Ajay Janikowski

Character Analysis

Yes, Master

Ajay Janikowski is half Indian, half Polish, and 100% subservient sidekick. Ajay is the first friend Will meets at the Center. And by "friend," we mean a person who twice says to Will that he is "Entirely at your service" (13.92) (46.181). At one point, he even calls Will "sir." This is somewhat of an affectation on Ajay's part. He is small and likes to talk big. But because every action he takes in the book is always something Will asks him to do, or something done to assist Will in some way, he isn't saying this just to be funny. It's true.

Because this friendship is more like the alliance between a corporate CEO and an employee, Will gets a lot out of it. Ajay is on hand to fix his computer. He has a photographic memory. And he's a critical thinker with planning skills, whereas Will can sometimes be shortsighted.

We're not sure what Ajay gets out of this friendship with Will. Will isn't always particularly nice to him. He says he laughs "with" Ajay, but really seems to be laughing at him if we read between the lines of this quote: "Will found it impossible not to laugh with him, especially when he made jokes at his own expense" (15.46). And Will is always in a position to get the girl, while Ajay is to stay in his place and look but not touch.

In the end, Will assures Ajay that he couldn't accomplish his goals without him. But is he saying that just to keep him on his side? Never make a computer expert angry, after all, because that person can do some terrible things to your system to take revenge.