Sector General - Regular Characters

Regular Characters

Although many of the characters are "Earth-human" – "human" is ambiguous because all species refers to themselves as "human" in their own languages – the stories feature medical staff from a wide range of species. In each story characters belonging to species different from that of the protagonist are treated as neuter and referred to as "it". Some species are touchy about any reference to sexual roles and behavior, some have more than two sexes and some change sex once or more during their lifetimes.

The following appear in nearly all the stories:

Dr. Conway

A male Earth-human who starts as a junior intern and, over the course of the series, works his way up to Chief Surgeon and eventually Diagnostician in Charge of Surgery. Conway generally prefers extraterrestrial company to that of his own species, and has a habit of thinking aloud. His passions are healing and Murchison.

Murchison

A curvaceous female Earth-human first seen as a senior nurse in the Pathology department. She eventually becomes a doctor and a Pathologist herself, and also Conway's wife.

Dr. Prilicla

A large but fragile winged insect-like being from the very low-gravity planet Cinruss. In addition to being highly skilled in the more delicate types of surgery, Prilicla is an empath and therefore can sense the emotions of most other lifeforms including many non-intelligent animals. Its tact and the desire of colleagues to avoid distressing it by displaying negative emotions generally makes others willing to follow its advice – a pattern that one reviewer described as "a pleasant Machiavellian streak." Despite its natural timidity and the distress that other beings' anger, fear and pain cause it, Prilicla uses its empathic ability in prolonged searches for survivors of space combat and accidents.

Major O'Mara

The Earth-human head of the hospital's Psychology department, his job is to ensure that the hospital's diverse species work together as harmoniously, efficiently and safely as circumstances allow, and particularly to save the staff from being driven insane by over-use of Educator tapes. Since he is a very acute observer of behavior and often uses sarcasm "to shrink heads, not swell them", he is sometimes called a "latter-day Torquemada".

Charge Nurse Naydrad

A member of the Kelgian species, Naydrad looks like a giant caterpillar. Since the involuntary movements of Kelgians' fur completely show their emotions, the species is incapable of both lying and tact. Naydrad is a specialist in rescuing victims of space accidents.

Thornnastor

A native of the high-gravity planet Traltha, Thornnastor (nicknamed "Thorny") has a body like a six-legged elephant, and its own keen senses are supplemented by a symbiont that provides acute vision over up to 360 degrees. Thornnastor is the Diagnostician in Charge of Pathology, and it carries ten Educator tapes. Its fascination with gossip, especially about the scandalous activities of a multi-sexed, methane-breathing, cryogenic species, is a running gag in the series.