David terGorden

"He is not Growan's son. He is the son of Yggdrasil -- and he will free humanity."
-- Myriam, moments before her death (Booklet 031)

David terGorden, known in his early years as Stardust-Dave, is the central protagonist of Die Terranauten, appearing in 67 of the saga's 99 booklets. Born from the union of Myriam and the cosmic influence of Yggdrasil, he is the prophesied Heir of Power foretold in the BOOK MYRIAM. Over the course of the saga, David transforms from a hunted fugitive Driver into the leader of the Terranauts, the Lord Colonel of the Council of Corporations, and ultimately a cosmic figure destined to reactivate the Intercosmic Anti-Entropy System -- the Long Row -- and save the galaxy from entropic collapse.

Biography

Origins and Birth (c. 2475)

David's story begins before his birth, in the intrigue-laden halls of Ultima Thule. His mother, Myriam, was a brilliant biologist and secret Terranaut who was hired by Growan terGorden, General-Manager of the Biotroniks Corporation, to work on the Yggdrasil Project. Myriam's connection to Yggdrasil deepened as she injected herself with a distillate from the primeval tree. She married Growan -- partly out of strategic necessity, partly to continue overseeing the mistletoe research -- but her true allegiance lay with the Terranauts and their cause of liberating the Drivers from corporate oppression (Booklet 030).

During her pregnancy, Myriam retreated to Odrodir (Holy Valley), the sacred valley in Greenland where Yggdrasil grew. Merlin, the ancient Druid-turned-guardian of Yggdrasil, protected her. When David was born, Myriam declared with her dying breath that he was not Growan's son but the child of Yggdrasil itself, destined to free humanity. Growan, devastated and suspicious, rejected the infant. Merlin took the boy and raised him in Odrodir until the age of three, when Growan reluctantly accepted custody. David grew up under Merlin's tutelage, developing extraordinary PSI abilities that would mark him as one of the most powerful Drivers in human history (Booklet 031).

The Fugitive Driver (2499)

By the time the saga opens, David is a young man traveling under the alias "Stardust-Dave," hiding his identity as the heir to Biotroniks and its monopoly on Mistletoe Blossoms. On the planet Rubin, he visits the alien city of Bortzynn, where his guide Smellinger is murdered and David barely escapes a glass labyrinth with the help of a mysterious blue light. Meanwhile, Queen Fay Gray of the Gray Guards is dispatched by Max von Valdec, Chairman of the Council of Corporations, to capture him (Booklet 001).

David flees to Syrta, where he is rescued by Llewellyn 709, the legendary super-Driver known as the "Riemenmann." Llewellyn unleashes a galaxy-wide PSI call, declaring David the "Heir of Power" and summoning all Drivers to rebel. A massive Driver fleet converges on Syrta, marking the opening salvo of the galactic uprising. Despite this dramatic call to arms, David himself is reluctant to embrace his prophesied role, preferring pragmatic action -- breaking the Council's mistletoe monopoly -- over messianic leadership (Booklets 001-002).

Return to Terra and the Great Festival (2499)

Brought back to Terra by Norwy van Dyne, David clashes bitterly with his father Growan, rejecting the Biotroniks Corporation and everything it represents. Valdec, seeing an opportunity, plots to install David as a puppet ruler of Biotroniks by implanting him with a Hypnoter -- a mind-control device. At the Great Festival, Growan announces his abdication and names David his successor. Valdec reveals the Kaiser Force, a new energy technology meant to render Drivers obsolete, and attempts to force David through a lethal energy field.

In a pivotal moment, La Strega del Drago detects the Hypnoter and overloads Valdec's control device, freeing David's mind. David willingly enters the Kaiser Force field to disrupt Valdec's demonstration, is transported through Space II, and returns to Odrodir and Yggdrasil. This act of defiance cements his break from both his father's corporate world and Valdec's authoritarian regime (Booklet 003).

The Insurrection and Fall of Yggdrasil (2499-2500)

In the aftermath, David becomes a central figure in the Terranaut insurrection. He fights alongside the Drivers in open conflict with the Gray Guards, activates the ancient Omega Program to defend Yggdrasil, and guards the precious Yggdrasil Seeds -- the only hope for future Driver space travel. When Valdec orders the systematic stripping of Drivers' PSI abilities across the galaxy, David leads the defense of Zoe, the planet of the Lodge Masters (Booklets 004-012).

