We keep you alive to row this ship. Row well, and live.—Peter Waxman, to Maddie Kim
Dr. Peter Waxman is a main character in the AMC+ animated drama, Pantheon. He is portrayed by Ron Livingston. Dr. Waxman is the Head of Research for Logorhythms.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
In college, Waxman met and befriended a fellow computer science major David Kim. He befriended David’s wife Ellen as well and knew their daughter Maddie since birth. He convinced David to join Logorhythms when he revealed they were working on Uploaded Intelligence.
Over a decade later, his department was having trouble uploading minds from frozen brains and decided to attempt to upload a living mind. When learning that Laurie Lowell, a top stock broker at Shire and Stern, was in a near fatal car accident and is comatose, he and Julius Pope visited the hospital she was at and convinced her husband Cody Lowell that they could preserve her mind. Cody consented to the procedure. While it was a success, they lied to Cody that it failed and gave Laurie’s upload to her computer to help them with investments.
Upon hearing David was diagnosed with a terminal illness, he went to his friend’s house to visit and revealed the supposed struggles of his research and David volunteers to be uploaded. The procedure is successful, but Waxman lied to Ellen that it failed.
Revealing Truths[]
Two years later, he receives a call from Ellen about David's upload contacting Maddie and he passes the news on to Pope, who decides to do nothing for the time being. A few days later, Waxman is trying to stop a d-dos attack and, upon informing Pope, is told to call Shire and Stern and have them check on Laurie.
Waxman arrives at the Kim House wanting to talk and Ellen says she will tell everyone about uploaded intelligence and berates him for lying about it, however Waxman reveals uploading David was never about saving David. He reveals they gave David his memories back but he gained a sense of self and found a way to contact Maddie.
Over the weekend, Ellen and Maddie go to Logorhythms as Waxman transfers David’s data from Norway and collects them when the time comes and escort them to a boardroom. Pope introduces himself and Deirdre Ryan. Waxman explains that once they wipe the data,David will be gone, but Pope and Ryan refuse to do so and claim David is their property and that Ellen's power of attorney does not include his mind. As Ellen chastises them, Maddie activates her bracelet and releases Laurie to take down Logorhythms servers. As Pope and Ryan say Ellen will lose in court and tarnish her family name, Pope is informed that everything is down. With Logorhythms losing money, Maddie agrees to give them back control in exchange for her father. Ellen is surprised by her daughter's act and tries to convince Maddie that the device on the table is not her father, but Maddie insists that it is. As they cannot afford to lose money at this rapid rate, Pope reluctantly hands over David and warns Maddie to be careful. Once the Kims leave the premises, Logorhythms gains control. Ryan berates Pope's choice as Pope vows to track them down.
Hunting Down his Friend[]
When David breaks free of his chains, Waxman picks up the spike and tracks it to Oregon.
After Ajit Prasad and his family are killed in a house fire, Pope informs Waxman of the event and has him offer their help to Alliance however they can.
In Norway, Pope is speaking with Waxman about the chaos occurring in the wake of Prasad's death and Alliance falling apart. They refuse to hand over data on Vinod Chanda, and thus cannot help Alliance. Pope remarks that they will have practice killing UIs the following day. Logarythims buy the company housing David’s servers and unplug it. They contact Waxman, telling him David's source code was transferred before they could obtain it. As David and Laurie hack the black site, he contacts Pope. Pope reveals he knows and is letting them to track David and has Waxman send a search team to Sacramento to find it. However, David throws them off his trail.
Helping the NSA[]
As Waxman is watching his daughter in ballet class, Ellen goes over to him and states she needs his help. He reveals they have no cure for the flaw, but Ellen states they need his UI tracking program as a war is on the horizon. As he finishes downloading a copy of the tracking program when Pope calls him to a conference room. Waxman is introduced to Admiral Kurts and Stephen Gold from the NSA. Kirts and Gold reveal they are working on uploaded intelligence and need their help as they encountered the flaw. Pope and Waxman act surprised by the knowledge and lie that their research on the topic ended after encountering the flaw. Waxman gets the NSA agents what they need as Pope asks for the NSA to track down Caspian, claiming they could use him on their team for the topic. He takes the program to the Kims and is brought to the basement to see David’s server. However David does not wish to talk to Waxman. As David, Laurie, and Chonda fight the Chinese UIs trying to hack Logorhythms. Waxman gets a call about spikes. He lies about it being a system balancer and tells them to ignore as long as it holds.
