Pamir

Pamir is a human who has appeared in many of Robert Reed's *Great Ship* stories. As a disgraced former Captain on the Great Ship, he's lived under many false identities to evade the Ship's authorities.

Early Life
Pamir was born on a colony world. His mother was thousands of years old, while his father was only 30.

As a young man, he left his homeworld on a starship, the Elassia, where he became an apprentice engineer. In order to become an engineer, he confronted the lowest ranking engineer, a harum-scarum. He bribed and insulted the alien, hoping to provoke a fight. The harum-scarum retaliated by arranging for Pamir to be killed by a nuclear blast. Only Pamir's head survived the blast, but he was revived and made an engineer.

Pamir served on the Elassia for sixteen hundred years, eventually rose to the rank of Master Engineer. However, the Elassia would be destroyed by a comet collision, killing all of the thousands on board. Pamir was the only survivor, though it would be centuries before his remains were recovered and revived.

By this time, humans had discovered the Great Ship, and the Belter guild was building a fleet of ships to claim it. Pamir was part of the team of engineers building the ships, but was not selected to be a part of the journey. Instead, he snuck on board one of the ships and temporarily killed himself in the back of a tunnel. Once he was revived, the Master Captain allowed him to remain. He was not welcomed by the engineers, so he became a Captain.

Captain on the Great Ship
Pamir was a talented Captain. He rose through the ranks, but was held back by his unwillingness to "play the game" by giving gifts to his superiors. He became close friends with Washen.

The Child
Pamir eventually encountered a Gaian alien, the Child, when it attempted to board the Great Ship as a refugee. Pamir kept the Child's existence a secret and allowed it to live in a waste treatment facility, where he would visit it regularly. When Samara came to kill the Child, Pamir fought alongside the Child. In the end, Pamir killed both Gaians. He combined a small amount of their flesh with his own, creating a new Child. This new Child was raised by Washen, and eventually sent off to a new planet.

Fugitive
After the destruction of the waste facility, Pamir went into hiding. He would frequently change his appearance and name, taking on new identities in different places on the Ship.

Wayward Rebellion
Thousands of years later, when a large number of important Captains suddenly went missing, the Master Captain issued amnesty to former Captains who were in hiding, allowing them a chance to become Captains again. Pamir was the last one to accept, returning just before the deadline and demanding his old rank back. He informed the Master Captain that he had met with Washen around the time she disappeared, and volunteered to search for her and the missing Captains.

When the Waywards seized control of the Great Ship and imprisoned many of the Captains, Pamir helped lead the resistance. Though Miocene had declared herself the new Master Captain, Pamir argued that her claim was invalid and that legally he was now the Ship's master. He was able to secure the help of the Remoras, Harum-scarums, and numerous other aliens to defeat the Waywards and take back control of the Ship. In return, they were able to join the ranks of the Captains.

Submaster
After the war, Pamir became the Second Chair Submaster of the Great Ship. Though the Master Captain had been returned to her throne, Washen and Pamir now held considerable power.

Pamir was part of the crew sent to visit the Blue World to meet the Polyponds.

(Spoilers for The Well of Stars and The Dragons of Marrow)

After the !eech seized control of the Great Ship, Pamir continued fighting them while others retreated to Marrow. He survived for millions of years before eventually joining the others on Marrow.

Dragon
(Spoilers for The Dragons of Marrow)

Pamir is one of the Dragons who rule over Marrow, and whose death triggers the burn cycle. When he first spoke to the Corona's Children, he took a special intereset in King due to his respect and experience with the harum-scarums.

Seldom eventually reveals that the Dragons have been living on Marrow and fighting the !eech for billions of years.

Appearances

 * Aeon's Child
 * Parables of Infinity
 * Precious Mental
 * Camouflage
 * Marrow
 * The Well of Stars
 * The Dragons of Marrow