In the year 2889 characters

Francis Bennett

Also known as the director of the Earth Herald, the proprietor of the Earth Herald

The wealthy director and proprietor of the Earth Herald, an enormously influential newspaper in the year 2889. He represents the technologically advanced, commercially driven society of the future and takes a practical interest in its inventions and institutions.

As drawn: a man, a middle-aged, well-groomed man in an immaculate, formal futuristic business suit.

Oswald Nier

A renowned inventor who, in 2792, discovered how to reproduce physical forces directly from one another and reproduce one force without the others. His discovery initiated a major era of technological progress.

As drawn: a man, an elderly man with thinning white hair and a scholarly, dignified appearance, dressed in a dark formal suit.

Joseph Jackson

A celebrated inventor who created the new accumulators and the transformer, technologies that allow energy from sources such as sunlight, the Earth, waterfalls, and wind to be stored and released in different forms.

As drawn: a man, a middle-aged man of practical build with neatly trimmed hair, dressed in a tailored suit.

George Washington Smith

The founder of the Manhattan Chronicle, a newspaper whose descendants eventually became the Earth Chronicle.

As drawn: a man, an elderly man with gray hair and a full gray beard, dressed in old-fashioned formal nineteenth-century attire.

Fritz Napoleon Smith

Also known as Mr. Smith, the editor of the Earth Chronicle

The immensely wealthy owner and editor of the Earth Chronicle in 2889. He has transformed the newspaper into a vast telephonic news service, controls extensive technological and commercial enterprises, advises diplomats, funds inventors, and oversees the newspaper's many departments.

As drawn: a man, a middle-aged, well-groomed man in an immaculate formal business suit.

Edith Smith

Also known as Mrs. Smith

Fritz Napoleon Smith's wife, described as a professional beauty. She is staying at their mansion in Paris and communicates with her husband through the phonotelephote.

As drawn: a woman, a young adult professional beauty with a graceful, fashionable appearance, dressed in an elegant gown with a stylish hat.

Archibald

An Earth Chronicle novelist whom Fritz Napoleon Smith praises for a story that has increased the newspaper's subscriptions.

As drawn: a man, a young adult with a neat, literary appearance, dressed in a modest formal suit.

John Last

Also known as Mr. John Last

An Earth Chronicle novelist whose work Fritz Napoleon Smith criticizes for lacking psychological analysis and realism.

As drawn: a man, a young adult with neatly combed hair and a slim build, dressed in a modest formal suit.

Cash

A reporter in the astronomical department of the Earth Chronicle who reports to Fritz Napoleon Smith about signals and phototelegrams from other planets.

As drawn: a man, a young adult with a tidy, attentive appearance, dressed in a practical suit.

William Cooley

Also known as Cooley

A scientific editor specializing in optics who has spent twenty years trying to establish communication with Jupiter and investigate the far side of the Moon.

As drawn: a man, a middle-aged man with a serious scholarly appearance, dressed in a dark formal suit.

Peer

A scientific editor in the Earth Chronicle's scientific department who contributes to the discussion about communicating with the Moon.

As drawn: a man, a middle-aged man with a precise, scholarly appearance, dressed in a dark formal suit.

Samuel Mark

Also known as Mr. Samuel Mark

An engineer or scientist in the meteorological division of the Earth Chronicle's scientific department. Fritz Napoleon Smith asks him to investigate the creation of artificial clouds.

As drawn: a man, a middle-aged man with a neat, professional appearance, dressed in a formal suit.

Sir John

The representative of Great Britain who asks Fritz Napoleon Smith to use the Earth Chronicle to campaign against the annexation of the British islands by the United States.

As drawn: a man, an elderly man with gray hair and a reserved, formal appearance, dressed in an elegant dark suit.

Nathaniel Faithburn

Also known as Dr. Nathaniel Faithburn, Dr. Faithburn

A doctor who, a hundred years earlier, attempted to test the possibility of human hibernation by placing himself in suspended animation for a century. When his body is recovered in 2889, the attempted revival fails and he is declared dead.

As drawn: a man, an elderly man with white hair and a neatly trimmed white beard, dressed in a dark formal suit.

Dr. Wilkins

Also known as Doctor Wilkins

A doctor who examines Fritz Napoleon Smith and later takes part in the attempted revival of Nathaniel Faithburn. He concludes that Faithburn has been dead for a hundred years.

As drawn: a man, a middle-aged man with a neat, scholarly appearance, dressed in a dark formal suit.