(Jessi redirects here. For the serial of the same name, see Jessi (serial))
Jessica Anne-Marie Gibson[4] is a point of view character in Nathaniel J. Nelson's 2017 horror novel Quantum Flight 888. At first a minor character, Jessi becomes more important to the storyline and eventually has her own flashback sequences.
In 2024, Jessi appeared as the central character of her self-titled story, the fourth such story in season one of Nelson's serial Seventh Circle, a standalone spin-off to Erogrendel. Following Jessi: Part IV, Jessi would return as a recurring character throughout Season One.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Not much is known about Jessie's early life, other than that she was raised by her wealthy father, who was apparently incapable of providing properly for a young child. Some of her earliest memories include Brian reading her a picture book that involved a demon clown, the illustrations of whom terrified her; despite this, Brian continued to obliviously read the book to her, leading to her lifelong coulrophobia.
In Jessi's Psyche's Last Chance sequence in Quantum Flight 888, it is revealed that Jessi never knew her mother, though it is implied that her name may have been Justina.
High school[]
In high school, Jessie's father took her to see a traveling circus, hoping to spend more time with her. The circus included a performance by Jingie the Clown, who apparently used psychic powers to hypnotize his audience, resurrecting Jessie's forgotten coulrophobia. She was hit by a surge of fear, shrieking and running out of the tent. Her father was less than sympathetic, apparently embarrassed, and didn't remember the clown book when she reminded him.
At an unknown point in high school, a friend of Jessie's from middle school protested the school's inclusion of Peter and Wendy in its curriculum, due to the book's stereotypical depiction of Native Americans. Winning this debate, Jessie's friend changed her name to Tiger. Similarly, Jessie soon dropped the E from her name. At some point after the circus event, Jessi began dyeing her hair blue-green.
College in Boston[]
Jessi and Tiger both attended freshman and sophomore year at Boston College, where Tiger led several protests. Jessi was always behind her on these causes, but felt self-conscious and insecure about spearheading the events. At least twice during her sophomore year in 2016, Jessi found herself in a disciplinary situation with the school. During the second semester, Jessi, Tiger, and the other protesters were suspended from BC for blocking traffic while protesting the school's handling of a rape case. Brian took this opportunity to pull Jessi out of Boston College, deciding to send her to the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she would live with her aunt.
Aboard Flight 888[]
On June sixth, 2016, Jessi boarded Quantum Airlines' Flight 888 from Boston to Los Angeles.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag
After Flight 888[]
After Caleb managed to land the plane, Jessi was one of the few uninjured survivors. She kept Neil's copy of Gulliver's Travels and rescued what remained of Joshua's terracotta hand, giving it back to him. Jessi was approached by government agents,[5] who rebuked her for talking about the night's events on social media. They told her they had ways of covering up incidents such as these, and that she would be wise not to press the issue.
Jessi was allowed to leave Los Angeles International, being photographed by the local media as she exited,[6] and went to live with her aunt as planned, though she did not enroll at USC. Six months after Flight 888, Jessi still lived in LA and regularly attended a paranormal survivors' group, which she considered beneath her. Thanks to her time in the fantasy world, Jessi learned to no longer see herself as a victim, and was now frequently angered by the "survivors" in her group who lived in self-pity.[7] Jessi began drinking a lot, as well as using drugs such as cocaine. Although her psyche's last chance had helped her accept herself, she was coping heavily with the trauma of Flight 888.
