Recurring characters in the Tomb Raider game series

A list of recurring characters that appear through the game series, Tomb Raider.

Jacqueline Natla
Jacqueline Natla is primary antagonist in series. Natla was one of the members of the triumvirate ruling the lost continent of Atlantis. However, she was later condemned for her misuse of power and was imprisoned in a capsule by the other two rulers, Qualopec and Tihocan. After escaping from her prison in 1945 during a nuclear test in Los Alamos, New Mexico, she took on the name Jacqueline and founded her own company called Natla Technologies using her scientific expertise and cunning. In 1996 she hired adventurer Lara Croft to search for Qualopec's piece of the Atlantean Scion in his Tomb located in Peru. Shortly after finding the artifact, Lara was attacked by another adventurer Larson under orders by Natla. Knowing Natla had betrayed her, Lara went in search for the remaining two pieces in Greece and then Egypt. After obtaining the final piece, Lara was ambushed by Natla and her men. Stealing the now assembled artefact, Natla ordered Lara to be killed and left Egypt in her boat heading to Atlantis.

It is inside the Great Pyramid of Atlantis that Natla's grand scheme is revealed: to use the Scion's powers to breed a new race of mutant creatures. Realising this, Lara made her best effort to destroy the Scion. Refusing to let her work be destroyed, Natla charged for Lara sending them both falling into a deep abyss. While Lara managed to grab a ledge, Natla continued to plummet into the lava pit below. As Lara tries to escape the pyramid Natla confronts her a final time, revealing her true appearance. In the end, Lara defeated Natla and escaped the pyramid, leaving Natla inside when it exploded.

Jacqueline Natla returns in Tomb Raider: Anniversary, a game inspired by the original Tomb Raider game, developed by Crystal Dynamics. Here she is voiced by Grey DeLisle. In Anniversary, her role remains the same. However, Natla is visually depicted as taller and as having a much skinnier body frame as well as sharp and almost alien-like facial features, unusually long hair, pale skin and long fingers with long, sharp nails. She also loses her Texan accent. In this game she also describes herself as immortal and sought to bring about the 'Seventh Age' though what this was remained ambiguous.

In Tomb Raider: Legend, several crates containing the "Natla Industries" logo can be seen throughout the final level. Before the release of Tomb Raider: Underworld it was not known whether this was meant to imply Amanda Evert, the apparent owner of the crates, had some connection to Natla or if it was merely an easter egg.

Jacqueline Natla returns in Tomb Raider: Underworld as a prisoner of Amanda Evert, held prisoner on Amanda's boat in a stasis capsule. Early in the game she tells Lara about Helheim and Avalon being one and the same and informs Lara that she needs Thor's relics to gain access. After visiting Jan Mayen Island to retrieve Thor's hammer, she sets off to the Andaman Sea on the coast of Thailand to find Amanda's ship again. Lara confronts and threatens to kill Natla, but is stopped when Natla explains that a ritual is also needed to open the gates of Helheim; a ritual that only Natla knows. Realising she has no choice if she wants to enter Helheim/Avalon, Lara then smashes the capsule open, allowing Natla to escape. After arriving at Avalon, Natla reveals that she was manipulating Lara to reach an ancient device called the Midgard Serpent to bring about the 'Seventh Age.' Lara manages to destroy the device and strike Natla with the thrown Thor's hammer, which causes an explosion that throws Natla into the eitr surrounding the mechanism as it collapses.

In Lara's Shadow, shortly after the events of Underworld, Natla is found to be alive and having escaped from the eitr. Although appearing somewhat thrall-like, she retains her mind. The doppelgänger drags Natla to a machine which was used to create it. The doppelgänger is instructed to activate the machine, which it does. It is then given one final order: to kill Lara Croft, and to take its own life once it is finished. After being released from Natla's control by Lara, the doppelgänger destroys the machine, which causes Natla to be pinned down by the debris. Natla is last seen trapped in a rising pool of eitr, pleading for help as the doppelgänger looks on.