Despite forming a Super-Lodge of several thousand Drivers, the defenders cannot withstand Valdec's Kaiser-Transmitter, which destabilizes Zoe's sun, Spilter, causing it to go nova. David, Asen-Ger, Queen Mandorla, and a handful of Terranauts escape in a courier ship as Zoe is destroyed. The captured Drivers are stripped of their PSI abilities, and Valdec consolidates near-total power over the galaxy. The destruction of Zoe is the saga's darkest hour -- and the moment that transforms David from a reluctant heir into a hardened revolutionary leader (Booklet 012).

Marooned on Rorqual (2500-2518)

Fleeing through Space II, David's subconscious memories interfere with the jump, pulling the courier ship TASCA to the mysterious planet Rorqual -- a world trapped between dimensions where PSI abilities are suppressed. Separated from Asen-Ger, David crash-lands and begins an odyssey across Rorqual's feudal, metal-scarce civilization. He is captured by bandits, sold to merchants, chained to the young woman Thorna, pursued by the vengeful Green Flyer Vasik, and forced to navigate a world of pirates, slave traders, and warlords (Booklets 016-018).

Throughout this arc, David displays remarkable resourcefulness without his PSI powers. He allies with Claude Farrell, Chalid and his Islahami warriors, and the merchant Collyn to rescue his companions and reunite with Asen-Ger, whom he finds starving in a mine in the Northern Mountain Range. The discovery of a Yggdrasil growing on Skull Island hints at the cosmic significance of Rorqual. The Rorqual trilogy (Booklets 016-018) is among the saga's most character-defining arcs, showing David stripped of supernatural advantages and relying on courage, negotiation, and raw determination.

Visions and Legacy (Booklets 025-031)

While stranded on Rorqual, David is possessed by the spirit of Merlin III, who transports his consciousness through time to 6th-century England and reveals the deep history of Yggdrasil as an intelligent cosmic being who chose humanity as her intermediary. David witnesses his mother Myriam's story in full -- her recruitment by Growan, her Terranaut allegiances, her abduction and rescue, her marriage, and ultimately her sacrificial death at his birth. This vision profoundly shapes David's understanding of his destiny and his mother's sacrifice (Booklet 030).

He also learns of Growan's lonely decline and the political machinations of Clint Gayheen, Growan's treacherous security chief who secretly worked for Valdec. David comes to understand that his father, for all his coldness, was also a victim of the corporate system. The death of Growan, who passes on a cryptic code and legacy to David, adds another layer of complexity to the father-son relationship that haunts David throughout the saga (Booklet 031).

Return from Rorqual and the Battle for Earth (2501-2502)

David eventually escapes Rorqual using recovered landing boats and mistletoe blossoms, returning to normal space to find the galaxy in crisis. The Kaiser Force has caused the destruction of the planet Xaxon, drawing the attention of galactic Entities -- ancient supercivilizations that threaten humanity with a Final Strike. Working with the alien Cantos of the Genessaner, David forges an unprecedented alliance: he convinces Chan de Nouille, commander of the Gray Guards, to turn against Valdec.

During the alien attack on Earth -- in which Berlin is transformed into an alien swamp and humans are mutated into reptilian creatures -- David uses a mistletoe found in Geneva to focus his PSI powers on the alien ship in orbit, influencing Queen Yazmin to activate its self-destruct system. In the aftermath, the Council agrees to abolish Kaiser Force and cooperate with the Terranauts. David departs with Cantos for Rorqual to plant Yggdrasil's Seed, beginning the restoration of Driver space travel (Booklet 050).

The Second Driver Space Age (2502-2503)

On Adzharis, a Rim World, David cultivates a new Yggdrasil seedling, passing a trial by the dragon-witches to prove his worthiness. He is attacked by Queen Stella by Starlight, a Valdec loyalist driven mad by the moon Chrama's radiation, and by Patran Grevenhart, a corporate traitor. With the help of Nayala, a young dragon-witch, and the combined PSI power of the Dragon Clan, David defeats his enemies and produces the first new mistletoe -- which he gives to Narda del Drago, laying the cornerstone for the Second Driver Space Age (Booklet 060).

David then returns to Terra to claim his corporate inheritance, becoming GeneralManag of Biotroniks A/S and later being elected Lord Colonel of the Council of Corporations -- the very position once held by his nemesis Valdec. As Lord Colonel, he mediates between warring factions during the War of the Castes, negotiates with the Clone-Queens of Shondyke, and attempts to steer humanity away from Kaiser Force dependency (Booklets 072-079).

The Silent Drivers and Sarym (2503)

David oversees the resettlement of the Silent Drivers -- former PSI-gifted individuals surgically stripped of their powers by Valdec's regime -- on the planet Sarym. When these Silent Drivers develop a mysterious illness and begin creating haunting color compositions, David views them and suffers a severe psychic shock, falling into a catatonic state. He is rescued by Lyda Mar and Duryea Ankrum, and the crisis is resolved when the Silent Drivers achieve integration with the Buds of the Tree, becoming "multi-mediators" capable of interfacing with the living ecology of Sarym. David recognizes this as a sign of humanity's potential for symbiosis with the cosmos (Booklet 070).

