Philip Engstrand

Philip Engstrand is the novel’s protagonist. He is a professor in the anthropology department of the university where the novel takes place. His academic specialization is researching the social and political dynamics between university faculty members. He is deeply in love with his girlfriend, Alice Coombs. However, Alice begins to withdraw from Philip due to her newfound love for the scientific phenomenon known as Lack. Philip becomes distraught at this withdrawal, and he becomes obsessed with winning Alice’s affections back. When a local woman named Cynthia Jalter begins to seduce him, he resists, as he is still in love with Alice.

Philip becomes involved with the Lack research when he is assigned to oversee the division of lab hours between different research groups. Philip struggles to understand Lack, and he struggles to understand Alice’s attraction to Lack. When Philip learns that Lack may have...