As is made clear in the novel, Nicole is the ultimate matriarchal figure throughout the novel, despite her youthful appearance. For most of the novel, she plays the authoritative voice, to the point in which the reader believes she is evil. Later on, the reader sees the doting side of her, thereby penetrating our guard against her, as scornful mothers can often do.
Perhaps the best example of her showing both sides comes with her relationship to Kongrosian. Even at the end of the novel, we see a microcosm (and shortly before the climax of the story) of both sides of her matriarchal relationship with Kongrosian. As her reign crumbles all around her, Kongrosian enters to wail his problems. At first, Nicole coldly tells him to leave, as she's been wanting to do throughout the novel. But, seeing that she can replace Pembroke with Kongrosian, she significantly changes her attitude, and offers him the top security post.
In return, after Pembroke looks like he is about to execute Nicole, Kongrosian steps in and kills him with his ability, and then uses that ability to send Nicole to a safer place (his house out in California). Within the novel, culminating with this action, we saw the typical mother-son bond play out through time. Nicole went from being the protector of Kongrosian to being protected by him, much as young child transitions to the role his mother occupied as he gets older and stronger while she gets frailer and needs someone to look out for her as time goes on. Of course, Nicole is not as helpless as that quite yet, but she does have a target on her back.
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