Jerent Mysfeldt

The terraforming scientist human that Sediryl heard a lecture by on Starbase Ana, who later came to Escutcheon to head up Sediryl's projects.

Physical Characteristics

A rumpled young man, with a tendency to pace, jitter, and gesticulate when excited. His voice "dips and soars like a pinwheeling bird" when he's on a topic of interest to himself.

His enthusiasm for his work makes him look like an eternal graduate student, despite the receding "irregular thatch" on his head and the laugh lines around his mouth.

Biography

His area of interest: "The proponents of terraforming, he said, were often too fixated on genetic manipulation of flora when planning for success, ignoring oblique strategies, like targeting the fauna of the destination planet, or the fauna from the originating planet. These helper species, he said, were often ignored, and could be critical to the thriving of transplanted flora."

After hearing his lecture on Starbase Ana, Sediryl composes a letter to (then Queen) Liolesa, saying that he might be of interest to their planet:

As you know, as part of my endeavors in the outworld I am putting myself through an agronomy education, and it was in that process that I came to listen to a lecture I thought would be of use to you. The lecturer in question is named Jerent Mysfeldt, a human with an interest in terraforming. He has specialized in strategies for rescuing failed terraforming attempts by introducing changed animal or insect species. I commend him to your attention, as I believe his ideas would serve us. Indeed, I feel that if you engaged him, he might make our world a project, as it appears we are the exact sort of situation he has been researching. Failed terraforming initiatives are rare in the Alliance; we might be able to secure his expertise for very little effort, given the opportunity it would present someone of his interests.

Liolesa later came to employ him in exactly this capacity after the conclusion of the First Chatcaavan War.

Quotes

• "Most importantly, these are strategies that can be employed on existing worlds where terraforming has already failed."

Story Appearances

• Girl on Fire
• Healer's Wedding