Edge (or Billy): The protagonist, whose full name is William Allen. He works for the company Digitech in the uninfected area (the “clean sector”) but was born and raised in the Infected Sector.
Radio(s): A term for people who are physically “deformed from the radiation” and possess “psychic abilities”. They primarily live in the infected sector and are generally barred from uninfected areas of the world. The term is sometimes used as an insult.
Infected Sector (or New England): The region, primarily New England, that was contaminated during a war and is now isolated from the rest of the world. It is considered a highly dangerous place.
Clean Sector: The uninfected areas of the world, which restrict entry to people from the Infected Sector.
Worlder(s): A term used by people in the infected sector to refer to people who are from the outside, uninfected world.
Blocker: A “transparent red plastic headband with wiring throughout it” that Edge wears to block the “psychic abilities” of radios.
Mind Shock (Mind Shocks): A psychic phenomenon that manifests as “pink clouds in the air” (visible to some radios).
Shelter Head (Shelter Heads): A derogatory term used by some radios for people who hid in a shelter to escape the war.
Digitech: The company where Edge works and whose board members are being systematically murdered.
Plastique: A material Edge uses to fashion an improvised explosive device from a television remote. His training in making explosives “over there” involved using scarce materials like chicken droppings.
