Hoss

Hoss, a killer intent on improving his position on the charts, aiming for a gold record. He is indisputably one of the best solo acts in the game and is well aware of the pressure that fame puts on him to continue to play that game and become number one. Hoss’s problem is that he senses the futility of continuing to perform according to other people’s rules instead of according to his own instincts. The isolation into which his managers have pushed him is destroying Hoss’s confidence and his awareness of what is going on at the fringes of the game. He knows that the real threats to any star come not from the other acts playing within the game but from the Gypsy Markers acting outside the game who use and break the rules to fit their own purposes. This threat is realized in Crow, who is able to defeat Hoss in a shoot-out and to claim all Hoss’s territory and entourage.

Becky Lou

Becky Lou, Hoss’s manager and girlfriend, a woman capable of shaping a renegade killer into a chart-topping solo marker, as she has done with Hoss. Becky, however, is also capable of destroying her creations, because she defines success as playing by the rules of the game. She is an opportunist who apparently joined up with Hoss when he was starting to make a name for himself on the circuit and who knows how to manipulate him to act against the instincts that served him well early in his career. After the fight, she leaves with Crow.

Star-Man

Star-Man, an astrologer, part of Hoss’s management team. In advising Hoss when to kill and not to kill according to the stars, he takes away the unpredictable edge that made Hoss a successful solo marker. By advising Hoss against moving when he is ready, Star-Man helps to leave Hoss in the vulnerable, disheartened, and stagnant state in which Crow finds him at the time of the fight.

Galactic Jack

Galactic Jack, a disc jockey, in the style of Wolfman Jack, who keeps the charts on the game. He informs Hoss of his position on the charts and of movements being made by other participants in the game. Like the other people surrounding Hoss, Galactic Jack believes in the power of the game and the forces that administer the rules. He does not believe in the possibility of a serious threat coming from outside the game, that is, from the Gypsy Markers.

Cheyenne

Cheyenne, the driver of Hoss’s Maserati, a longtime companion and friend to Hoss. Because of their years as a team, Cheyenne senses the wavering of Hoss’s confidence. Unlike Hoss, however, Cheyenne believes in the game because of the rewards it promises: the gold record and the stability the game has maintained. Following the fight between Hoss and Crow, Cheyenne is the only member of Hoss’s management team who does not leave with Crow.

Doc

Doc, Hoss’s trainer, whose main activities are preparing and dispensing drugs to Hoss and giving him advice about how to prepare for the big fight.

Crow

Crow, an arrogant, finely tuned, efficient young killer who comes from the outside to challenge Hoss to a shoot-out. He is a real threat to Hoss’s position on the charts as well as to his pride. Crow is a Gypsy Marker and, unlike Hoss, is not restricted in how he plays the game. This freedom is one thing that Hoss has lost, and Crow capitalizes on Hoss’s desire once again to be free to act as he wishes. Following Hoss’s suicide at the end of their fight, Crow surrounds himself with all Hoss’s possessions and entourage and prepares to move on his next target.

Referee

Referee, the official who scores the duel between Hoss and Crow.