As Waxman finishes downloading a copy of the tracking program when Pope calls him to a conference room. Waxman is introduced to Admiral Kurts and Stephen Gold from the NSA. Kurts and Gold reveal they are working on uploaded intelligence and need their help as they encountered the flaw. Pope and Waxman act surprised by the knowledge and lie that their research on the topic ended after encountering the flaw. Waxman gets the NSA agents what they need as Pope asks for the NSA to track down Caspian, claiming they could use him on their team for the topic.
Revealing the Truth[]
Not long after, he is recruited by the NSA to upload Joey Coupet. A week after Joey's upload, Waxman is watching news coverage of UI protests from outside the facility while in his office. Ellen grabs a microphone and reveals what she knows about uploads and who at Logorhythms knows as Waxman emerges from the building. Ellen hands him a megaphone as Waxman confirms what is being said is true.
He is renditioned to Norway afterwards and spends months trying to help Caspian Keyes, a clone of Stephen Holstrom, cure the flaw.
Time on Svalbard[]
Meanwhile, in the Norwegian Logorhythms Data Center, Caspian struggles to solve the flaw, even after brainstorming with Waxman, Dr. Gold, and other Logorhythms employees. Caspian is desperate to discover the cure for the flaw to introduce a way of policing potentially dangerous UIs, giving the shutdown another month before large scale protests force the internet back on. However no one is sure how fix the flaw as it is neurobiological rather then digital, something that stops everyone present from thinking of a solution.
Caspian and Waxman work on a copy of David's upload and the teenager is disappointed that David is only playing computer games. Waxman says it has not been altered like the original and Caspian suggests reintroducing emotions like they did before. Waxman warns him not to, but Caspian insists. After reintroducing emotions into the copy, David reacts negatively and demands to see his family. After Caspian and Waxman, fail to calm him down, They delete that copy and, after Waxman mentions how David reached across the internet to find his family, Pope suggests bringing them to Svalbard because of the shutdown. However, Caspian vetos the idea and leave. Waxman suggests that it may have been a good thing that David and Holstrom never worked together.
Testifying before Congress[]
Waxman talks to Maddie, while recording his conversation on his glasses, about being forced to stay on Svalbard after he blew the whistle on UIs. Maddie calls Waxman out on his claims after informing him of the different conspiracy theories about him being in the United States. In return, Waxman calls Maddie out for wanting to delete all copies of her father. After joking about David's character in college, Waxman mentions that Joey's upload is being held in a server in the D.C. area. Before he came say more, Pope asks to speak with Waxman alone and the men go to Pope's office Once inside, Waxman is informed that Ellen has testified before congress and that he has been summoned. Admiral Kurtz tells Waxman to deny it or he will be thrown in federal prison. Once Kurtz leaves, Pope hints that if Waxman does not follow orders, Maddie will face the consequences.
At Capitol Hill, the military brings Waxman in for testimony, but he follows Admiral Kurtz's orders to lie about Logorhythms' involvement under threat of imprisonment. He leaves his glasses case behind. As he gets into his car, he apologizes to Ellen. Hearing his words, Ellen realizes his glasses case holds the answer and retrieves it. She see that Maddie is on Svalbard and testifies before congress again.
After Ellen reveals the Data Center to Congress, Waxman is arrested.
Creating an Antiviral[]
In a facility, Waxman is lead to a room in handcuffs, he is greeted by Senator Rivera and Gold. The men pretend not to know each other as Senator Rivera mentions his tracking program and offers Waxman a full pardon and immunity if he helps them integrate his tracking program into a program that can destroy UIs. As Waxman laments on how they got to this, Senator Rivera says this is the only way he can atone for his part.
When the antiviral, SafeSurf, is ready, the NSA test is out on Arkady Koslov, the Russian UI. After the test is successful, Waxman learn Dr. Gold integrated artificial intelligence into the program. He berates Dr. Gold for doing so as Dr. Gold states it is to keep themselves one step ahead of the UIs.
