Isis 31

"The IRMINSUL lodge attempted to overpower Isis 31 with PSI energy, but the Super-Driver withstands the attack."
-- Summary of Booklet 091, The Swamps of Genessos

Isis 31 is a genetically engineered Super-Driver -- an artificially bred human clone possessing immense psionic powers -- produced by the Kaiser Corporation's secret Alpha-Order program on the prison planet Sarym. She is the thirty-first iteration of the Isis genetic line, one of three principal series in the Alpha-Order program alongside the Prometheus and Phoenix lines. Of all the named Super-Drivers in Die Terranauten, Isis 31 is the longest-surviving, her story arc spanning from the Sarym campaigns through the Lancia exile, the JAMES COOK expedition to Genessos and Hephaistos, and finally Max von Valdec's doomed preemptive strike against the galactic civilizations.

Appearing in 8 booklets (061, 063, 066, 090, 091, 092, 093, 097), Isis 31 is one of the most significant Super-Driver characters in the saga. Where Prometheus 107 embodies the Super-Driver who rebels against his master, and Valhala 13 embodies the tragic double who was never permitted autonomy, Isis 31 embodies something different: the weapon that endures. She survives the destruction of her comrades in the PSI-Aura, outlasts Prometheus 107 and Phoenix 34, is conditioned to a new handler, adapts to a diplomatic mission among aliens, and escapes catastrophe at Hephaistos -- all while remaining fundamentally loyal to Max von Valdec's cause. She is the Super-Driver program's most durable product, and the one who comes closest to fulfilling its original purpose: a psionic weapon that serves its master without breaking, rebelling, or self-destructing.

Origins: The Alpha-Order Program

The Isis Genetic Line

The Isis series is one of three principal genetic lines in the Alpha-Order breeding program, named after the Egyptian goddess. Super-Drivers are designated by their series name and a sequential clone number; higher numbers indicate later, more refined iterations. Two Isis clones are known in the saga:

The seven iterations separating Isis 24 from Isis 31 suggest a sustained period of refinement within the genetic line. Where Isis 24 conspired with her fellow test subjects to subvert the station commander, Isis 31 demonstrates a markedly different disposition: she is consistently obedient to her masters, condescending toward non-Super-Drivers, and willing to use violence against anyone who threatens Valdec's objectives.

Breeding and Conditioning

Like all Super-Drivers, Isis 31 was bred at the Kaiser secret station on Sarym's South Continent, a covert facility directed by Hermano Lotz and his cyborg assistant Dor Masali. Her conditioning involved:

• Genetic engineering: Cloning and selective breeding within the Isis line to maximize psionic potential
• Biochemical enhancement: Chemical treatments to amplify PSI abilities beyond natural limits
• Thingstones: Radioactive crystals from Stonehenge II used to boost psionic energy during the breeding process
• Memory erasure: Systematic stripping of personal memories to prevent independent identity formation
• Killer-Block: An artificial mental barrier implanted to ensure absolute loyalty to Max von Valdec, compelling suicidal behavior upon disloyalty

These conditioning mechanisms appear to have been more effective on Isis 31 than on the Prometheus clones. While Prometheus 93 manipulated his handlers from the first moment and Prometheus 107 planned revolt even before the PSI-Aura empowered him, Isis 31 shows no recorded instance of disobedience or independent scheming against her masters. Whether this reflects genuine loyalty, more thorough conditioning, or simply a different psionic temperament is never resolved by the saga.

Biography

The Sarym Campaigns (c. 2503)

Isis 31's first appearance occurs in Booklet 061 (Death Awaits on Sarym), where she is deployed alongside Prometheus 107 and Phoenix 34 as part of Max von Valdec's attempt to breach the Maritime Coral City and seize control of its ancient PSI-Aura.

Valdec, exiled from Earth and operating from a research station off Sarym's South Continent, uses the captive David terGorden as a psionic key while the three Super-Drivers provide the raw PSI power to force open the coral city. The operation partially succeeds -- they breach the city's defenses -- but the PSI-Aura fights back, neutralizing the Super-Drivers and forcing Valdec to flee as his underwater base self-destructs (Booklet 061).

