Ala

Overview

Ala is a young suur (female avout—monastic scholar) of the Concent of Saunt Edhar noted for brisk, practical leadership—especially around bell work and crowded moments near the Mynster. She chose the New Circle at Eliger, helped set up a discreet pinhole projection of the sun with close peers, and was later named during Voco (formal summons out of a math). Reports from Tredegarh place her at the Convox (rare mass assembly) now underway.

Appearance and Traits

Forthright, brisk, and decisive. Small and bony, with a round head, large eyes, a delicate sharp nose, and a wide mouth; she keeps her hair cropped short. Her manner shifts easily from command to collaboration when a practical path is clear.

Roles and Actions

• Bell work and mentoring: organizes and rehearses ringers, spends time in the Mynster’s lower works maintaining mechanisms and practicing unfamiliar changes, and passes techniques to younger girls.
• Discreet observation: with Suur Tulia, darkened a maintenance room beneath the carillon to project the sun safely. Together with Fraa Erasmas, marked brief blue‑white "sparks" on the projected disk for later analysis.
• Night‑sky observation (recalled): Erasmas later remarks that he and Ala saw bright flashes overhead, which he interprets as nuclear drive bursts associated with a change in the orbit of the visitors’ craft; this interpretation is his.
• Convox risk mitigation and the Antiswarm: Ala states she was assigned by senior Sæcular officials to plan risk mitigation for the Convox. She pre‑assigns all participants to dispersal cells and meets with cell leaders to walk through contingencies. Each cell is to include some Ita so that, when dispersed, groups remain connected over the Reticulum; this relaxes customary avout/Ita separation and anticipates praxic tasks of immediate Sæcular relevance. Open‑air distribution of rucksacks and activation badges served as a deliberate deterrence signal intended to show the visitors (now labeled "PAQD") that Tredegarh can scatter at a moment’s notice; when triggered, badges will direct avout to their cell rendezvous.
• Cell‑leader Lucubs and outreach debate: follow‑up Lucubs for especially inquisitive cell leaders converged on the view that contact should be made with a faction of the visitors even if barred by Sæcular channels. Proposals under discussion include using observatories’ guidestar lasers for narrow‑beam signals; within the narrative, this laser idea is attributed to Orolo.
• Breakfast exchange: At an open‑air meal amid Convox preparations, Ala tells Erasmas she has been organizing people and that plans predated the Convox’s formation; she notes "PAQD" has replaced "Geometers" in current usage. Parting quickly to continue duties, she says she has made a terrible decision—likened to Orolo’s choice before the gates of Orithena—with the sense of "terrible but right."
• Execution of the Antiswarm: When a dispersal order is triggered at Tredegarh, Ala’s preparations take effect. Badges activate with individualized routes; controlled demolitions open multiple exits; aid teams, sound trucks, and drivers guide evacuees to drummons and coaches assigned to their cells. Participants describe the evacuation as bearing her stamp in its clarity and effectiveness.
• Orbital mission selection and oversight (reported): According to Tulia, after a cell was launched into orbit Ala became a central figure in ongoing coordination with senior officials. Peers credit her with helping make the case for an avout‑led team—citing Jules Verne Durand’s Orth and the need for broadly trained, adaptable participants. While the cell travels, she is described as focusing attention on what the team should do on arrival at the Daban Urnud. These attributions are reported by peers and not direct statements from Ala.
• Difficult choice and cell composition: Erasmas interprets the makeup of one cell led by Lio as the outcome of Ala’s "terrible but right" choice to concentrate trusted peers so they could support one another; before departure he asks that a message be relayed to her acknowledging her judgment. This is presented as his inference.
• Strategic intent and alleged hidden measures (as discussed in orbit): Members of the orbiting team state that Ala would not sanction turning avout into carriers for Everything Killers; Erasmas says this outright. Lio argues that, if such measures are part of the wider plan, they were added without Ala’s knowledge. Fraa Osa outlines how a lead strategist might instead have tasked Ala to assemble a team able to seek sympathizers among the Geometers opposed to the Pedestal. These are statements by others, not direct claims from Ala.

Relationships and Affiliations

• Suur Tulia: long‑standing working partner in chores, bell work, and quiet study; Tulia had set out intending to find Ala at Saunt Tredegarh.
• Fraa Erasmas: collaborator on the pinhole observation. The two agreed to declare an Etrevanean liaison (formal relationship rite) that was not entered before later events. Erasmas has sent mail care of Tredegarh addressed to Ala; they speak briefly during the Convox about her current responsibilities. Later, as groups go to ground and prepare for operations away from Tredegarh, he asks the Ita Sammann to relay another message to Ala over the Reticulum, expressing that, if granted a "fourth life," he wishes to spend it with her. While in orbit he also composes additional messages addressed to Ala for retrieval if his suit is recovered.
• Fraa Jesry: Jesry states that after their Voco he and Ala began a liaison; he expects she will decide next steps and remain out of contact until she has done so.
• Lio: confidant who reports on her roles during the Convox and recruits others to discussions; he says she started the Lucub network noted above.
• Panjandrums: senior Sæcular officials with whom she confers during the Convox; her risk‑mitigation assignment comes through them.

Current Status

Evoked during Voco and departed Saunt Edhar. At Tredegarh for the Convox, Ala is actively organizing the planned Antiswarm: pre‑assigning dispersal cells, briefing cell leaders, and overseeing the distribution of rucksacks and inert badges that will direct people to rendezvous points if an order to scatter is issued. She emphasizes keeping cells on the Reticulum via embedded Ita. In conversation she adopts the in‑use label "PAQD" for the visitors and indicates that deterrence—open‑air readiness displays—is part of the strategy. After a brief breakfast meeting she left to continue work, saying she had made a difficult decision; its nature is not disclosed. Following a dispersal order, her preparations are put into effect and cells disperse and embark on assigned transports under escort; observers credit the evacuation’s smooth functioning to her organization. After the launch of an avout‑led cell toward the visitors’ ship, peer accounts describe Ala as particularly busy and important, working on plans for the team’s objectives upon arrival; her own location and movements remain unspecified. Subsequently, Erasmas relays personal messages to Ala via Reticulum and also writes further notes to be preserved by his suit.