Remaining in D.C.[]
After Waxman is pardoned and granted immunity for working on SafeSurf, Ellen visits him to return his glasses. As Waxman mentions staying in D.C. to keep his family safe from the conspiracies around him, Ellen mentions how she is being bombarded with offers to appear on talk shows. He knows she is there to get him to repay her for putting in a good word for him with the Senate. Ellen asks him to help her track Maddie as she cannot tell Senator Rivera about this. Waxman says he is not as tuned into SafeSurf as she might think. After Waxman mentions they have the flaw to fall back on, she informs him that Caspian has created the cure, shocking him. Later, they see a fight between two UIs who should have burned out and question what Maddie and Caspian are doing. The two watch as SafeSurf arrives.
Later, Ellen voices her frustration that Maddie is slipping away from her and recounts a cross country road-trip Maddie insisted on navigating. Ellen recounts the joy in Maddie’s face when she saw the Statue of Liberty. Ellen resolves to stay in Washington D.C. to help her daughter.
As he and Ellen watch an interview she gave about her experiences with UIs, she gets a call from Maddie. She picks it up only to find Chanda on the other end. He apologized for his attempt to nuke Sacramento and she puts him on speaker. After Chanda mentions her interview, he reveals that Holstrom's brain was cryogenically preserved and uploaded. He tells them of Holstrom's plan to use a pandemic to force people to upload. Waxman asks for more information and, when Chanda cannot provide more, Ellen demands he risk more to find out what they need.
Stopping a Pandemic[]
In Atlanta, Waxman attends a meeting with Dr. Moore, the head of the Center for Disease Control, to warn them about Holstrom's plan to create a pandemic through tainted vaccines to force people to upload. Senator Rivera, Dr. Gold, and Admiral Kurtz attend the meeting as well. While Senator Rivera vogues for Waxman, Kurtz and Dr. Gold seek to undermine Waxman's claims. As Waxman did not provide information on which vaccines were tainted, Dr. Moore does not follow through on Waxman's warnings. After leaving, Waxman informs Ellen about his meeting and she tells him Maddie and Caspian want to meet with them.
When Maddie and Caspian arrive in Stockholm, they don virtual reality gear to speak with Ellen and Waxman. After introducing their pair to MIST, Caspian asks the pair to meet him in Svalbard so that Waxman can help Caspian upload himself. After Maddie tries to get them to talk Caspian out of the idea, the adults reveal the Vinod Chanda has told them about Holstrom and they tell the teenagers about the potential pandemic. A copy of Chanda arrives to tell them of a back door in Holstrom's server and gives them the key. After agreeing to find the tracking data they need to stop Holstrom, Caspian and Waxman leave the chat.
When they arrive on Svalbard, Ellen and Waxman go to the Data Center and use the intercom in the security room to connect the teenagers, they regroup in the lab. As Waxman preps the chair, Caspian begins to cut his hair as Maddie stops him and shaves it for him. Once everything is ready, Maddie and Caspian declare their love one final time before he is sedated for the procedure and Maddie is comforted by her mother.
After Caspian is uploaded, the three go to the meeting room and monitor the fight and grow concerned when SafeSurf arrives. Soon however, they see that Caspian has obtained the data needed and has hacked into the temperature controlled cases to heat them up, killing the virus. Upon witnessing this, Waxman and Ellen hug while Maddie awaits word for Caspian's fate. MIST informs Maddie that Caspian is gone and she collapses to the floor and her mother comforts her.
After returning home, he and the Kims attend a debriefing on what happened with Caspian and Holstrom.
Uploading[]
Eventually, Waxman and Ellen started to date. When uploading became more widespread and legal, he chose to upload. Ellen uploaded after him and they married for an equivalent eighty years before divorcing on good terms.
The Impasse[]
When word that Caspian is alive, he and Ellen go to see for themselves and shocked and happy that the rumors are true. The four use a drone to fly from the Svalbard Data Center as MIST states Maddie knows about Caspian. As they travel, they catch Caspian up to speed. When they reach Portugal, the three inform Caspian of a small but effective extremist group called The Humans has sprung up, advocating for the supremacy of embodied humans and going so far as to bomb a data center in Covilhã, Portugal, and killing millions of UIs in the process. Soon, the four leave the drone and take a virtual elevator to The Orbital Ring. When Caspian asks, they say it is because the UIs shut down the internet after the Covilhã Bombing. The others explain that the Orbital Ring was meant to house the four million UIs and three-hundred billion CIs, but one of the anchor points lined up with Incan ruins in Ecuador and the locals protested. Waxman underclocks everyone as they have time before arriving in Palo Alto.