Larson Conway
Larson was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S., in 1967. In 1995, he is working with Pierre Dupont in an attempt to acquire the Philosopher's Stone in Rome. He meets with Lara during an opera performance to exchange the Mercury Stone for money. As Lara prepares to hand over a suitcase full of cash, Pierre shows up with a pistol aimed at Lara's head - planning on taking the money and keeping the stone. As Larson and Pierre prepare to leave, Lara kicks the stone out of Larson's hand and jumps off the balcony onto the stage. Escaping the opera house, Lara rides off on a scooter with Larson and Pierre trailing behind. Sliding beneath a half-closed gate, Larson and Pierre continue after her only to crash their car. Larson and Pierre continue to stalk Lara throughout Rome as she collects three more stones to open a gateway that will lead her to the Philosopher's Stone. After finding the final stone, Lara is confronted by Larson and the two fight outside the stone gateway. Wounding Larson, Lara notices three gargoyles animating from the stone building. Despite her warnings, Larson refuses to believe her until it is too late, and is tossed across the garden. He is portrayed as being something of a halfwit, which Pierre attributes to the fact that Larson was "kicked in the head by a horse" at some point in his life.

In 1996, Larson meets with Lara in India on behalf of Jacqueline Natla, CEO of Natla Technologies. After Lara retrieves a portion of the Scion artefact in Peru, Larson ambushes her in an attempt to steal the artifact. Lara defeats him and is told that Natla has sent Pierre on the trail for the second piece. Later in the game, Larson attacks Lara again in Egypt just before Lara can obtain the final piece, and she kills him in the fight.

Larson returns in Crystal Dynamic's re-imagining of the original game, Tomb Raider: Anniversary where he was voiced by Dave Wittenberg. Larson has a more muscular body compared to the original, now wears a dark blue shirt in place of his red one with the vest, a belt with a buckle shaped of the state of Texas and a slightly different haircut. He is also now equipped with a shotgun.

In the opening cutscene in which Lara is hired by Natla to find the Atlantean Scion, she acknowledges Larson that they have met before. His character in this game is a nicer one, albeit still an enemy. He remains willing to kill however should he succeed in killing Lara during interactive cutscences he expresses his disdain, stating ''"It didn't have to be this way," "What a waste..." and "Damn..."''.

Further evidence of his reluctance to kill Lara is seen in Peru, where he and Lara engage in a battle. Larson attempts to either knock Lara down or stun her, and only attempts to use his firearm when frustrated. After finding the last piece of the Scion in Egypt, Natla's group ambushes Lara, and as she escapes Natla's thugs, Larson prevents "The Kid," from shooting her, and takes aim himself. However, at the last second, he purposefully aimed to the right, away from Lara, and fired. Furthermore, as she breaks free from their grasp, Kold and The Kid attempt to, respectively, stab or shoot down Lara, while Larson only attempts to pistol whip her.

In Natla's Mines, Larson reveals himself, blocking Lara from continuing any further, confident that Lara won't go as far as to kill him for just doing his job, and because it is just not who she is. However, Lara's obsession with the Scion pushes her into proving his assumption wrong, as she fires at Larson, who, between each of Lara's shots, attempts to raise his own weapon to defend himself. Finally, he suffers one shot too many, and falls down. Before quickly dying, he reaches out his hand towards Lara.

The unlockable in-game commentary states that the pair had a certain chemistry between them and Lara was deeply disturbed by her actions afterwards.

Pierre Dupont
Pierre Dupont was born in Nantes, France, in 1951. In 1995, he is working with Larson in an attempt to acquire the Philosopher's Stone in Rome. He meets with Lara Croft during an opera performance to exchange the Mercury Stone for money. As Lara prepares to hand over a suitcase full of cash, Pierre holds Lara at gunpoint - planning on taking the money and keeping the stone. However, as Larson and Pierre prepare to leave, Lara kicks the stone out of Pierre's hand and jumps off the balcony onto the stage, escaping the opera house. A chase ensues, and is ended when Pierre and Larson crash their car into a half closed gate. Larson and Pierre continue to stalk Lara throughout Rome as she collects three more stones to open a gateway that will lead her to the Philosopher's Stone. Inside the Coliseum, Lara slips off a ledge with Pierre standing right above her. She agrees not to lay a finger on him if he helps her up, but catches him off guard with a "boo" causing Pierre to slip off the ledge.

In late 1996, Pierre is hired by Jacqueline Natla to find the second part of the Scion artifact in Greece. However, he is followed into St Francis' Folly by Lara, and attempts to kill her on a number of occasions. After Lara arrives at the Tomb of Tihocan, she encounters Pierre and the two engage in a gunfight for the piece of the Scion. The fight ends with Pierre being shot dead.

