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LIAM RAGG (Peter Hudson)
Cal's father, a glaciologist.
A first class glaciologist, he has successfully taken part in some of the most important Rail Company worksites. His reputation precedes him. He is also one of the few people to own his own locomotive – the Pacific, and can travel the lines in comparative freedom.
A keen mind, a weather beaten face from working in polar winds, Liam circulates in the better circles with an affable charm. Pointsmen seek his opinion. Not everyone has discovered under the ice the ruins of ancient Rome!
But Liam’s aloofness isn’t accidental. He knows what his freedom costs. There is no doubt he would rather glide over the frozen expanses than through the realms of power. He has always done his best to raise Cal far from the excesses of Rail Society.
Liam’s love for his son knows no bounds. He alone has educated him. He continues to teach him all he knows with a solid moral sense.
The death of Cal’s mother remains a forbidden topic. Either from pain or excessive sensitivity, Liam only too infrequently touches on the subject. This lack of a maternal past is quite painfully to Cal; he resents his father’s silence. But Liam won’t give: he refuses to live in the past. Only Cal’s future matters.
But now, Cal threatens the delicate balance Liam has built around him. The father will obviously do all he can to protect his son. It will cost him. He often must skirt problems and soften sharp edges, at the risk of seeming weak – which only heightens Cal’s resentful rebellion.
But what Liam won’t say is that this excessive caution and protectiveness hide a secret he has sworn never to tell.
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