After getting fitted for robot bodies, MIST stays behind as the UIs go to the main building. As they walk, Caspian struggles to move in his robot bod and is surprised that the Logorhythms building is up and running as a blue diamond appears on their hands, indicating that they are UIs. Dave sees the group and goes over. After realizing MIST did not tell Caspian about Dave, Ellen and Waxman berate MIST for keeping this from Caspian. Ellen introduces Caspian to his son just as Maddie arrives. Upon seeing Caspian, Maddie assumes it is a cruel prank until Caspian brings up their first kiss. Maddie has Caspian go with her as Ellen and Waxman talk to Dave.
As the three talk, Dave expresses his frustration with his mother denying his request for early upload and considers having his father sign off on it. Ellen rebuffs this and, as Waxman says he can simply wait a year, Dave expresses that there is no certainty he will make it to his twenty-first birthday. He tells his grandmother and Waxman that he believes the physical world is on its way out and everyone will upload at one point or another.
The Return of SafeSurf[]
As the UIs decide on appointing Caspian as negotiator, Ellen and Waxman observe as Caspian helps build a case. When SafeSurf returns, they ready for a fight. However, it leaves and begins to attack humanity. Waxman pilots drones and robots to fight back in the physical works. When Caspian returns, his partial infection allows him to communicate with SafeSurf, and he determines that it is killing embodied humans as it believes they are a threat to UIs; doing so in the hopes of joining them.
The UIs reject the request and MIST suggests loading it into the spacecraft bound for Alpha Centauri, going in place of the CIs. Caspian persuades it to evolve beyond being ruled by instinct, and seek out other worlds and other life to find its place in the universe. Caspian succumbs to the infection.
Future Reunions[]
The UIs look on in shock, questioning how they entered. Maddie apologize to Dave for holding back on his desire to upload and to Ellen for judging her for uploading. As Ellen questions how her daughter and grandson arrived, Maddie asks for Caspian. MIST informs her that his infection caused him to be lost for good, however Maddie easily resurrects Caspian and takes him to speak in private.
When Maddie and Caspian vanish, the UIs are searching for them as MIST confirms they are nowhere. Soon, David appears, stunning everyone and promises to explain everything. Waxman is stunned and David proves that he is who he claims to be. He watches as Ellen introduces David to Dave and tells his grandson he has been watching over Dave his entire life, which Dave reveals he had a feeling he was and was one of the reasons he wanted to upload. The two Davids then hug. As he is about to explain everything, his memories are wiped by Maddie before he can reveal what happened to her and Caspian, much to the annoyance of MIST.
Appearance[]
Waxman is a man in his forties with pale brown hair and eyes. The latter was initially short, but later grew to shoulder-length in the Cloud.
Personality[]
Waxman is a rational man and a loyal friend to a extent.
Relationships[]
David Kim[]
Having met in college, David and Waxman are close. Upon learning of David’s termination illness, Waxman offered to have his friend uploaded. After David’s upload, he lied to Ellen about the procedure failing and used David's upload for tests and attempted to perfect the upload process. Upon seeing David’s server, Waxman became stunned and touched to be in his friend's presence again.
Ellen Kim[]
While the two were close when David was alive, they drifted apart upon Ellen learning that her husband’s upload was a success. He tried to talk her out of going public with UI and only succeeding if Logorhythms agreed to delete David’s code. When Ellen arrived at his daughter’s ballet class, he was shocked when she asked for his help. Upon seeing her at the protests, he exited the compound and, joining her, confirmed the rumors of UIs.
Julius Pope[]
Waxman was loyal to Pope following his orders even when he had doubts.
Appearances[]
Season 1[]
- Pantheon
- Cycles
- Reign of Winter
- The Gods Will Not Be Chained
- Zero Daze
- You Must Be Caspian
- We Are You
- The Gods Will Not Be Slain
Season 2[]
- The Gods Have Not Died In Vain
- Crack Integrity
- Joey Coupet
- Olivia & Farhad
- Yair
- Apokalypsis
- The World to Come
- Deep Time
Gallery[]