In Anniversary, Pierre taunts her at a few triggered stages, until Lara reaches the Tomb of Tihocan. There, Pierre reveals to have obtained the piece of the Scion before Lara, and holds her at gunpoint before Lara manages to fight back, causing him to flee. However, as soon as he steps out, the two centaur statues outside the tomb turn to life and attack Pierre, who, in a moment of cowardice, throws the piece of the Scion to Lara, in hope that their attention will then be driven to her instead. Unfortunately for him, they decided to kill him before turning to Lara - and thus, in this version, Lara does not kill Pierre Dupont. Also, in the original games, Pierre has long hair; in Anniversary, he is bald.

Winston Smith
Lara's butler who is often seen at Croft Manor. He rarely plays any role in the game's plot, usually only seen in Lara's Mansion, in the 2nd and 3rd games he follows Lara around the mansion, carrying a tray with what seems to be blue mugs on it and often farts and groans. One of the secrets in the 2nd and 3rd game was the ability to lock Smith in a large freezer.

In Tomb Raider Chronicles, he sits around a table with various other friends of Lara as they recall Lara's past adventures. He tells the story of how Lara finds the Philosopher's Stone in Rome, while being stalked by Larson Conway and Pierre Dupont. He also tells how Lara stole the "Iris" artefact from Von Croy's company building.

In Tomb Raider: Legend he stands beside the fireplace in Croft Manor and offers advice to Lara in cutscenes. He also appears in the manor level of Tomb Raider: Anniversary. He is voiced by Alan Shearman.

He appears during the Prologue level and the Croft Manor level of Tomb Raider: Underworld. When Lara finds that one of Thor's Gauntlets may be in her grandfathers grave, Winston reveals a secret passage in the "Tech Room" that leads to the Croft family Crypt. He, Lara, Zip and Alister investigate the crypt and find that below Lara's grandfather's coffin is a secret passage, which Lara then goes into to find the Gauntlet. Meanwhile Winston and Zip are attacked by a Lara doppelgänger sent by Natla and Amanda Evert to retrieve the "Wraith Stone" and Croft Manor is then set on fire. Winston and Zip then try to escape through the main door, when Lara appears. Winston stops Zip from shooting her after he mistakes her for the doppelgänger. Lara then tells the two to get out of the Mansion. Winston waits with Zip for the authorities when Lara emerges with Alister's dead body, who had been shot by the doppelgänger. Lara announces to the two she is leaving for Mexico to find Thor's belt and kill Natla. Winston is not seen again for the rest of the game.

Sophia Leigh
Like Jacqueline Natla, Sophia Leigh is a businesswoman who owns a cosmetics company in London (excepted Natla didn't own the same type of business Sophia did). It is revealed in Tomb Raider III that Sophia has been experimenting on people to test her products, many of whom she thought dead, as they were dumped in the sewers. Sophia started using an artifact she had come across, called the "Eye of Isis", which, unknown to her, was one of four meteor artifacts Lara Croft is looking for during the events in Tomb Raider III.

Sophia Leigh first appears in this game when Lara travels to London to find the Eye of Isis. Sophia sends a number of assassins, in her employment, to kill Lara. However, they are unsuccessful and Lara climbs through a vent to Sophia's office where she is sitting with the artifact. Sophia mockingly offers Lara a job, telling her that with her lifestyle she would be the perfect face for her products. Lara then tells Sophia the people she experimented on were still alive and that they helped her find Sophia. Lara demands she hand over the artifact, which she refuses to do. Sophia takes the artifact and runs out to the balcony and across to the other building, she then uses the artifact to shoot green shards at Lara who works her way up Sophia's building and across to the one she is on. Lara defeats Sophia by shooting a fuse box connected to some sort of flat electrictal object that Sophia was standing on during the battle causing her to be electrocuted to death.

Sophia Leigh is also the final boss in Tomb Raider III: The Lost Artefact, where she attempts to use the Hand of Rathmere.

Sophia Leigh was voiced by Judith Gibbins, the same voice actress who did Lara Croft in Tomb Raider II & Tomb Raider III.

