher were convicted.

To celebrate their success, the Illuminae Group- consisting of Kady Grant, Ezra Mason, Hanna Donelly, Niklas Malikov, Ella Malikov, Asha Grant and Rhys Lindstrom, had dinner at a restaurant in New Petersburg, called 'Vitaly's". As they left, it was revealed that AIDAN- who was surviving as a 'ghost in the machine'- was watching them.

## Personality

Kady is shown very early on to have a rebellious streak, after purposefully failing certain tests conducted by the crew of the *Hypatia* to avoid being forced into service. She is very ambitious and knows what she wants to do with her life. Kady is also incredibly stubborn and can keep a grudge for a long time before finally forgiving someone. However, her and rest of the survivors are almost always stressed for time, meaning she has to quickly make up with whoever she's fallen out with. She excels under pressure and always seems to put herself in danger for the good of others, despite being described as "not a team player." She would also much rather work alone and get the job done, though she is willing to work with close friends.

## Appearance

Kady's most defining feature is her bright pink hair, that has slowly grown out to show her brown roots throughout the series. She has blue eyes and is also very short. She claims her height makes people underestimate her. She is described as very pretty, though not many of her other specific traits are identified by Ezra or security footage.

She is identified as having dyed her hair back to an inconspicuous shade of brown at the end of *Obsidio*.

## Relationships

### Ezra Mason

Kady and Ezra were dating when they lived on the Kerenza IV Mining Colony, but ended their relationship very shortly before the colony was attacked. Kady initially breaks things off because Ezra does not have a plan for the future, which bothers her greatly. After the Kerenza colony is attacked, Ezra is sent aboard the *Alexander* and Kady boards the *Hypatia.* Ezra makes several attempts to contact Kady, but his communications are ignored, as Kady is still holding a bit of a grudge and can't really find the right words to say to him. Eventually, the two start to reconnect when issues begin arising with the *Alexander* and the *Lincoln* looms closer.

### AIDAN

Kady considers AIDAN her enemy during most of her stay on the *Hypatia*, thinking of it as an AI gone mad. AIDAN pretends to be Ezra to lure Kady to the core servers of the *Alexander*, and then tells her Ezra is dead to get her to cooperate with it. She strikes a deal with it to help the remaining, healthy members of the *Alexander* go to the *Hypatia*, if she would stay and repair it. They slowly grow closer in the time before the *Lincoln* arrives, and when the *Alexander* is mostly destroyed, she consoles AIDAN as it leaves the bulk of its data behind. In Gemina, she is shown to be supportive of AIDAN, allowing it to use the *Hypatia's*systems to resolve the multiverse paradox.

In Obsidio, their relationship grows to be a strong friendship. After AIDAN kills two thousand of the Mao's population for "population control", though, Kady feels betrayed and angered at its decision and shuts it down. For the majority of the book, even when the AI is brought back to save Kady and the rest of the the Illuminae Group from Garver, Kady is angry and doesn't feel like talking with it. When AIDAN sacrifices itself to destroy the BeiTech ship *Churchill,*Kady feels regret and begs for it to not leave. It tells her that it loves her, but before Kady has a chance to respond, it is already gone. She never sees it again for the rest of the trilogy, though AIDAN makes a final appearance at the end of the book. It claims that it is survived from a few lines of code planted on a BeiTech ship and that it is drifting between servers, and that it misses Kady.

## Trivia

* Kady is fond of the Super Turbo Awesome Team.
* Kady's IQ is 147.
* Back when they still lived on Kerenza IV, Kady used to wear Ezra's t-shirts to bed frequently, so often that she can now recognize his smell.
* Kady is a fan of the singer Lexi Blue.
* Her first date with Ezra was a game of 20 Questions, with Kady's father participating as well.
* Kady is of partial Indian descent, from her mother’s side as Kady’s father, Isaac, is described as being very pale/white. Her mother’s name, Helena, is of Indian origin and Kady’s cousin, Asha—who is also of Indian descent—is related to her on her mother’s side. This implies that both Asha’s mother and Kady’s mother are of Indian descent.

## Gallery

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## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 ILLUMINAE: The ILLUMINAE Files\_01, Page 269
2. ↑ ILLUMINAE: The ILLUMINAE FIles\_01, Page 590
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/illuminae/kady-grant.php
4. ↑ ILLUMINAE: The ILLUMINAE Files\_01, Page 459
5. ↑ ILLUMINAE: The ILLUMINAE Files\_01, Page 10
6. ↑ ILLUMINAE:The ILLUMINAE Files\_01, Pages 284-285
7. ↑ ILLUMINAE:The ILLUMINAE Files\_01, Page 426
8. ↑ ILLUMINAE: The ILLUMINAE Files\_01, Page 402
9. ↑ ILLUMINAE: The ILLUMINAE Files\_01, Page 489
10. ↑ ILLUMINAE: The ILLUMINAE Files\_01, Pages 470-471
11. ↑ GEMINA: The ILLUMINAE Files\_02, Page 37