Meeting Vinny[]
Six months after Flight 888, Jessi had a photo taken of herself at her paranormal survivors' group. She posted the picture on paraGhost, pretending to be someone else in the group who discovered a survivor of Flight 888.[8] This post was discovered by the site's founder, Allegro – really Taul Bennett – who ordered his team, Seventh Circle, to investigate, not realizing it was posted by Jessi herself. Vinny Howell flew to Los Angeles and approached Jessi at her meeting, giving his name as Jason.[9][10] Despite being the one to post her location on paraGhost, Jessi initially rejected Vinny's attempts to speak with her, but finally agreed to have a conversation. She told him the bare details about Flight 888 (information he already knew) then invited him to her aunt's apartment, where she plied him with alcohol and cocaine. Jessi insisted that Vinny accompany her on a night of debauchery across Los Angeles, continually refusing to talk about Flight 888 until she was forced to admit that she couldn't talk about it without chemical aid.[11] The day after, Jessi accompanied Vinny to an allegedly haunted youth theater, as directed by Allegro. Jessi had mistakenly believed Vinny was hoping to recruit her to Seventh Circle, but even after she realized he only wanted to know about Flight 888, she still expressed interest in joining. The youth theater turned out to be closed, and Jessi told Vinny precious little about Flight 888 before he had to return to Boston.[12]
Summer, 2017[]
As of Pandora: Part I, it is understood by Seventh Circle that Jessi has joined their ranks, to the annoyance of Sasha Belanger, who had not been consulted.[13] In Pandora: Part II, it is seen that Jessi experiences continuous nightmares of her time aboard Flight 888. When Vinny calls her and invites her to investigate Lindsay Hopper, Jessi scoffs at the idea of going to Boston for that, telling him to invite her when he has a case "west of Pennsylvania."[14]
This case came in May of 2017, when Vinny decided to investigate Reverend Jacob Macon, a revival healer in Stillwater, Oklahoma.[15] Jessi traveled to Stillwater via train, being unable to fly due to her experience, and met with Vinny, as well as Sasha and Greg, who had previously quit Seventh Circle. Before the others arrived, Jessi asked around town about Reverend Macon, and managed to secure a connection with Manny Ford. Jessi met Sasha and Greg for the first time in Stillwater, apparently not thinking much of them, though Sasha immediately began antagonizing Jessi.[16] After meeting with Manny Ford, and seeing proof that he was healed, Seventh Circle met with Macon, who decided to speak to them individually, Jessi volunteering to go first. Despite her tough demeanor and headstrong nature, Jessi was reduced to a very emotional state when Macon prodded her about her drug use.[17].
Appearance[]
Jessi is described as tall and very skinny, near-anorexic according to Delilah. Her hair is straight, shoulder-length, and a tealish color, though by the time of her flashforward scene it has grown out, now appearing half teal and half its natural brown. During Flight 888, Jessi wears a long sweater with a Bernie 2016 pin, and a peace sign medallion. She also wears a T-shirt from the TV series Steven Universe – it is implied that Caleb, a Steven Universe fan, subconsciously inspired her to wear the shirt.
In her first Seventh Circle appearance, Vinny, as the narrator, refers to her as having "green hair and red eyes." In Doctor Ghost: Part I – her first meeting with Vinny since her self-titled serial – she is seen to have recently redyed her hair the same light blue-green.
Personality and traits[]
Jessi is confrontational, quick to anger, and judgmental, especially with those she considers to be judgmental towards others, generally believing she's protecting innocents. She frequently disrupts Joshua's good-natured flirting with Delilah, insisting that Delilah "doesn't like it." Although Jessi does hold very strong beliefs, her confrontational attitude and quick irritation stem from a place of insecurity, due in part to her father failing to express love: she sees herself as a sort of "clown," as exemplified in her fantasy world.
References[]
- ↑ Seventh Circle season 2, episode 2, Summer: Part II
- ↑ https://www.natnelson.com/gallery?lightbox=dataItem-kbvsegos2
- ↑ Seventh Circle, season 2, episode 10, The God Machine: Part IV
- ↑ Jessica's middle name was revealed in the Howell Manifest portion of Seventh Circle Volume One: Rebirth
- ↑ Revealed in Seventh Circle to work for the Sunglasses Man as part of the shadow government seen in Erogrendel
- ↑ Seventh Circle season 1, episode 14, Jessi: Part I
- ↑ Nelson, Nathaniel, Quantum Flight 888, Part Four, Book Two, III
- ↑ Seventh Circle, season 1, episode 14, Jessi: Part I
- ↑ Seventh Circle, season 1, episode 13, Possession: Part V
- ↑ Nelson, Nathaniel. Quantum Flight 888, Part Four, Book Two, III
- ↑ Seventh Circle season 1, episode 15, Jessi: Part III
- ↑ Seventh Circle season 1, episode 17, Jessi: Part IV
- ↑ Seventh Circle season 1, episode 18, Pandora: Part I
- ↑ Seventh Circle season 1, episode 20, Pandora: Part III
- ↑ Seventh Circle season 1, episode 23, Doctor Ghost: Part I
- ↑ Seventh Circle season 1, episode 24, Doctor Ghost: Part II
- ↑ Seventh Circle season 1, episode 25, Doctor Ghost: Part III