Who is Burton from To Your Scattered Bodies Go; a Science Fiction Novel and what is their importance? | To Your Scattered Bodies Go; a Science Fiction Novel Questions & Answers

Burton was an explorer during the nineteenth century who traveled extensively in the Middle East. He died in 1890, next to his wife Isabella, and woke up in the pre-resurrection chamber, and to all knowledge, was the only person out of over thirty billion to do so. Burton possesses intelligence and knowledge that many along the river do not, and he makes extensive use of his wide range of abilities to provide stability and safety wherever he goes. He also chooses his friends carefully, for their character or knowledge, and these friends aid him further. He possesses a strong dislike of slavery and those who would harm innocent people, and feels that those who control the river planet now are responsible for great wrongdoings against humanity. He sets about finding them and confronting them. Along the way, he becomes an enemy of Goring, who alongside his ally Tullius, has plans for war and domination over vast portions of the planet. As time progresses, Goring begins to suffer from guilt over his actions on Earth and the two become something like friends. Burton's closest friends are Kazz the subhuman, Alice, Ruach, Monat, an alien who is responsible for killing most of the population of earth in the earliest twentieth century, and most of all, Frigate, who deeply admires the man and his accomplishments. He later becomes a friend of Collop, who implores Burton to find spiritual enlightenment, but Burton insists on continuing his journey towards the mouth of the river where he believes he may discover all the answers he seeks about the world they now inhabit.

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