Carlos Santiago

Carlos was born on Earth in the small town of Zihuatenejo, Mexico. His parents had left their home in Texas for a baby moon vacation when his mother went into labor two weeks early. Carlos grew up in San Antonio until his parents took jobs working on the Hidden Sun. His father, John, was a lawyer while his mother, Isa, worked part time as handling medical paperwork, mostly billing (though she did none of this aboard the Hidden Sun).

Though born in Mexico, Carlos is of Spanish decent. He has olive skin, dark hair parted in the middle, and dark eyes. Carlos does not function well under pressure and prefers a more laid back lifestyle with as little confrontation as possible.

Author’s Note:

I created Carlos because the ship needed someone to handle the medical duties. As the story progressed, it became clear that if I was going to make the story more interesting and make the Hidden Sun seem like a place that was full of life, as opposed to just one room where four characters are fighting for their lives, then Brandon had to extend his inner circle. Making Carlos his roommate paid off because it added a closeness to their relationship. Even though Carlos is not the first person Brandon goes to, or even the second, his place as Brandon’s roommate creates a strong link and automatic bond between the two.

I decided to make Carlos hispanic because there was no hispanic character yet. The only other child of color was Brandon and I didn’t want to have one brown face in a sea of white ones.

Charlie’s Note:

My fondest memory of Carlos was when he punched Frank Drek in the face. Frank had been injured and was woozy from the pain medication he was on. He started yelling, and said horrible things about Carlos. It finally reached a point where Carlos couldn’t take it anymore and he let go a right hook that knocked Frank out cold. Frank had been teasing Carlos and most of the other kids aboard the Hidden Sun for a long time. He got what he deserved.