Appearing in "Heart of the Matter"
Featured Characters:
Supporting Characters:
- Dr. Tachyon (Main story and flashback)
- Chrysalis (Debra Jo Jory)
- Charles Dutton
Antagonists:
- "Smooth Eddy" Shiloh (Main story and flashback)
- Ansata (Only in flashback)
- Dr. Tod (Only in flashback)
- Filmore (Only in flashback)
Other Characters:
- Ahmed
- Albert Einstein (Only in flashback)
- Brain Trust (Blythe van Renssaeler) (Only in flashback)
- Colonel Wayne (Only in flashback)
- Envoy (David Harstein) (Only in flashback)
- Elmo
- Fred (Only in flashback)
- Jet Boy (Robert Tomlin) (Only in flashback)
- John F. Kennedy (Only in flashback) (Mentioned)
- Linc Traynor (Only in flashback)
- Peregrine
- Sascha Starfin
- Squisher
- Yeoman
Locations:
- China (Only in flashback) (Mentioned)
- England (Only in flashback) (Mentioned)
- Manila Bay (Only in flashback) (Mentioned)
- New Jersey (Main story and flashback)
- New York City (Main story and flashback)
- Central Park
- Empire State Building
- Jet Boy's Tomb
- Statue of Liberty
- Jokertown
- Crystal Palace
- Blythe van Renssaeler Memorial Clinic (Only in flashback)
- Famous Bowery Wild Card Dime Museum
- Squisher's Basement
- Paris (Main story and flashback)
- Pearl Harbor (Only in flashback) (Mentioned)
- Switzerland (Only in flashback) (Mentioned)
- Takis (Only in flashback)
- Tulsa (Mentioned)
Items:
- Xenovirus Takis-A bomb (Only in flashback)
Vehicles:
Synopsis for "Heart of the Matter"
Jetboy's tomb was bombed by a wild card; however, nobody was killed. Popinjay and Dr. Tachyon visited the crime scene and later left to have coffee. Dr. Tachyon asked Popinjay to investigate the bombing. Then, Dr. Tachyon told Popinjay about how the wild card virus came to be and how he came to Earth. When he came to Earth, he was incarcerated by the U.S. military before convincing Albert Einstein of the virus. Sometime later, thousands died of cholera in New York. Months later, he met Blythe van Renssaeler and fell in love with her. Dr. Tachyon was deported for refusing to testify before Congress and went to Europe, where he spent thirteen years before learning that Blythe had died. He returned to New York under the Kennedy administration and founded the Blythe van Renssaeler Memorial Clinic. Dr. Tachyon and Popinjay both left the cafe and the latter agreed to investigate on behalf of the former. Popinjay visited Bonham's Flying Service in Shantak, New Jersey to look for Jetboy, who was believed to be dead for forty years. When he arrived, he encountered "Smooth Eddy" Shiloh instead, who was the owner. Popinjay told Smooth Eddy about the bombing of Jetboy's tomb. Then Smooth Eddy told Popinjay about his past with Dr. Tod and Jetboy in 1946. Smooth Eddy, Filmore, and Frank had discovered an atomic bomb. On September 15th, they planned to drop a virus over Manhattan, but were thwarted by Jetboy. Then, Popinjay visited the Crystal Palace and gave his contact information to Ahmed, shortly before talking with Miss Chrysalis. Popinjay and Miss Chrysalis visited Charles Dutton at the Famous Bowery Wild Card Dime Museum and Squisher below Uncle Chowder's Clam Bar to ask them about the bombing, to no avail. Popinjoy decided to go home. Meanwhile, there was a time bomb at Aces High at the Empire State Building.