Barb

First Appearance and Context

Barb is first seen arriving with his father as visitors gather outside the Day Gate at the Concent of Saunt Edhar. During the opening at Apert, he studies the stone‑arch bridge, the water‑driven wheel, and the driveshaft that couples to the hinges, and he is the first visitor to cross into the math over the bridge.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• An extramuros youth visiting with Quin, Barb focuses on the engineering of the bridge and gate mechanism.
• He recognizes the bridge’s catenary curve and infers that the long driveshaft is assembled from straight segments joined by concealed universal joints within the bases (plinths) of the statues along the span.
• He reasons that the shaft is made of old matter rather than newmatter, given the concent’s age and history as he understands it.
• During the early days of the opening, he attends many guided tours in the Unarian math, memorizes guides’ scripts, asks copious questions, and at times corrects or amplifies the explanations; suurs occasionally devise tasks to keep him occupied.
• His parents let him range freely inside the concent; some avout take this as openness to Collection.
• At Tenth Night, he is named among the thirty‑six youngsters to be Collected and is designated to come directly to the math rather than stay with the One‑offs. The newcomers are then formally handed over from sæcular to mathic jurisdiction in the customary ceremony.
• Later, during a meal in the math’s Refectory, he breaks into a discussion among avout including Fraa Orolo to define polar orbits, noting that a satellite in a polar orbit crosses each pole on every revolution around Arbre. When the narrator accidentally tugs his bolt and his tray spills, Barb remarks with formal precision that his arm was acted on by a force of unknown origin; afterward Fraa Jesry asks him about conic sections.
• Inside the resident math, during kitchen cleanup after a meal, he holds a sustained conversation about orbital mechanics and is moved from working in Saunt Lesper’s Coordinates toward using orbital elements; he receives a calca explaining configuration (Hemn) spaces.
• By his second month he is studying orbits under the instruction of Grandsuur Ylma and demonstrates unusually rapid progress.
• Establishes a daily study routine inside the math: attends morning lectures and works on proofs and problems until Provener, often partnering with Fraa Erasmas during these sessions.

Relationships

• Father: Quin. Quin prompts him to exchange greetings with avout but Barb often remains fixated on mechanisms; together with his ex‑wife, Quin appears to give Barb broad freedom during the opening.
• Interaction: A brief exchange with Fraa Erasmas, who confirms Barb’s deductions about the shaft and joints. Later meal‑hall interactions include conversations in the presence of Fraa Orolo and Fraa Jesry.
• Instruction: Grandsuur Ylma teaches him about orbits; he also receives explanations from Fraa Erasmas during work details.

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Described as a shorter likeness of Quin, without the beard.
• Highly observant and mechanically minded; speaks with crisp, factual precision, naming features such as “catenary,” “universal joint,” and “plinth.”
• Noted by observers as so orderly‑minded that he does not register facial expressions quickly, which can lead him to miss social cues (for example, not looking up in the Rotunda to see what a figure was reacting to).
• Speaks in a pre‑adolescent voice and often delivers memorized definitions in a singsong cadence; tends to remain standing with his tray until directly engaged.
• Socially literal in group work settings; he may follow someone through a task without attempting to help unless asked directly.
• When excited by ideas he runs back and forth to burn off energy; direct physical attempts to calm him can escalate agitation.
• Learns very quickly and is impatient with long coordinate lists (“xs and ys and zs”); he is receptive to replacing Saunt Lesper’s Coordinates with orbital elements and to thinking in configuration (Hemn) spaces.

Current Status/Location

Named among the youngsters to be Collected during Tenth Night and handed into mathic care; he is designated to come directly to the math at Saunt Edhar rather than the One‑offs. Earlier in the opening he is a frequent tour attendee. As of his second month in residence he is studying orbital mechanics inside the math and is occasionally seen during work details such as kitchen cleanup.