Petra Pena
Petra Pena is the young narrator, main character, and protagonist of Donna Barba Higuera’s The Last Cuentista. Petra was born in a turbulent time in Earth’s history, a comet has struck the planet, rendering much of it unhabitable. As a result of this, teams of Earth’s best and brightest scientists teamed together to build a spaceship to go to another planet before it is too late and humanity becomes extinct.
Petra and her family are one of the select few chosen to go on the mission, something that heartens Petra. She had spent much of her life curious about the people, cultures, and science around her. And she wanted the opportunity to assuage her curiosity.
After a bit of time and difficulty, Petra and her family board the colony ships, which are bound for another planet, which humans hope to settle on. Because of her aforementioned interest in people and culture, Petra becomes the ship’s “cuentista,” or storyteller, in charge of safeguarding the stories that make people human.
She takes her role incredibly seriously. Despite her young age, she believes fervently in the importance of her mission. Over time, it becomes clear that an AI called The Collective (which was designed to help, not hurt the humans aboard the ship) is bent on homogenizing humanity and its culture. It is in her fight against The Collective that she displays her core traits: ingenuity, intelligence, forthrightness, candor, and magnetism.
The Collective
The Collective is the amorphous antagonist of the novel. An artificial intelligence designed by human scientists to safeguard the health and safety of the humans on the colony ship, The Collective transformed from a genial caretaker to an insidious enemy bent on destroying what makes humans unique: their culture.
Naturally, as an artificial intelligence, The Collective is incredibly intelligent and able to adapt to Petra’s ever-changing tactics. To that end, they enlist the help of humans – including Vox – to create a corporeal building. For her, they are a formidable enemy capable of doing profound damage.
Nyla
Nyla is the Chancellor of The Collective – a human who, along with Zyla, allows The Collective to exert control on a more physical level. An intelligent and cunning young woman, Nyla wants to effect change on the colony ship. In many ways, she is an automaton, devoid of original thought and personality. She is a tool of The Collective.
Javier Pena
Javier Pena is Petra’s brother and another resident of the colony ship. A minor character in the novel, Javier’s memory and identity are wiped by the Collective, enticing Petra to try and make him remember his past life – a life that included her. It becomes clear that Javier and Petra were exceptionally close before they boarded the ship and they both wanted to recapture that magic.
