Minerva Paradizo

Minerva Paradizo is a fifteen-year-old girl, described with tight blonde corkscrew curls and glasses (although the glasses are only mentioned once, so it is possible that they are either reading glasses or sunglasses) and is decribed as quite attractive (at least to Artemis Fowl). She was born in Cagnes-sur-Mer, South of France, and her father Gaspard Paradizo is a fifty-two-year-old cosmetic surgeon of Brazilian descent. She also has a five-year-old brother, Beau Paradizo, who has quite a love for sweets, chocolate in particular. Her mother, whose name is unknown, left her family and ran off with the gardener about a year before the events in The Lost Colony.She lives with her family at the Paradizo Chateau in the South of France in a little town called Tourrettes sur Loup.Minerva lost interest in Artemis and is now involved with a skier in the Alps.Her first name, Minerva, is the Roman name for the goddess of wisdom, Minerva.

Accomplishments and Traits
Although Minerva is only fifteen, she has already completed high school and is currently studying for two long-distance learning degrees - Quantum physics and psychology. Foaly suspects Minerva might even have a doctorate in chemistry under another name. She also won a national spelling bee at the age of four, other than these, she has kept herself hidden from the world to come out and show the press her demon suprisingly, and for no one knowing her existence and attempting sabotage to her plan. She is a child prodigy with an IQ similar to that of Artemis Fowl II himself, though in Book 5, she is easily outwitted by Artemis due mainly to the superior technology and support he has available to him (as well as his extensive knowledge of fairies). By the end of the Lost Colony, due to the time warp, she is 15 years old. Butler tells Artemis afterwards that he, mentally and physically, is the same age as Minerva.Orginally, similar to the former Artemis (who had not met Holly) she shows his traits of ruthlessness, deception and arrogance, even to people far older than her. Towards the end of the book, she is kidnapped by a demon-obsessed former employee, and is traded for No1, and shows a softer side--comforting Butler when Artemis dissappears, and worrying for her father. She was also referred to as "Eloise" during a scene involving Taiwanese police when Butler poses as "Franklin Arnott" from New York and Minerva is referred to by Butler as his daughter. During the three years Artemis is missing, she becomes good friends with Butler, encouraging him to read fiction, and presumably interacts with the other Fowls on some level. She is described by Butler as "quite a beauty, and sharp as a samurai sword too" with suggestions she has fallen for Artemis during his absence. Artemis does not seem to regard this negatively, hinting feelings for her as well. Interesting to note, Minerva and Artemis are both named after Greek and Roman virgin goddesses. Minerva is named after Minerva (Athena), the goddess of wisdom. The two names (Artemis and Minerva) also have the same number of letters. She has not made another appearance.

Personality
Though Artemis and Minerva were both child geniuses, with seemingly similar IQs and interests, their beginning motives were quite different. At the start of Artemis Fowl, Artemis is a ruthless and cold person, whose only goal is riches. Minerva, however, is somewhat more compassionate in her plans. Her goal, in contrast to Artemis's, is instead to protect a possibly dying species, or to protect humans from an attack by that species, and winning the Nobel Prize.She also has better social skills, possibly due to having a sibling. She can be superior, authoritative, and arrogant due to her intelligence, especially with people she deems less intelligent, but does love her family, placing their safety before her project, and showing them obvious affection. She also retains some "little girl" traits and behaviors, like panicking when her father is hit by a knife. While speaking in English, she sometimes switches to French at the moments of strong feelings. This also hints at her being more sensitive and emotional than Artemis. Since Artemis has not seen her for only one day but she has not seen him in 3 years due to the time warp in Limbo, it is unknown if she has changed, though this is likely.