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Dr. Gustavo

Of all the characters introduced in this arc (and in the story as a whole), Dr. Gus is arguably one of the biggest additions, as he's one of the Stellae Errantes. I'd describe Dr. Gus as "Mexican Dr. House with supernatural powers": brilliant, eccentric, holding a deep regret from his past. As you've seen, he's the director of the Bioethical Institute (which I'll explain later); though he still takes cases and deals with them, he prefers to do investigation and only takes the cases he's interested in.

Dr. Gus' ousiarchs are Eldibria and Kenandandra - Neptune and Pluto. This is a pretty weird combination, since while Kenan is pretty easy to understand (it aids in discovery and comprehension), Eldibria is just too...bizarre, I'd say. In Dr. Gus' case, it allows him to understand the human body in ways other doctors simply can't - coupled with his intellect and studies, he has incredible knowledge of the physical and metaphysical aspects of the human body. (Hence, he wouldn't use them in the case of a cold, for once.) The chapter "Appointment with Dr. Strange, Part 2"  shows one of, if not his main, prodigies at play - calming emotions. He does so by tapping into Eldibria's connection with water, and to the concept of the Four Humors. This prodigy is actually pretty interesting, and while you're only seeing one application of it, the possibilities are endless.

Another thing is that he's pretty good for exposition. If you've noticed clearly, Dr. Gus has spoken about two things with Mireya: one, about Basilisks and their venom, and two, about his latest patient. Later in the story you'll see why he does so, but as I worked with him, I noticed he's insanely good as a literary resource for purposes of describing the protagonist(s) what's happening, at least in a medical and scientific level. He may not be able to create gadgets like Nash or understand how causality works like Hal, but he can definitely create the right reagent to deal with the situation at hand - thus, though it's not something that applies currently, he's well-versed in alchemy and could potentially craft mutagens if given time. (Does he? Should he? Will he? Hopefully I'll find excuses to have him appear elsewhere, and I'd love to see other writers use him. It's partly the reason I worked this story overall - to expand the Stellae with new resources.)

Now, you may have noticed that he's an already established member of the Stellae, what with casually mentioning the real name of one of the most known (and YMMV if [dis]liked) characters in the story, so I presume the question applies. Why he hasn't appeared before? And why the Institute hasn't appeared before? That last one will be dealt with when I describe the Institute itself, but for the most part, he's very reclusive. Much like those Stellae that work in the background (again, like Nash and John), Dr. Gus doesn't leave the Institute for field research unless strictly necessary, instead relying on associates to do the work (such as Mireya). Furthermore, his eccentricity is such that few people like dealing with him - I mean, would you go to a colleague that proudly showcases human organs as decorations?

In any case, Dr. Gus will be important to Mireya's story as it goes on, which means you'll see more of him. Love to hear what you think about him.