Saxifrage Russell is one of the American colonists who arrives on the Ares as part of the first hundred. As a physicist, he is well respected and considered a genius. As a person, however, Sax has little social skills and is often sees as stand-offish, nerdy, and socially inept. On Mars, Sax quickly becomes the unwitting leader of the Green movement, or the movement who believes firmly in the terraformation of the planet for Earth use. It is Sax who consistently argues that life is not present on Mars, and that as scientists they have an obligation to test limits, and to do things they are able to do, just to see if they can. Sax and Ann Clayborne have a brief affair on Ares, but come to have a love hate relationship, as Ann continues to fight against terraforming. Sax and his team develop windmills that will heat the atmosphere a slight amount, but when thousands are released, will increase the heat on the land tremendously to help with the terraforming effort. Sax is often accused of enjoying the revolution, as its side effects often include unintentional benefits for terraforming, but in reality, Sax dislikes anything out of his control. He escapes with the others of the first hundred to the hidden colony.