Character Relationship Map: World Without End

Characters

• John Borden (played by Hugh Marlowe) — protagonist

  A scientist among the four crash-landed astronauts. He forms a bond with Deena and catches the attention of Garnet. Later, he defeats the mutate chief Naga in single combat to protect enslaved survivo...

• Garnet (played by Nancy Gates) — protagonist

  The daughter of underground city leader Timmek. Her romantic attraction to astronaut John Borden sparks jealousy in council member Mories, indirectly triggering the political conflict that temporarily...

• Herbert Ellis (played by Rod Taylor) — supporting

  The group's radioman and one of the four astronauts. His physical fitness earns admiration from underground women, and he becomes the primary love interest of Deena, playing a key role in the astronau...

• Deena (played by Lisa Montell) — supporting

  A woman rescued from the surface as a child who resides in the underground city. She falls in love with Herbert Ellis and crucially testifies that she witnessed Mories planting the astronauts' firearm...

• Henry Jaffe (played by Christopher Dark) — supporting

  The crew's engineer. He suffers severe psychological distress upon realizing that time dilation has left his wife and children dead for centuries. He survives the initial mutant spider ambush and acco...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• John Borden → Garnet (Romantic Attraction) — Their attraction triggers a political crisis inside the underground city.

  Garnet shows attraction to John Borden, and her interest makes Mories jealous.

• Herbert Ellis → Deena (Romantic Love Interest) — Their romance helps integrate Ellis with the underground residents.

  The plot explicitly states that Deena falls in love with Herbert Ellis.

• John Borden → Deena (Romantic Interest) — Their bond connects the astronaut group with the underground community.

  The character profile states that John Borden forms a bond with Deena, while the plot shows Deena living among the underground residents.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Henry Jaffe → Herbert Ellis (Alliance Teammate) — They function as members of the same survival team.

  Henry Jaffe and Herbert Ellis are both part of the four astronauts who crash-land in the distant future.

• John Borden → Henry Jaffe (Alliance Teammate) — They cooperate as fellow astronauts while adapting to the future.

  John Borden and Henry Jaffe are identified as members of the four-person returning spaceflight crew and survive the crash together.

• John Borden → Herbert Ellis (Alliance Teammate) — Their shared crew membership supports the expedition and settlement effort.

  John Borden and Herbert Ellis return from the Mars reconnaissance flight as members of the same astronaut group.

Story Analysis

Astronauts displaced into a postwar future help unite divided human societies and build a new settlement on the surface.

Plot Progression

1. The Lost Return — The astronauts return from Mars, are hurled through an unexplained acceleration, and crash on a snowy mountain. Evidence of radiation and ancient gravestones reveals that they have entered a distant f...
2. Beneath The Ruins — After surviving giant mutant spiders and surface attackers, the astronauts discover an underground city. They encounter a peaceful high-tech society and begin forming personal connections with its res...
3. Jealousy And Betrayal — The astronauts argue that the underground society should reclaim the surface. Garnet's attraction to Borden fuels Mories's jealousy, leading him to plant the astronauts' pistols and provoke their expu...
4. Fire On The Surface — Deena's testimony exposes Mories's deception and changes Timmek's position. The astronauts receive cooperation, build a bazooka, and confront the surface mutates.
5. A Shared New World — Borden defeats the mutate chief in single combat and protects the enslaved unmutated survivors. The astronauts then establish a thriving settlement containing members of both groups.