AN UNRELIABLE HISTORIAN WITH THE INFORMATION GRAHAM NEEDS
THE OLD MAN
He knows how the Sleeper's fortune conquered the world. He just does not believe the Sleeper is sitting beside him.
Graham meets the Old Man while separated from the revolutionaries during the blackout.
For the first time since waking, Graham encounters someone outside the official structures controlling his access to information.
The Old Man explains how Graham's estate passed through trustees, accumulated across generations and gradually absorbed companies, property and political influence.
His account finally lets Graham understand why the Council exists and why Ostrog's revolution has been fought in the Sleeper's name.
The scene is also comic: when Graham reveals that he is the Sleeper, the Old Man refuses to believe him.
SELECTED RECORDS
FOLLOW THE OLD MAN THROUGH THE ARCHIVE
ARCHIVE NOTE
WHY THIS CHARACTER MATTERS
The Old Man is valuable because truth reaches Graham through an imperfect source. Wells lets conspiracy, history and comedy coexist in the same conversation.