Characters are the people — real or fictional — involved in a subject.
They may be individuals:
Albert Einstein
David Bowie
Cleopatra
Sherlock Holmes
They may also be groups:
The Beatles
NASA astronauts
the England football team
the Roman army
The important question is simply:
Who is involved?
A Character immediately provides possible links to other characters.
A musician links to collaborators, influences and performers who covered their songs. An actor links to directors and fellow cast members. A historical figure connects to contemporaries, predecessors and successors.
But Characters also provide routes into the other COGS dimensions.
A character can take us to an Object they created or used, a Geography associated with their life, or a point in Seconds such as a birthday or historical event.
Characters are therefore not destinations. They are junctions.