Gwendy Peterson

Gwendy Peterson is the eponymous character in Gwendy’s Final Task. She is the heroine of the novel as she sacrifices herself to save the space program from an intrusive investigation. Winston, a billionaire, was trying to take the button box from her to use for an evil purpose. Additionally, Gwendy sends the button box into the farthest reaches of outer space. Farris tells Gwendy this is the only place where the box can be disposed to make sure that it will not fall into the hands of someone wanting to use it for evil purposes.

Gwendy believes the box is responsible for the case of early-onset Alzheimer’s from which she is suffering. King and Chizmar use Gwendy’s character to describe how horrible Alzheimer’s can be as it takes over the minds of otherwise healthy, high-functioning adults. Gwendy tells Kathy she wants to end...