In the follow-up booklet, 063 (War of Minds), Valdec's second attempt escalates into a full mental war. The PSI-Aura empowers Prometheus 107 beyond anything the Alpha-Order intended, and Prometheus breaks free from Valdec's control, pursuing his own ambition to dominate the aura. Prometheus captures Llewellyn 709 and Lyda Mar, intending to use their unique psionic connections as keys to the aura's power. Isis 31 and Phoenix 34 follow Prometheus into the symbolic reality within the PSI-Aura, assisting his rogue campaign rather than remaining loyal to Valdec.

The saga records that Lyda Mar, aided by her unborn daughter Aura Damona Mar, transported the Terranauts and Super-Drivers to the heart of the PSI-Aura, where "the super-Drivers -- including Prometheus 107, Isis 31, and Phoenix 34 -- are destroyed" (Booklet 063).

Yet Isis 31 reappears three booklets later -- alive, active, and serving Valdec on Lancia. The Super-Driver concept page notes that Isis 31 "survives longest among the super-Drivers" and that the timeline of the Lancia events (Booklets 066-068) may precede the War of Minds chronologically, despite appearing later in the booklet sequence. The saga's non-linear narrative structure makes the precise chronology ambiguous. What is certain is that Isis 31 is operational during both the Lancia exile and the later JAMES COOK expedition, making her either a survivor of the PSI-Aura's destruction or a veteran of the Lancia era who was deployed to Sarym afterward.

The Warlord of Lancia (c. 2502-2503)

In Booklet 066 (In the Light of the Murder Sun), Isis 31 accompanies Max von Valdec and Prometheus 107 aboard the funnel ship REGENT as Valdec seeks to rebuild his power following his ouster as Council Chairman.

When the REGENT suffers energy loss from an unstable zone caused by Space II energies near Lancia, Valdec decides to seize control of the Kaiser-Lancia Complex to refuel. He sets out in a fighter with Prometheus 107 and Isis 31. The fighter is affected by a "transparency effect" -- a surreal phenomenon dissolving the structures of Kaisergrad -- and crashes. Valdec, Isis 31, and Prometheus 107 eject and make their way to Kaisergrad on foot through a landscape of dissolving buildings and machines controlled by Banshees.

At Kaisergrad, Maxwell Sholar -- Valdec's own cousin and the complex's security manager -- confronts them with a nuclear grenade, believing them to be Terranauts. Prometheus 107 kills Sholar, and also kills Tosten Phibas, the Manag of the complex. Valdec, Isis, and Prometheus enter Kaisergrad and proceed toward the threshold field generator.

This episode is notable for what it reveals about Isis 31's role: she is present at Valdec's side during a ground-level operation, surviving a crash landing, traversing hostile terrain, and enduring combat alongside him. She is not the most powerful Super-Driver in the group -- that role belongs to Prometheus -- but she is a reliable, constant presence in Valdec's retinue.

Conditioning to Frost (c. 2503-2504)

At some point between the Sarym/Lancia campaigns and the JAMES COOK expedition, Isis 31 is conditioned to Frost, Valdec's intelligence manager and most trusted operative. This "conditioning" implies a transfer of the Killer-Block's loyalty mechanism: where Isis 31 was previously bound directly to Valdec, she is now bound to Frost as an intermediary handler. Thor 51, a Super-Driver from a different genetic line, undergoes the same conditioning.

This transfer reflects Valdec's strategic thinking during the Second Reich: with Frost dispatched to Sarym to negotiate the JAMES COOK expedition and secretly locate the Entities' central worlds, Valdec assigns his most durable Super-Driver to serve as Frost's psionic enforcer. Isis 31's proven resilience -- her survival through the Sarym and Lancia campaigns -- makes her the logical choice for this critical covert assignment.

The JAMES COOK Expedition (c. 2504)

Departure from Sarym (Booklet 090)

The JAMES COOK, a Driver freighter converted into an expedition ship, departs Sarym on a nominally peaceful mission to contact alien supercivilizations and seek forgiveness for the devastation caused by Kaiser Force technology. In reality, Frost has secret orders from Valdec to use the expedition to locate the Entities' central worlds and transmit their coordinates for a preemptive annihilation strike.

Isis 31 and Thor 51, conditioned to Frost, serve as the ship's Super-Driver navigators, following the PSI trail of the Genessan Cantos to guide the JAMES COOK across interstellar distances. Their PSI tracking abilities -- following psionic traces left by an alien being across light-years of space -- demonstrate a capability that no natural-born Driver possesses.

