Ramone Moon is a pivotal figure in Mind’s Edge, operating at the intersection of political power, corporate greed, and the isolation of the infected sector. He is a man who presents one image to his community while being suspected of mass murder by the outside world.
In the eyes of the infected sector, Ramone Moon is seen as a local hero and a source of stability:
A Beloved Figure: Evit states that Ramone Moon is “loved” within the infected sector.
The Innovator and Employer: He built a factory in the center of Boston, in a spot where a bomb had dropped, making it the only new structure (besides shacks) built since the war. He pays well and provides much needed employment opportunities for the local population.
The Suppressed Visionary: Moon is known to have approached the Digitech board with his invention, a fusion car. This technology was “smothered” because the outside world (Digitech) prioritized sticking with their oil sales. This makes him a symbol of the infected sector’s ingenuity being oppressed by the clean sector’s self interest.
Ramone Moon is characterized as a shrewd, if physically altered, power broker whose identity is rooted in the contaminated zone:
Physical Appearance: When Edge finally confronts him, Moon’s appearance reflects his status as a radio, featuring an uneven physique, “bulging flab on the upper part of his torso, which thinned down his body”, and facial deformities, with tumors framing his head and purple marks mazing across his face.
A Defensive Businessman: When his office is breached, his immediate actions are to scream for “Security” and produce a gun, showing that he is prepared and fearful. He quickly suspects Edge is a Digitech “hitman”, demonstrating his awareness of the violent corporate climate surrounding him.
Inherited Power: His status as a Digitech board member is not due to his current accomplishments, but because his shares were “passed down to him through family before the war”. This links his power directly to the old world while he operates in the new.
Ramone Moon faces simultaneous threats from both the inside and outside of the global power structure:
The Target of Suspicion: He is the primary suspect in the plot to murder Digitech’s board members, a scheme that allows the remaining shares to be split among survivors. The clean sector fears he is using the “radio” identity to commit the mysterious, psychic driven killings to gain control of the entire company.
Corporate and Political Isolation: He is legally barred from leaving the infected sector (New England). Furthermore, his access to the outside world is being cut off: his clearance to leave the sector has been revoked, and his phone lines have been shut down from the outside. This isolation makes him vulnerable.
Survival: Moon is aware that the murders are targeting every board member. He points out that the only way to know the true killer is when there is only one left, indicating his fear that he, too, will be eliminated. He is effectively trapped and fighting for his life against unseen forces that originate from the world outside his control.