He later resigns the Lord Colonelship, recognizing that political leadership is not his destiny. He returns to Sarym to pursue research on the Buds of the Tree and the deeper meaning of his role as the Heir of Power (Booklet 079).

The Cosmic Mandate (2503-2504)

David's journey escalates to cosmic scale. Traveling aboard the Collector -- a quasi-intelligent plant spaceship cultivated specifically for him -- with Narda del Drago and the Oracle Aura Damona Mar, he journeys to the Old Forest, a solar-system-sized collective of intelligent plants. There, the Lenker Luther Straightwire reveals the full scope of David's destiny: he is one of nine Spectra, beings destined to reactivate the Intercosmic Anti-Entropy System -- the Long Row -- which prevents entropy from destroying the universe. To accomplish this, David must find the eight other Spectra and obtain the Connex Crystal, which contains the knowledge of the Pre-Cosmos (Booklet 094).

At the Pyramid of Knowledge in Star City, David finds the Connex Crystal but selflessly uses it first to stabilize the Archive against Kaiser Force emissions before leading his companions through the Sphere Tunnel to the Central World of the Entities. He pleads with the Entities not to execute their threatened Final Strike against humanity (Booklet 095).

The Duel of Dreams and Final Victory (2504)

The saga's climax unfolds within the Reality Switch, a precosmic entity that orchestrates a "Duel of Dreams" between David and Max von Valdec. Two alternate realities are set against each other: "White," a hopeful future of cooperation between humanity and alien races, and "Black," a dystopian Second Reich ruled by Valdec. David, encased in a Null-Sphere, fights this battle on a metaphysical plane.

In the "White" reality, David journeys to Valneron to save the Paracletic Madonna -- an entity whose subpsionic vibrations are essential for all life in the Milky Way -- from a PSI Kollapsare. He succeeds by sacrificing himself, and this act of selflessness triggers the victory of the "White" reality, negating Valdec's dystopian timeline forever (Booklet 098).

In the saga's final booklet, David returns to Ultima Thule -- the city of his birth and his father's legacy -- and announces Valdec's death, the end of corporate rule, and the dawn of a new era of bio-technology. He calls all Drivers to Earth, where Cosmic Spores are transforming the planet into a green, living world. The Drivers form a Lodge and send a galaxy-wide PSI call -- echoing Llewellyn 709's original call in Booklet 001 -- and the Entities acknowledge that David is keeping his cosmic promise. David then departs aboard an Organ-Sailer to eliminate the threat of Kaiser Force forever, leaving Earth to its transformation (Booklet 099).

Key Actions (Chronological)

• Escapes the glass labyrinth on Bortzynn with the help of a blue light (001)
• Confronts Fay Gray on Syrta, forcing the Gray Guards to withdraw (001)
• Addresses assembled Drivers on Syrta, advocating for breaking the mistletoe monopoly (002)
• Connects with Yggdrasil through La Strega del Drago, receiving a warning about Kaiser Force (002)
• Returns to Terra and clashes with his father Growan terGorden, rejecting Biotroniks (003)
• Escapes Hypnoter control and willingly enters the Kaiser Force energy field at the Great Festival (003)
• Is transported through Space II and returns to Odrodir and Yggdrasil (003)
• Fights alongside the Drivers in the insurrection against the Council (004-006)
• Activates the Omega Program to defend Yggdrasil (006)
• Leads the Drivers in protecting the Yggdrasil Seeds (007)
• Escapes Terra in the MIDAS I, evading Gray Guards in the asteroid belt (008-011)
• Defends Zoe as commander of the PSI-Shield; escapes the planet's destruction (011-012)
• Crash-lands on Rorqual and survives without PSI powers across a feudal world (016-018)
• Reunites with Asen-Ger in the Northern Mountain Range of Rorqual (018)
• Leads the Terranauts on Rorqual, exploring the planet and rescuing companions (022, 024, 028-029)
• Infiltrates Earth disguised as "Hinnersen Bolter," destroys the Kaiser Force Transmitter, and kills Valdec in a semi-reality (025-026)
• Discovers a cutting of Yggdrasil in the grave of Astos on Argus (026)
• Experiences visions of his mother Myriam's life through Merlin's memories (030)
• Helps the Banshees leave Space II on Rorqual (031)
• Travels to Shondyke with Llewellyn 709, Queen Mandorla, and Scanner Cloud (035-036)
• Escapes Rorqual in the TASCA lifeboat and returns to normal space via mistletoe navigation (Booklets 046-052)
• Forges alliance with Cantos the Genessaner against the alien threat (050)
• Uses PSI-focused mistletoe power to destroy the alien ship threatening Earth (050)
• Plants a new Yggdrasil seedling on Adzharis and passes the dragon-witch trial (059-060)
• Gives the first new mistletoe to Narda, inaugurating the Second Driver Space Age (060)
• Claims his corporate inheritance, becomes GeneralManag of Biotroniks (072-073)
• Elected Lord Colonel of the Council of Corporations (076)
• Mediates the War of the Castes and attempts breakthrough to Shondyke (076-078)
• Resigns Lord Colonelship; returns to Sarym (079)
• Investigates the Silent Drivers crisis; suffers psychic shock from color compositions (070)
• Travels aboard the Collector to seek the Buds of the Tree and understand the Long Row (083-084)
• Journeys to the Old Forest and learns of his role as one of nine Spectra (094)
• Finds the Connex Crystal at the Pyramid of Knowledge in Star City (095)
• Enters the Reality Switch and defeats Valdec in the Duel of Dreams (097-098)
• Sacrifices himself to save the Paracletic Madonna, ensuring the White reality prevails (098)
• Announces Valdec's death and the end of corporate rule at Ultima Thule (099)
• Departs on an Organ-Sailer to eliminate Kaiser Force forever (099)