Werner Von Croy
Werner Von Croy is a world renowned archaeologist and explorer, and also the mentor of the young Lara Croft. He was born in Vienna, Austria in 1940.

When Lara was sixteen years old, Von Croy took her on a journey to Angkor Wat in Cambodia for her very first adventure in 1984 in a training level at the start of the game in Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation. The purpose of this exercise was to instruct Lara in exploration techniques and also to instill a respect for the past in her; for the gamer, this acts an introductory and training level. Ironically, Von Croy's downfall comes as a result of his greed, as when he reaches the sanctuary of the Iris in Angkor Wat, he completely disrespects the temple carvings which warn vengeance on those who remove the Iris. These events are covered in the first two levels, Angkor Wat and Race For The Iris. At the conclusion of Race For The Iris, Von Croy is left entombed in the sanctuary while Lara escapes.

Fifteen years later, and Von Croy encounters Lara again; this time contesting his attempts to claim the Amulet of Horus from the Tomb of Set in the Valley of the Kings. During the events of the game, Von Croy is possessed by the god Set, as a vessel through which Set can complete his objectives.

Von Croy witnesses Lara's apparent death at the Temple of Horus underneath the Great Pyramid. He offers her assistance, but the tomb collapses on top of Lara and Von Croy, mirroring the start of the game, only just makes it to safety. Thus ends Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation.

In Tomb Raider Chronicles, a story was told of Lara's past in which she recovers the Iris from Von Croy in his high-tech American business headquarters called Von Croy Industries (VCI). This also is also the first appearance of Zip, Lara's technological partner. At the end of this game a cutscene plays with Von Croy and a digging team finding Lara's backpack in the ruins, picking up from the end of Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation.

Between the events of The Last Revelation and Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness, Von Croy finds Lara again in Egypt. However, Lara seems unable to forgive Werner's actions in Egypt. Lara visits Von Croy's apartment in Paris at his request. However, he is murdered by the Monstrum, a serial killer but Lara is suspected of his murder, and The Angel Of Darkness begins.

Zip
Zip is described in Tomb Raider: Legend as Lara's right-hand man and also describes him as knowing about "all things geeky".

He first appears in Tomb Raider: Chronicles as it is shown that he helps Lara when she breaks into Von Croy's building. He communicates with her via a headset. He advises her on what to do and how to navigate through the building.

He re-appears in Tomb Raider: Legend and plays a similar role as his original appearance, as he communicates with Lara via a headset once again. At one point he and Alister are attacked by Amanda as she breaks into Lara's mansion. He and Alister help Lara from a tech van when she find King Arthur's tomb.

He next appears in Tomb Raider: Underworld. He communicates with Lara via a laptop at the start of the first and second level. When Lara returns from Thailand, she, Zip, Alister and Winston find a secret passage in the "Tech Room" that leads to the Croft family Crypt, where Lara discovers a secret passage at her grandfather's coffin. While Lara is investigating this, Zip along with Winston are attacked by a creature that looks very similar to Lara. They are able to escape this doppelgänger and try to escape Croft Manor, which is caught on fire, through the main doors. The real Lara then appears, this causes Zip to shoot at her, mistaking her for the doppelgänger. Winston stops him, telling him Lara and the doppelgänger are two different people. Zip then escapes the mansion with Winston and waits with him, until Lara brings Alister's dead body from the mansion. Lara announces that she is going to Mexico to find Thor's belt, then Thor's Hammer and then kill Natla who created the doppelgänger who killed Alister. Zip later gives Lara the co-ordinates to the ruins where she finds Thor's Hammer.

Alister Fletcher
Alister Fletcher is one of Lara's closest allies in Tomb Raider: Legend and returned in Tomb Raider: Underworld. Born August 27, 1974. He is Lara's research assistant and is described on the Tomb Raider: Legend website as providing another "mind filled with arcane historical information". He is also described as "tense and prickly" and as "taking himself too seriously". He is a 15th year Doctorate student at the University of Oxford in Italy. He hasn't received his dissertation yet because of his belief that everything is connected to everything else makes it impossible for him to draw the line between boundaries.

