Warden of Heaven

Overview

The Warden of Heaven is an older Sæcular (outside‑the‑math world) authority figure, addressed by attendants as "His Serenity." Newly seen capsule footage shows him departing alone to approach the visitors aboard the icosahedral Cousins craft (the Cousins’ ship). After egress, communications are jammed; hours later the crew recover him, deceased, after he is expelled from the visitors’ craft. An autopsy reportedly finds a burst aneurysm, leaving the time and cause of death unclear.

Context and in‑world mentions

• The episode is discussed during a Plenary (all‑hands Convox session) where speelies (recorded moving‑images) are shown to the assembled avout (cloistered scholar‑monks). Speakers later refer to "what happened to the Warden of Heaven," reflecting that the event is widely known in Convox circles at Tredegarh.
• In a subsequent Plenary dialog at the Convox hosted at Tredegarh, a suggestion to defer to the Sæcular Power in deciding how to deal with the visitors prompted audible mirth; the Warden of Heaven was implicitly cited as the prior instance of that approach.
• In discussion at a Plurality of Worlds messal, participants cite "throwing the Warden of Heaven out the airlock" alongside other headline incidents attributed to the visitors, showing the ejection as a recent shared point of reference.
• At another messal discussion, a speaker suggested that—aside from the Warden of Heaven—those gathered were the first Arbrans to look upon the face of a living alien, implying he may have directly encountered one during the initial contact; this remains conjectural in‑world.
• In private Lucub networks, some speakers use "people like the Warden of Heaven" as shorthand for entrenched Sæcular leadership when arguing that power should be taken back by "the smart people"; others warn such talk risks provoking violent counter‑measures.
• The title itself is not explained in the material shown; the sources here do not clarify what "Heaven" denotes in this office’s name.
• Later operational notes from Jesry’s team cite their earlier outing with the Warden as the moment they learned the Daban Urnud keeps short‑range radars for close‑in targets powered down unless visitors are expected, implying that close encounters may rely on visual spotting or internal feeds.
• During a later entry into an observatory dome aboard the Daban Urnud, avout breathing the visitors’ atmosphere remark that he had been the only other Arbran to breathe it and “apparently hadn’t lasted more than a few minutes.” Companions infer the foreign air may have precipitated a sudden internal failure (described in‑world as “blew an aneurysm”); these remarks are presented as contemporaneous interpretations rather than settled findings.
• In the same sequence, one observer adds that the acute confusion and physiological stress immediately after doffing a suit and breathing the visitors’ air was "too much for the Warden," reinforcing that these are in‑world conjectures rather than established findings.

Appearance and Traits

• Older male; in weightlessness his hair stands oddly and his face appears puffy and greenish from nausea before egress.
• Attendants use the honorific "His Serenity." He prays briefly with aides before airlock procedures.
• Earlier second‑hand descriptions had portrayed a robed, priest‑like figure; the capsule speely (moving‑image recording) instead depicts modern suit‑up procedures and a standard pressure helmet.
• Later avout compare newer matte‑black suits to the gear seen on him in capsule footage, noting that his earlier suit used a tubular under‑garment ("tube garment") for thermal regulation, whereas the later design obviates it.

Roles and Actions

• Designated as the single representative to leave the capsule when the visitors stipulated "send one." Crew and aides assemble a pressure suit over a tubular under‑garment, complete checks, and move him into the airlock.
• A robotic manipulator from the visitors’ probe grapples his suit’s lifting bracket and carries him toward the icosahedron. Wideband jamming cuts voice contact soon after; later even suit telemetry ceases.
• After several hours, a port on the visitors’ pusher‑plate face opens and ejects an unclothed human form; capsule crew identify and retrieve the Warden’s body. Subsequent remarks cite a burst aneurysm found on autopsy; whether it preceded or followed ejection is not established.

Relationships

• Aides and clergy: Attendants refer to him as "His Serenity," attempt to shield him from the camera, and lead a short prayer before egress.
• Fraa Jesry: Present in the capsule crew and poses pragmatic, observational questions to guide first contact; later remarks explicitly note that Jesry had gone up with the Warden of Heaven on that mission.
• Ignetha Foral: A high‑ranking Sæcular figure addressed as "Madame Secretary." Avout sources report that the Warden dismissed her from office prior to the spacecraft encounter; she is now active at Tredegarh during the Convox.
• The visitors: Referred to by avout and Convox travelers as the Cousins; the craft itself is documented as the Cousins’ ship. Capsule narration also relays the Convox’s coinage "Geometers" as an in‑house label.

Current Status

Deceased upon recovery by the capsule crew after ejection from the visitors’ craft. Officials and observers note the autopsy’s burst aneurysm; accounts in this period differ as to whether death occurred prior to ejection or as a consequence of it. Some religious speakers characterize the episode as the Warden being "cast out," but these statements are presented as their interpretation, not a settled finding.

Notes

• The specific jurisdiction or location implied by "Heaven" is not defined in the sources available here.
• Later technical briefings among avout state that the more advanced space suits subsequently deployed were not available at the time of his mission.