Previous
Jackie Juarez
Lorenzo is an Italian biochemistry expert who worked with Jean and Lin on a cure for Wernicke’s aphasia. He has remained in the United States following the Pure Movement’s government takeover, and he agrees to resume his work alongside his female colleagues. He and Jean have been having an affair for a couple of years. Jean prefers Lorenzo to Patrick primarily because, unlike Patrick, Lorenzo is principled, decisive, and willing to take action—he refuses to shake hands with people whose views offend him, for instance, and openly voices his disagreement with the Pure Movement and the government. When he discovers that he and Jean conceived a baby, he throws himself even more fully into his project of getting Jean out of the country using his deceased wife’s passport. Using his biochemistry background, Lorenzo is able to formulate a serum that induces aphasia, which Patrick uses to poison President Myers, Reverend Carl, and 10 other top government officials.
Lorenzo Rossi Quotes in Vox
The Vox quotes below are all either spoken by Lorenzo Rossi or refer to Lorenzo Rossi. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 31 Quotes
What would Jackie do? Speed after him? Probably. Spit back? Likely. What’s on my mind, though, is what Patrick would do: absolutely nothing.
He’d sigh and shake his head at the barbarism, and then he’d clean up the mess of phlegm and forget about Mr. Midlife Crisis. And Lorenzo? Lorenzo would beat the living shit out of the bastard.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 38 Quotes
I drive the long way back home, stopping at a 7-Eleven to pick up a pack of Camels. I could smoke it out of me, I think, poison the little palace, practice Teratology 101 in the privacy of my own home. Abortion the old-fashioned way.
An abortion is not an option.
It isn’t just Reverend Carl and his pack of Pure fanatics. They have to put limits on choice for other reasons, for pragmatic reasons. The way things are, the way women are, no one would want a girl. No sane parent would want to choose a wrist-counter color for a three-month-old. I wouldn’t.
In three days, I’ll know if I have to.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 50 Quotes
When I first started experiments with lab animals, I had one golden rule: don’t name them. In other words, don’t think of them as pets; don’t think of them as anything other than a way to get from point A to point B. Think of them as test tubes or Petri dishes or microscope slides, nothing more than innate vehicles to fill and observe. While I hold each tiny mouse for Lorenzo to inject with a potion that will either cure it or kill it, all I can think of is the names I’ve given them:
Jackie. Lin. Jean.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 53 Quotes
I click open the Honda, climb in, and think about what I would pray for—a boy or a girl. Stay or leave. Watch Sonia taken away from me, or, in a marginally more pleasant scenario, watch while some uniformed male nurse, following orders, injects her with a concoction that will take all her words away, forever. I don’t think I could stand it either way.
I pray to a god I don’t believe in for a girl, so I don’t have to witness any of this. And I pray to that same god for a boy, so I never have to leave my Sonia.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 61 Quotes
Reverend Carl Corbin must be insane, truly insane. Has he thought ahead to the inevitable outcome? Does he realize the havoc, not only in Europe, but everywhere, his plot will wreak? Supply chains—gone. Banks and stock markets—gone. Mass transit, any transit, really, other than foot traffic and the occasional horse—gone. Factories—gone. Within weeks, most of the world’s population will die of hunger or dehydration or violence. The ones who are left will be eking life out in a twisted Little House on the Prairie existence, building from the ground up, one haystack and corn silo at a time.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Vox LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Lorenzo Rossi Character Timeline in Vox
The timeline below shows where the character Lorenzo Rossi appears in Vox. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 6
...giving birth to one of her children, and in a cottage two months ago with Lorenzo, whom she’d love to see again. She also thinks of her gynecologist, Dr. Claudia, and...
(full context)
Chapter 16
...Julia. Patrick is the third kind of man: “weak.” So, Jean lets herself think about Lorenzo. She last saw him two months ago, when they met to have sex. He’s probably...
(full context)
Chapter 18
...to the McClellan house alone. Jean notices the buttons on his suit sleeves—“kissing buttons,” like Lorenzo used to have on his suits, and which resulted in his and Jean’s first kiss...