In Tomb Raider: Legend, he, along with Zip, communicate with Lara via her headset. He returns from Italy after having his dissertation rejected at the beginning of the game while Lara is in Bolivia. He sometimes gives advice concerning ancient civilisations. He and Zip are attacked by the Unknown Entity as Amanda Evert breaks into Lara's home while she is away in Ghana, looking for the Ghalali Key. He is confronted by Amanda at this time to reveal all he knows about the sword that Lara is looking for. He gives Lara advice when she enters King Arthur's tomb from a tech van along with Zip.

In Tomb Raider: Underworld he still works with Lara, communicating with her through her Laptop on her yacht in the first two levels. However, after Lara returns home to explore the passage under her grandfathers crypt, he is shot twice in the heart by Lara's doppelgänger while trying to escape the burning mansion, and later dies in Lara's arms whilst she is trying to save him. Lara then carries his body out of the mansion and lays him on the ground, where Winston checks his pulse and Lara and Zip grieve over his loss.

Amanda Evert
Amanda Evert first appeared in the game Tomb Raider: Legend. In the game it is said she is fascinated by myths and legends and was Lara Croft's friend in university. She has a sister Lisa, and brothers Stephen and William. She is voiced by Kath Soucie.

A flashback in Tomb Raider: Legend shows how she, Lara and their friends from university entered a tomb, however the pair find their friends dead and get split up. They are then stalked by an Unknown Entity; eventually the two meet up where Amanda is trying to remove a stone from the wall, hoping it will unlock a door as the Entity comes into the room. Amanda just manages to pull the stone from the wall as the Entity attacks Lara, it makes the Entity vanish but makes the room collapse partly and water enters the tomb. Lara tries to save Amanda but she is trapped and she appears to die as rocks fall around her, during this flashback Amanda has blond hair.

During the present day events of the game, Amanda is paired with James Rutland as they attempted to find the pieces of the legendary Excalibur. However Lara also begins finding the pieces of the swords and Amanda breaks into her mansion while she is in Ghana, Africa in an attempt to find the Ghalali Key, which she thinks Lara has. Amanda and Lara finally meet again in Kazakhstan where both of them are looking for a sword piece. Lara tries to reconcile with Amanda but Amanda ignores Lara setting her men on her. The two meet again in a room in the Kazakhstan laboratory where it is said the supernatural was being investigated. Amanda then reveals she is in control of the Unknown Entity and sets it on Lara. Lara avoids it and takes the next piece of the sword from the laboratory. Amanda is next seen in the final level, set in Bolivia, where Lara has already reforged Excalibur. Amanda and Rutland set their men on Lara who defeats them with Excalibur. Rutland is accidentally killed in the battle. Amanda then merges with the Entity to fight Lara in the final battle, however, Lara defeats her and the Entity. In the final scene of the game, Lara uses Excalibur and the Stone Dais to open up the portal in where she seemingly talks to her mother, however, it is then shown it is her mother talking before she disappears. Amanda wakes up and tells Lara to remove the sword from the dais. Lara's mother thinks Amanda is talking to her and removes the sword from her side of the portal, explaining her disappearance.Lara then points her gun at Amanda and demands she explain what had just happened. Amanda reveals that Lara's mother is in Avalon, saying it is not a myth and gets angry at Lara for closing the portal. Lara knocks Amanda out and leaves.

