Joel Lilienkamp was one of the original settlers of Pern and served as the Expedition's Supply Officer.
Biography[]
Joel had been an associate of Paul Benden during the Nathi Wars, with an extraordinary knack of scavenging items, and was persuaded to join the Pernese colonists with his family.
When the colony was threatened by volcanic activity, Joel quickly relocated many items to what he hoped would be temporary storage in the Catherine Caves. Much of what was stored there was rediscovered in the Ninth Pass.
Two of Joel's sons were lost during the first fall of Thread.
After Paul Benden's death, Joel was elected to manage Fort Hold in his place. He thought of people as renewable supplies, but was loath to issue materiel from the colony's dwindling stores; Red Hanrahan, for example, had quite a time prying certain items from the old quartermaster for his new Hold.
It is thought that Joel was an ancestor of the Lilcamp traders of the Ninth Pass.
Appearance and personality[]
Joel was a short, chunky man with an engaging monkey face, known as much for his quick wit as for his ebullient character. He had an eidetic memory which allowed him to keep mental track of all items in the colony's stores; the chaos of the Landing Evacuation when Mount Garben erupted was traumatic for him, as he was no longer certain about where colony materiel was. Joel's eidetic memory also ensured he was the colony's unofficial bookmaker, as he could remember who had bet on what and for how much
He was worried about supplies. He thought people could take care of themselves, but he found that they could not always do so. His second-in-command Desi Arthied found it hard to keep up with Joel.
Appearances[]
- Dragonsdawn (first appearance)
- The Chronicles of Pern: First Fall
- Dragonsblood (mentioned)
- Dragonheart (mentioned)