Secretly, Frost has also concealed a Kaiser Force space fighter in the JAMES COOK's cargo holds, along with a Kaiser Force Lance superweapon, unknown to the Terranaut crew.

Conflict Aboard Ship (Booklet 091)

The voyage to Genessos is marked by escalating tensions between the Terranaut contingent and Valdec's representatives. Llewellyn 709, the expedition leader, experiences prophetic dreams of the JAMES COOK's destruction at Valdec's hands. The Super-Drivers' condescending attitude toward the Terranauts fuels resentment.

The conflict erupts into violence when Isis 31 provokes Jana, the Witch, leading Jana to physically assault Frost. This provocation -- apparently deliberate -- demonstrates Isis 31's contempt for the Terranauts and her willingness to stir discord aboard the ship.

The IRMINSUL lodge, led by Jana, attempts to overpower Isis 31 with combined PSI energy -- the collective psionic force of an entire Driver lodge focused against a single target. Isis 31 withstands the attack. This is one of the saga's most striking demonstrations of Super-Driver power: an entire lodge of trained Drivers, working in unison, cannot overwhelm a single Super-Driver. Llewellyn 709 intervenes to prevent further escalation, reprimanding the lodge and confronting Frost about his control over the Super-Drivers.

Later in the same booklet, when Cantos appears aboard the JAMES COOK and confirms the crisis on Genessos, Isis 31 attacks Cantos. The Genessan -- a being connected to the threshold powers of Space II -- subdues her effortlessly, demonstrating that while Super-Drivers outmatch ordinary Drivers, they are no match for beings of true threshold-level power. The Super-Driver concept page notes that Isis 31 claims the Super-Drivers are "New Humans" (Neue Menschen) while demonstrating their power to Cantos -- a boast that his easy defeat of her immediately refutes.

The Genessos Crisis (Booklet 092)

After departing Genessos, the JAMES COOK returns when Scanner Cloud collapses with visions urging an investigation of the Tafelberg (Table Mountain). The Drivers aboard find their powers diminished, and Isis 31 and Thor 51 fall ill -- a notable vulnerability suggesting that the Genessan environment or the Entity's influence affects Super-Drivers differently than ordinary Drivers.

Isis 31's role during the Genessos crisis is largely passive; she accompanies the group but does not take a leading role in the confrontation with the Entity or the rescue of the planet. It is Thor 51 who saves the Terranauts multiple times during the crisis, disrupts Lineasker's ritual, and ultimately helps form the Lodge that penetrates the Entity's core.

One detail from this period stands out: the glossary records that Isis 31 watches a video adventure called Krieg der Kometen-Clons ("War of the Comet Clones") -- a small, humanizing detail suggesting that even a genetically engineered weapon of mass destruction seeks entertainment during downtime aboard a long-haul freighter.

Hephaistos and the Destruction of the JAMES COOK (Booklet 093)

The JAMES COOK arrives at Hephaistos, an artificial world known as the Galactic Archive. Llewellyn 709 leads a delegation to the surface to investigate the Pyramid of Knowledge, while Silent Chorp remains aboard and uncovers Frost's true plan: to transmit Hephaistos's coordinates to Valdec for a Kaiser Force attack.

On the surface, Thor 51 attacks an Entity and is gruesomely killed -- one of the saga's most violent Super-Driver deaths.

Back on the JAMES COOK, Frost and Isis 31 launch the hidden Kaiser Force space fighter, executing the betrayal that was the expedition's true purpose all along. Silent Chorp and other Drivers attempt to stop them but fail. The violent Kaiser Force transition tears the JAMES COOK apart, killing Altamont O'Hale, Sardina Giccomo, and Serge-Serge Suvez. The surviving Terranauts escape in a Ringo, abandoning the wreckage at Hephaistos.

Isis 31's escape with Frost represents the successful completion of her mission: she delivers the coordinates that enable Valdec to launch his preemptive strike. The destruction of the JAMES COOK and the deaths of three crew members are collateral consequences of her loyalty.

The Preemptive Strike and the Steel Fleet (Booklet 097)

In Booklet 097 (The Preventive Strike), Isis 31 appears as part of Valdec's Steel Fleet -- the armada of funnel ships, Starcruiser carriers, and container tugs loaded with nuclear weapons assembled for the preemptive strike against the galactic civilizations. She is listed alongside Osiris 84 as a Super-Driver Clone in Valdec's service during the campaign.