(full context)
Chapter 23
...leader; Jean and Lin are next. Jean feels like she’s been punched when she sees Lorenzo’s name after hers.
(full context)
Chapter 24
...a serum would need to be injected to cure Wernicke’s aphasia. Around the same time, Lorenzo pulled Jean into his office for a passionate kiss and then showed her his research...
(full context)
Chapter 25
...their serum and use it on everyone in the White House. Then, they head for Lorenzo’s office for coffee.
(full context)
Chapter 26
Lorenzo’s office is bigger and has a window, which angers Jean. Lin shoves Jean inside and...
(full context)
Chapter 28
Morgan leads Jean, Lin, and Lorenzo to the security office. On the way, he announces that there is a deadline: President...
(full context)
...lab, and they can’t socialize with anyone else. Interestingly, he refers to Jean, Lin, and Lorenzo as “part of the team,” but Morgan corrects him that they are the team. Poe...
(full context)
Chapter 29
...access to basic computer programs and extensive academic databases. Morgan then leaves Jean, Lin, and Lorenzo alone in the lab. Thanks to their experiences trying (and failing) to secure funding for...
(full context)
Chapter 30
Lin gives Jean a meaningful look and then leaves Lorenzo and Jean alone. Mouthing “bugs,” Lorenzo turns on a sink full blast and pulls out...
(full context)
Chapter 31
...Patrick that she didn’t come to the wedding, but Jean knows Jackie would never insult Lorenzo. When Jean stops at a light, the man in the car next to her gestures...
(full context)
Chapter 33
...that Lin dates women. She says it depends, wondering if Steven could possibly know about Lorenzo.
(full context)
Chapter 34
...wake Jean in the middle of the night, she’s terrified that Steven reported her and Lorenzo. Multiple police cars and a box van block her driveway, and Jean envisions Poe arresting...
(full context)
Chapter 40
At the lab, Jean ushers Lin and Lorenzo into the MRI room and turns the machine on—the noise is deafening, so they can...
(full context)
Chapter 42
...out. Poe pulls her up and warns her to be careful, and when Poe disappears, Lorenzo appears behind Jean and hugs her.
(full context)
Chapter 43
...to turn on the MRI machine again, Jean pretends to be sick so Lin and Lorenzo can escort her out to her car. Guards search them at the door. Outside, Jean...
(full context)
Chapter 44
...circle realized how supportive most of the U.S. was of the president. Jean wonders if Lorenzo might have a plane ticket or a passport for her as she pulls into her...
(full context)
Chapter 49
...her, but Jean abandons him in the elevator. Lin isn’t in yet, so Jean and Lorenzo turn on the sink and wash their hands so they can chat. Jean shares that...
(full context)
Chapter 50
As Jean and Lorenzo prep two groups of mice for injections, Jean thinks back to the winter day that...
(full context)
Chapter 51
Jean and Lorenzo are planning to meet at their cottage in Maryland, so they leave work separately and...
(full context)
Chapter 52
...to come back to the real world, though—the good times always end. Jean admits to Lorenzo that she wondered if Reverend Carl would reverse-engineer her serum. Though Lorenzo assures Jean it...
(full context)
Chapter 53
Jean and Lorenzo shower and discuss what to do. Jean is all for breaking into the other labs,...
(full context)
Chapter 54
...relationship with Europe is “not good” right now. He also refuses to let Jean or Lorenzo take it. Jean asks again about Lin, and though Morgan insists he doesn’t know where...
(full context)
Chapter 55
...which neuroprotein to use and which is toxic. Jean writes “Bioweapon” and shows it to Lorenzo before burning the paper. She notes that injecting lots of people would take time, but...
(full context)
Lorenzo calls Morgan down to view the results of the mice trial while Jean puts the...
(full context)
Chapter 57
...to: she realizes he knows about her affair, and he tells her to go with Lorenzo and take Sonia. They discuss what will happen, even if she leaves, when the government...
(full context)
Chapter 58
Jean fishes out the file she hid from Morgan, and Patrick flips through Lorenzo’s notes. On the back of the fourth page, he notices something Jean never has: a...
