Rat-Face

Rat-Face was the name that Carmen Yeh gave to a Homeworlder who was an advisor of the War King. In her memoir, Fantastical Travels in an Infinite Universe, Yeh described him as "an irritated-looking little rat-like man" wearing a golden circlet on his head. Rat-Face was present in the Homeworld banqueting-hall meeting at which the War King negotiated with Compassion and ultimately persuaded her to join the War. When Compassion requested timeship pilots, Rat-Face eagerly offered her a cohort "bred for slaughter"; this earned him a contemptuous stare from the War King, who understood that Compassion wanted a breeding pair of more valuable, pureblood Homeworlders. Rat-Face was shocked at the idea of handing over "two of our children", and demanded assurance; Compassion flicked his circlet, cryptically remarking, "You know where to look ... As to what you’ll find there... one thing. Just one." Rat-Face shrank away in fear.

The authors of The Book of the War parenthetically identified Rat-Face as the then-leader of House Mirraflex. (PROSE: The Book of the War)

Behind the scenes

• Lance Parkin's 1998 novel The Infinity Doctors, published four years prior to The Book of the War, featured a Time Lord named Wratfac, an expert lecturer on cosmic radiation, whom the Chancellery Guard nicknamed "Old Ratface". Whether any connection was intended between Rat-Face and Old Ratface remains unknown.