As the Steel Fleet enters the target system -- which is in reality a construct of the Reality Switch, a precosmic entity manipulated by the Old Forest and the Entities to trap Valdec -- the multi-sun system vanishes and Valdec's forces are frozen in place. Valdec, "protected by his Super-Drivers," attempts to escape in a Ringo shuttle, but the shuttle crashes within the Reality Switch.

Isis 31's fate after the Reality Switch trap is not explicitly recorded. She is present in the Steel Fleet as it enters the illusion, but whether she survives the dissolution of Valdec's reality during the Duel of Dreams (Booklet 098) or perishes alongside her master remains one of the saga's unresolved questions.

PSI Abilities and Combat Capabilities

Isis 31 possesses the standard suite of artificially amplified PSI Powers characteristic of Super-Drivers, with several capabilities demonstrated explicitly in the saga:

Demonstrated Abilities

• PSI Tracking: Isis 31 follows the psionic trail of the Genessan Cantos across interstellar distances, guiding the JAMES COOK from Sarym to Genessos (Booklets 090-091). This ability to track an alien being's PSI signature across light-years demonstrates a capacity that no natural-born Driver possesses.

• PSI Resistance: Isis 31 withstands a combined PSI assault from Jana's entire IRMINSUL lodge -- the collective psionic force of a complete Driver lodge focused against a single target (Booklet 091). This is one of the saga's most definitive demonstrations of the power gap between Super-Drivers and natural Drivers.

• PSI Combat: Isis 31 attacks the Genessan Cantos, though he subdues her effortlessly (Booklet 091). She is also deployed alongside Prometheus 107 and Phoenix 34 against the Maritime Coral City's defenses (Booklets 061, 063).

• PSI Navigation: Working alongside Thor 51, Isis 31 provides psionic propulsion and navigation for the JAMES COOK, a large container freighter, across interstellar distances.

Power Level

Isis 31's power level can be assessed through comparison:

She is clearly more powerful than any individual Driver or Driver lodge, but she is outmatched by ancient psionic intelligences (PSI-Aura) and threshold-level alien beings (Cantos, Entities). This places her in the same tier as other named Super-Drivers -- formidable against human opponents, but insufficient against the saga's truly transcendent forces.

Personality and Character

Despite being a weapon bred for obedience, Isis 31 displays a distinct personality across her appearances:

• Condescension and arrogance: She is described as condescending toward the Terranauts aboard the JAMES COOK (Booklet 091), and she deliberately provokes Jana, the Witch into an assault on Frost. She claims that Super-Drivers are "New Humans" -- a superior form of humanity -- while confronting Cantos (Booklet 091).

• Loyalty: Unlike Prometheus 107, who actively plans revolt against Valdec, or Prometheus 93, who manipulates his handlers, Isis 31 demonstrates consistent loyalty to her masters. She follows orders from Valdec during the Sarym and Lancia campaigns, accepts conditioning to Frost, and faithfully executes the mission to transmit the Entities' coordinates -- even at the cost of destroying the JAMES COOK and killing its crew.

• Durability and adaptability: Isis 31 survives situations that destroy her comrades. She adapts from open combat on Sarym to covert operations aboard the JAMES COOK, from navigating alien worlds to escaping in a Kaiser Force fighter. Her longevity in the saga reflects not just physical resilience but an ability to function across radically different operational contexts.

• Entertainment: The glossary records that she watches a video adventure called Krieg der Kometen-Clons ("War of the Comet Clones") during the JAMES COOK expedition -- a small but telling detail suggesting that even the most thoroughly conditioned Super-Drivers retain some capacity for leisure and personal preference.

Key Actions (Chronological)

Relationships

Master and Handlers

Fellow Super-Drivers

Adversaries

Thematic Significance

The Weapon That Endures

If the Super-Driver program's tragedy is that its creations invariably rebel, Isis 31 is the exception that almost proves the system works. She does not manipulate her handlers like Prometheus 93. She does not break free like Prometheus 107. She does not pursue personal ambition like Ares 17. She does not succumb to the Hate Plague like Valhala 13. She serves, she survives, she completes her mission.

