When the story opens, Jim Holden is the executive officer of the Canterbury, a 100-year-old water hauler. He’s been with the Cant for five years and thinks of it as home. Prior to joining the Cant, he was a soldier in the UN Navy. He was discharged for attempting to punch a commanding officer who ordered him to fire on a suspected hostile ship that Holden (correctly) believed was unarmed, which speaks to his uncompromising morality.

Holden is Earthborn. He grew up on a collective farm in Montana, the only child of five fathers and three mothers. He has genes from all of them. He’s well educated, with an aesthetic sensibility and an appreciation for literature—and coffee. He has warm memories of his childhood and likes Montana, but his love of flying has kept him in space for years.

Holden an idealist who believes in transparency. He’s apparently an advocate of the open-source philosophy, although the authors don’t use that term. He thinks the more that information is shared, the better, regardless of missing details or context. His name, “Holden,” suggests his narrative role: He’s the center who holds everyone in orbit. He ensures their safety like the hold in a castle.