Relationships

Family

Allies and Companions

Antagonists

Abilities and Traits

• PSI Powers: David possesses extraordinarily powerful psionic abilities, including telepathy, telekinesis, PSI-shielding, and the ability to create hypno-fields. His power is amplified by proximity to Yggdrasil and Mistletoe Blossoms.
• Driver Navigation: Capable of guiding spacecraft through Space II, David serves as a lodge-class navigator.
• Heir of Power: David carries "Sleeping Information" implanted by the Steerers, making him one of nine Spectra destined to reactivate the Long Row.
• Bearer of the Monochord: He carries the Triadic Monochord, the sacred symbol linking him to Yggdrasil and Driver heritage.
• Resourcefulness without PSI: On Rorqual, where PSI abilities are suppressed, David demonstrates remarkable survival skills, negotiation ability, and physical courage.
• Leadership under duress: From Syrta to the Lord Colonelship to the Reality Switch, David leads through crises while carrying immense personal burdens.

Appearances (67 booklets)

Themes and Legacy

David terGorden's arc embodies the central tensions of Die Terranauten: freedom versus corporate control, nature versus technology, and individual choice versus cosmic destiny. He begins as a fugitive who wants nothing more than to live freely among the stars, and ends as a figure of near-mythic stature who reshapes the galaxy.

The Reluctant Messiah: Unlike classic chosen-one heroes, David repeatedly resists his prophesied role. He advocates pragmatism over revolution on Syrta (002), refuses to reveal the Yggdrasil Seeds' location out of distrust (011), and eventually resigns the Lord Colonelship because political power was never his calling (079). His heroism comes not from embracing destiny eagerly but from accepting responsibility despite deep personal reluctance.

Technology and Nature: David stands at the intersection of the saga's two great forces. Born from a woman who merged with a cosmic tree, he is literally a child of nature. Yet he navigates a world of corporations, Kaiser Force technology, and space travel. His ultimate act -- departing to eliminate Kaiser Force while the Cosmic Spores rewild Earth -- resolves this tension by choosing symbiosis over domination.

The Father Wound: David's relationship with Growan terGorden is one of the saga's most psychologically complex threads. Rejected at birth, raised by a wizard, used as a political pawn, and ultimately inheritor of his father's corporate empire -- David must reconcile with a legacy he despises in order to transform it from within.

Sacrifice and Selflessness: From entering the Kaiser Force field at the Great Festival (003) to using the Connex Crystal to stabilize the Archive rather than empower himself (095) to sacrificing himself to save the Paracletic Madonna (098), David's defining trait is his willingness to give himself up for others. This pattern -- echoing his mother Myriam's sacrificial death -- is the moral engine of the entire saga.

The Circle Closes: The saga begins and ends with a galactic PSI call. In Booklet 001, Llewellyn 709 sends a message declaring David the Heir of Power. In Booklet 099, the Drivers form a Lodge and send a call that the Entities themselves acknowledge. David's journey -- from "Stardust-Dave" fleeing through the outer worlds to the man who transforms Earth and departs to heal the cosmos -- is the story of a promise made, tested across a hundred crises, and finally kept.

David terGorden appears in 67 of 99 booklets of Die Terranauten. He is the most frequently appearing character in the saga.