Amanda returns in Tomb Raider: Underworld where it is revealed she has Jacqueline Natla imprisoned in a status capsule. She is first seen in the first level where her ship is in the Sea, as she sends mercenaries underwater to find Thor's Gauntlet. Her mercenaries take it from Lara who has already found it and they give it to Amanda back on her ship. On the ship Amanda interrogates Natla about the Gauntlet, who says only Lara can use it now as she wore it first. Amanda leaves and has Natla in her status transported via helicopter to Amanda's other ship as the ship begins to sink, as Lara and the mercenaries cause an explosion. Amanda also leaves on this helicopter, however, Lara shoots at her from the sinking boat, so Amanda throws the Gauntlet into the sea, causing Lara to jump in after it. Amanda then sends a doppelgänger of Lara to her mansion to find the Wraith stone she used in Tomb Raider: Legend to control the now dead Unknown Entity. The doppelgänger, who it seems was created by Natla, retrieves the stone and returns it to Amanda. Lara then attacks Amanda's new ship, and finds Natla inside of it. Amanda and the doppelgänger walk in on her threatening to kill Natla with Thor's Hammer. Amanda pulls out the Wraith Stone ready to fight Lara, but the doppelgänger suddenly picks Amanda up and throws her down a hole in the room, seemingly killing her. However, Amanda follows Lara and the released Natla to Helhiem under the Arctic Ocean. She is next seen when the doppelgänger pins Lara down in a room in the ruins at the bottom of the Arctic. Amanda stops the doppelgänger by using the Wraith Stone to throw it over a ledge, seemingly killing it. Amanda reveals she is still bitter at Lara but agrees to hold back the attacking Thralls so Lara can stop Natla using the Serpent to destroy life on earth. While Lara is proceeding to shut down the Serpent Amanda runs into the huge cave where it is located. Natla throws a fireball at her, causing her to fall unconscious. After Lara shuts down the Serpent and kills Natla, she runs towards Amanda. Helping her get up, Amanda declines by shoving Lara's hand off, simulating her hatred towards Lara. After Amanda makes an insult regarding Amelia's death, the two then discover another Stone Dais from Tomb Raider: Legend, which they use to teleport them to the Stone Dais in Nepal. Amanda attempts attacking Lara but restrains, as Lara reasons with her. Amanda then leaves Lara, as her Wraith Stone powers down.

Doppelgänger
In the original Tomb Raider game and Tomb Raider: Anniversary, Lara encounters the doppelgänger, a creature of no skin and no hair, who imitates Lara's movement. At the end of the Great Pyramid, Lara first encounters the doppelgänger, but kills it by tricking it into falling into a lava pit. In Tomb Raider: Anniversary, it is also an unlockable costume for Lara. It is unlocked by collecting one relic in lost island levels.

In Tomb Raider: Underworld, Lara encounters another doppelgänger. However, this one no longer copies Lara and makes its own movement, and is mainly ordered by Natla. The new doppelgänger looks just like Lara, with skin and hair, but she has yellowish eyes, red braided hair, paler skin, a different outfit, and has a superhuman ability to move around extremely fast. The new doppelgänger is first featured blowing up Croft Manor in the teaser trailer. She did not speak at all throughout the whole story.

When Lara's manor is on fire, Zip says that the doppelgänger tried to shoot him, which he had first mistaken for Lara. Later on, when Lara is checking the tech room to find out where Alister is, and who opened the vault to blow up her manor, she meets the doppelgänger for the first time, who also kills Alister as he is passing by. Lara opens the tech room door and starts fighting with the doppelgänger, although it is very fast and can dodge Lara's bullets. When Lara is on the floor, she runs out through the high level of the burning building, jumping distances beyond Lara's ability to jump. The doppelgänger is found again on Amanda's ship in the Andaman sea. When Lara faces with Amanda, the doppelgänger is seen to be looking at Natla, and throws Amanda far into the ground. Lara again tries to kill the doppelgänger with Thor's hammer, but being faster than she is, the doppelgänger escapes the bolts from the hammer. Later on, in Helheim, the doppelgänger is seen once more. She again tries to kill Lara by pinning her to the ground, however, the doppelgänger is suddenly lifted into the air and thrown into the eitr by Amanda, saving Lara.

Following the events in Helheim, the doppelgänger is seen again in Beneath the Ashes and Lara's Shadow. In Beneath the Ashes, it appears at the very end of the level. Lara uses the Eitr Stone to command a newly risen thrall to attack the doppelgänger, who easily defeats the thrall and moves to attack Lara, only to be stopped at the last second when Lara utters the "magic word" on the Eitr Stone to assume command of the doppelgänger. Issuing it only one command, "make Natla suffer", the doppelgänger disappears.

In Lara's Shadow, it is shown how the doppelgänger survived Amanda's attack: she was knocked unconscious after landing on the floor below. Later on in the level, it is also revealed that Natla is still alive, but severely injured. The doppelgänger finds her by the stone dais in Helheim, and obediently returns her to the pod in which the doppelgänger was created. The doppelgänger returns to Lara's mansion in order to kill her, but Lara uses the Eitr Stone to disrupt Natla's control, giving the doppelgänger free will.

In order to "make sure Natla suffers", the doppelgänger returns to Natla and destroys her pod, causing Natla to fall into the air. The Atlantean Queen tries to command the doppelgänger once more and save her, but it is no longer a slave.