Editing Harsh Realm (section)

==Cast==
* [[Scott Bairstow]] as Tom Hobbes. Lieutenant Thomas F. Hobbes was just days away from being discharged from the Army when he was called upon for one last mission and sent into the virtual reality simulation known as Harsh Realm. He was forced to leave behind his fiancée Sophie Green and put off their plans to move to [[California]] as a result. Hobbes was decorated for saving the life of his friend and comrade Mel Waters when they served together in [[Sarajevo]] in 1994. In the realm, Hobbes was reunited with the virtual character of his dog Dexter, who had died before the series. He also came upon the dying virtual copy of his mother, Katherine, at the same time she was dying of cancer in the real world. Hobbes grew up in [[Columbus, Ohio]]. His name is a reference to the 17th-century English philosopher [[Thomas Hobbes]]. Hobbes used a [[Heckler & Koch P7]] pistol in the Pilot episode before moving onto the [[SIG P226|SIG Sauer P226]] in episodes 2, 3, and 4, and then a [[Walther P99]] for the remainder of the series.  He also uses a [[Beretta M93R]] in episode 7.
* [[D. B. Sweeney]] as Mike Pinocchio . Specialist-4 Mike Pinocchio served in [[Operation Desert Storm]]. After that, he served in Yugoslavia, where he was severely injured by a land mine. The loss of his leg and eye prompted him to volunteer to go into Harsh Realm (in which Pinocchio has neither injury). In the Realm, he worked for Santiago before presumably faking his own death and going to live outside the fence.  He is forced into an uneasy alliance with Tom Hobbes after attempting to rob him upon Hobbes' first entering the realm.  He drives a modified 1972 [[Chevrolet Chevelle]]. His gun is a [[Heckler & Koch MP5K PDW]].
* [[Rachel Hayward]] as Florence. Florence is a mute VC ("virtual character") with the ability to heal injuries that occur within the game (although pre-existing conditions coded into the game are beyond her capabilities). She was a member of a group known as the Sisters, all of whom were mute healers, but she left the religious group and took up arms.  She now works as a mercenary of sorts, though she shows some loyalty to Mike Pinocchio. Her gun is a [[CAR-15#Colt Commando (AKA: CAR-15, XM177 & GAU-5)|CAR-15 Commando]] (specifically, the Model 649 GAU-5A/A variant, as indicated by the 11.5 inch barrel, A1-type rear sight, and lack of forward assist and case deflector).
* [[Terry O'Quinn]] as Omar Santiago. In the real world, Santiago is a [[sergeant major]] in the U.S. Army and the most-decorated combat veteran to serve in Southeast Asia. He then retired, but apparently that retirement took him to Harsh Realm, where he holds the rank of [[General]] in the Republican Guard and is working from his Santiago City headquarters to take over the [[United States]], renaming it the '''''United States of Santiago'''''. Pinocchio claims that Santiago is able to go in and out of the game at will, though how is unclear. The US government in the real world wants him dead, which prompts their sending Hobbes into the realm to stop him. His plans are said to involve destroying the real world so that Harsh Realm, where his rule is total, becomes the new reality.
* [[Max Martini]] as Mel Waters. Although they were best friends in the real world, Waters and Hobbes are at odds in Harsh Realm.  Hobbes finds that Waters married Sophie's virtual character, to his horror; things become even more complicated when Waters accidentally shoots and kills her at the end of the pilot. Waters holds the rank of [[Major (rank)|major]] in the Republican Guard (Waters' real world military rank was [[sergeant]]) and often reports directly to Santiago.  His gun is a [[Taurus PT99]].
* [[Sarah-Jane Redmond]] as Inga Fossa. She works with the military in [[Fort Dix]], [[New Jersey]]. She can come and go as she pleases between Harsh Realm and the real world, where she approached Sophie Green with information. She has a past connection to Pinocchio. Her motives in Harsh Realm are unclear, having also worked with Santiago, Waters, and aiding Tom Hobbes. "Inga Fossa" translates to "'''in the trench'''" in [[Latin]]. Redmond appeared in the [[2008 in film|2008]] film ''[[The X-Files: I Want to Believe]]'' as a character referred to on-screen as "Agent Fossa", possibly a reprisal of the character.
* [[Samantha Mathis]] as Sophie Green. Sophie is Hobbes' pregnant fiancée, whom he was forced to leave behind in the real world. She has two sisters and a brother named Sam. The "virtual character" version of Sophie within Harsh Realm briefly becomes Hobbs' ally until she is gunned down by Waters, who happens to be her husband in the realm.  This angers Santiago, who realizes that her death, even if it is not real, will act as a drive for Hobbes to take Santiago down.