(full context)
Chapter 59
...the lab with Patrick’s notes hidden in a powder compact. She palms the notes to Lorenzo and goes to set up for Mrs. Ray. Lin isn’t at work, and Jean knows...
(full context)
Jean is bandaging Morgan’s finger when Lorenzo walks in and remarks that the rabbits haven’t been tested for rabies. Morgan hurries out....
(full context)
Chapter 60
...possible: another team is propagating the serum, so if Mrs. Ray’s trial works, Jean and Lorenzo are done working. He says Mrs. Ray is on her way down. Jean hangs up....
(full context)
Chapter 61
...actually doing the right thing by restoring Mrs. Ray’s ability to communicate. Jean also considers Lorenzo’s offer—but how horrible would she be if she left her four children here? Still, she...
(full context)
...power to the next one. When Jean greets Mrs. Ray, Mrs. Ray responds with nonsense. Lorenzo takes over filling the syringe from Jean, and the orderly wheels Mrs. Ray into her...
(full context)
As Jean and Lorenzo approach Mrs. Ray, they share a look. If the serum works, their president will essentially...
(full context)
Chapter 62
...ending. Morgan leaves, waving for the orderly to follow with Mrs. Ray. With his eyes, Lorenzo gestures toward the fridge—where six vials marked with an X now sit. Hoping Sergeant Petroski...
(full context)
Chapter 63
After Jean calls Patrick on Lorenzo’s phone, Lorenzo says he has to leave the country and slips Jean an envelope. It...
(full context)
Chapter 65
...Jean opens her eyes, Morgan is yelling at the soldier for killing a valuable animal. Lorenzo tells Morgan to find a first aid kit and call a doctor, insulting him. Morgan...
(full context)
...tomorrow. Jean refuses, but Morgan just laughs. He asks a soldier to take Jean and Lorenzo to Room One and show them what’s in there. Jean is terrified of finding snakes...
(full context)
Chapter 66
Jean pulls away from Lorenzo and takes Jackie in her arms, begging Jackie not to speak and cause herself more...
(full context)
Chapter 68
...5:00 p.m., Morgan announces that nobody gets to go home. Once he leaves, Jean tells Lorenzo that they need to use Petroski, and Lorenzo reveals that his work is done. Jean...
(full context)
Lorenzo suggests they tour the room and get a sense of what kind of qualifications the...
(full context)
Chapter 69
When Jean and Lorenzo reunite back at their workstations, they’ve discovered that most of the scientists here are PhDs—experts...
(full context)
Chapter 70
...asleep and wakes up some time later to Petroski, who’s ready to take her to Lorenzo. She reminds Petroski that Morgan entered the lab with a headache a little while ago....
(full context)
Chapter 71
Jean realizes she isn’t capable of killing. She tells Lorenzo to get Petroski: they need the keys to break Lin out so she can do...
(full context)
Chapter 72
...signs that the chimp will be fully awake in less than two minutes. Jean and Lorenzo begin to quickly wheel the chimp back toward her cage, and Jean tells wide-eyed Jackie...
(full context)
Chapter 73
Morgan holds the needle to Lorenzo’s neck and insults Jean as she walks in. Jackie appears behind Jean with Petroski’s keys....
(full context)
Chapter 74
Both Jean and Morgan fall to the floor. Morgan lies in a puddle of blood. Lorenzo helps Jean up, and as Jackie, Lin, Isabel, and Petroski move Morgan’s body, he explains...
(full context)
Chapter 75
...apart and instructs everyone to stay silent. He hands fake counters to Petroski, Jean, and Lorenzo and says that if everyone cooperates, he can get them out. When they get out...
(full context)
Chapter 76
...the floor below the labs. Poe stops the van and comes to help everyone out. Lorenzo lifts Jean down, and as Jean falls against him, Patrick calls her name. Jean approaches...
(full context)
Chapter 78
...through a doctorate. To hide her tears, Jean heads back toward the house. She joins Lorenzo, and they discuss that according to Poe, Jean has to leave the country and leave...
(full context)
Chapter 80
Jean, her kids, and Lorenzo spent two months in Canada while their passports processed. Now they’re in southern Italy, and...
(full context)