This makes her, paradoxically, the most unsettling Super-Driver in the saga. The rebels and tragic figures invite sympathy -- they resist their instrumentalization, however destructively. Isis 31 does not resist. She is what Valdec designed all Super-Drivers to be: a loyal, effective, enduring weapon. And the consequences of her loyalty -- the destruction of the JAMES COOK, the deaths of three crew members, the delivery of coordinates that enable Valdec's preemptive strike -- demonstrate that a weapon that works as intended can be more dangerous than one that rebels.

The Contrast with Prometheus

Isis 31 and Prometheus 107 are the saga's most frequently paired Super-Drivers, appearing together in Booklets 061, 063, and 066. Their contrasting arcs illuminate the Alpha-Order program's central tension:

• Prometheus 107 is the most powerful and the most rebellious. His extreme psionic ability correlates with extreme willfulness, and the moment a force greater than Valdec touches him, he breaks free.
• Isis 31 is powerful enough to withstand an entire Driver lodge but never seeks independence. Her consistent obedience suggests either more effective conditioning or a fundamentally different psionic temperament.

The saga never explains why the Isis line produces more loyal clones than the Prometheus line. But the pairing suggests that the Alpha-Order's designers faced a trade-off: maximum power (Prometheus) correlates with maximum risk of rebellion, while somewhat less power (Isis) correlates with greater reliability. Isis 31 is the program's best compromise -- powerful enough to be useful, loyal enough to be trusted.

The Price of Loyalty

Isis 31's faithfulness to Valdec's cause is not without cost -- to others. Her escape from the JAMES COOK destroys the ship and kills three people. Her successful transmission of Hephaistos's coordinates enables Valdec to assemble the Steel Fleet for a preemptive strike that, had it reached its actual target rather than the Reality Switch illusion, would have been an act of galactic genocide. Her provocation of Jana and the IRMINSUL lodge aboard the JAMES COOK fractures the fragile alliance between Terranauts and Earth's representatives.

In this sense, Isis 31 illustrates the saga's argument that obedient tools of power are morally worse than rebellious ones. Prometheus 107's rebellion, however destructive, is at least an assertion of personhood. Isis 31's compliance is an abdication of it -- she performs exactly as designed, and the design is tyranny.

Appearances (8 booklets)

See Also

• Super-Drivers -- Genetically engineered psionic weapons; the broader category to which Isis 31 belongs
• Alpha-Order -- The Kaiser Corporation's secret breeding program that created her
• Prometheus, Isis, and Phoenix Series -- The three principal genetic lines
• Prometheus 107 -- Fellow Super-Driver; Isis 31's most frequent combat companion
• Phoenix 34 -- Fellow Super-Driver; destroyed alongside Isis 31 in the PSI-Aura
• Thor 51 -- Fellow Super-Driver; her partner during the JAMES COOK expedition
• Osiris 84 -- Fellow Super-Driver in Valdec's service through the Second Reich
• Valhala 13 -- Riemenmann Super-Driver; the saga's most tragic clone
• Isis 24 -- Earlier iteration of the Isis genetic line
• Max von Valdec -- Creator and ultimate master
• Frost -- Handler during the JAMES COOK expedition
• Kaiser Corporation -- Institutional sponsor of the Alpha-Order
• Kaiser secret station -- Breeding facility on Sarym
• Hermano Lotz -- Station commander of the Alpha-Order
• Sarym -- Prison planet and breeding ground for Super-Drivers
• Maritime Coral City -- Site of the Super-Drivers' confrontation with the PSI-Aura
• PSI-Aura -- The ancient bio-psionic field that neutralized the Super-Drivers
• JAMES COOK -- The expedition ship Isis 31 helped destroy
• Llewellyn 709 -- Expedition leader and adversary
• Jana -- Lodge Master who fought Isis 31 aboard the JAMES COOK
• Cantos -- Genessan who subdued Isis 31 effortlessly
• Killer-Block -- Mental conditioning mechanism ensuring Super-Driver loyalty
• PSI Powers -- Overview of psionic abilities in Die Terranauten
• Hephaistos -- Site of Isis 31's betrayal and the JAMES COOK's destruction
• Reality Switch -- Precosmic entity where Isis 31 was last seen
• Steel Fleet -- Valdec's final armada, in which Isis 31 served

Isis 31 appears in 8 of 99 booklets of Die Terranauten. She is the longest-surviving named Super-Driver in the saga -- and the one who comes closest to fulfilling the Alpha-Order program's original vision: a psionic weapon that serves its master without rebellion, from creation to the very end.