Cappell was the resident mathematician for Waste Heat Management in the Serifosa branch of the Komarr Terraforming Project. While his academic record showed no particular brilliance, he was one of the shareholders for the conspiracy to collapse the Komarr-Barrayar wormhole. He was also a very capable liar; Soudha directed Miles Vorkosigan to him early in the auditorial investigation for purposes of misdirection. He did not wish to own a descendant of Zap the cat.