Harold is an 18 year old only child, the overly-sheltered son of very rich parents. He is unathletic, terrified of heights, and compulsively corrects the grammar of everyone around him whenever possible. If there is a complex device to puzzle out, a mysterious language to decipher, or a possible Achilles heel in an alien invader, it's Harold that will find it.

Harold Bloom is a lightning rod for most of the weird plot twists, bizarre happenstances, and embarrassing (and downright odd) situations that seem to happen to him. If someone fumbles their way in zero gravity, it will be Harold. If someone chooses a door that leads to explosive decompression, it will be Harold. If someone becomes the object of an amorous masculine-sounding and potentially homicidal computer... well, you get the idea. This isn't to say that every independent action that Harold will take will lead him into a life-threatening situation, but it never hurts to have Streek around just in case. And although he doesn't know it yet, events from his past (and possibly his future) can and will come around to haunt him.