Takeshi Kovacs

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Takeshi Lev Kovacs (pronounced "Ko-vach," Hungarian for "Smith"; the same in Slovak (and some other Slavic languages) though written as Kováč, which transliterates into Kovacs) is the prime character of the books Altered Carbon, Broken Angels, and Woken Furies by Richard Morgan, which take place several centuries in the future.

Raised on the planet Harlan's World, Kovacs is a half-Japanese, half-Eastern European individual who was a teenage gang member before enlisting in the military. After leaving the Envoy Corps, Kovacs returned to criminal life and became a mercenary, and was eventually imprisoned, his cortical "stack" stored without a body for decades at a time as punishment before being paroled or hired out to work high-risk situations.

Kovacs is a former Envoy, a type of futuristic soldier, part intelligence operative and part shock trooper, trained to adapt quickly to new bodies and new environments. Envoys are used by the governing Protectorate to infiltrate and crush planetary unrest and maintain political stability. Envoy training is actually a form of psychospiritual conditioning that operates at subconscious levels. Envoys possess total recall and are able to discern subtle patterns within seemingly unrelated events. They possess a thorough understanding of body language and vocal tonality, such that they can often manipulate others with ease. They are able to control their physiological and psychological responses, such as fear and anger, at will. Another aspect that figures prominently in an Envoy's training is a systematic removal of every instinct that would give them any qualm about ending a life. The training is such that, on most worlds, its graduates are instantly forbidden by law to hold any political or military office.

When deployed on the battlefield, Envoys are equipped with a wide variety of weaponry and demolitions, as well as modifications built directly into their bodies, including reinforced muscles, tendons, and armored bones. They have enhanced vision and neurachem, a sort of synthetic adrenaline that slows down their perception of time and enhance their reflexes. This, in combination with their comprehensive training and acquired sociopathy, makes for the most lethal soldier the human race has ever fielded. The fear the mention of their name can elicit is often used by Kovacs to threaten and intimidate.