Let me talk about who I’m writing about – and if you’re looking for Brave Strong Men and Screaming Heroines, boy are you at the wrong place.
Agency is when someone has the authority and power to make things happen… and if you’re not wealthy and/or upper management, that’s not you.
In a long career in IT, only twice was I given agency, and both of those were special circumstances. I did some of this in 11,000 Years, but I deliberately did it, extensively, in Becoming Terran. Francoise took agency when she did something startling, and really got Tolliver’s attention. There are a number of others who take agency in this book – Amelie, her sister, Rose, the nurse, Amelie, Rosalyn, on to Lenny. They risk a lot, sometimes their lives, but they do what needs doing.
Let me note that I chose Lenny’s name purposely. I’ve mentioned before that names mean a lot in my writing. Please do look up an actual, real-life hero: Lenny Skutnick – add the words plane crash DC and you’ll find him. He took agency to do what was needed.