Bryan Grenfell
Names: Bryan GrenfellBryBryanGrenfellsportcobthe anthropologistWorthy DoctorBryan D. Grenfell
First appears in Book 1: The Many-Colored Land, chapter 2 (1)
Appearances
What you know
Book 1: The Many-Colored Land
- Ch 2Grenfell is a visitor to the pageant site who is concerned about Mercy's distress and defends her against Gaston.
- Ch 10Grenfell is a middle-aged, mild-faced anthropologist of some reputation, returning from a galactic conference on culture theory on a Poltroyan planet.
- Ch 10Grenfell fell in love with Mercy at first sight and planned to propose after a sailing trip in the Mediterranean.
- Ch 10After learning Mercy has left through the time-portal, he goes to Lyon and researches the Guderian time-portal, then resigns himself to what common sense demands.
- Ch 15After a lecture, Grenfell rushes to his room's computer terminal and requests Mercy Lamballe's data on permanent durofilm sheets.
- Ch 15Grenfell is moved by Mercy's portrait and inventory, and is afraid of what he may find or fail to find, though he plans to leave for the unknown.
- Ch 15Grenfell hopes to find Mercy again and wonders if she will welcome him or be too heartwounded for him to fill.
- Ch 18Bry is writing a farewell letter to Varya, a former lover and colleague, on the eve of passing through the time-portal into Exile.
- Ch 18Bry plans to live in the Pliocene as a fisherman and sailor, perhaps trading, aboard his trimaran Quest.
- Ch 18Bry hopes for happiness on the far side of the Exile gate and is pursuing a romantic quest; the ex-Meta Lady calls him a Questing Lover.
- Ch 18Bry fears hostile human reception from earlier Exiles waiting at the Pliocene gate, unlike most of his companions.
- Ch 19Bryan is an anthropologist who intends to search for Mercy, trying Armorica first and then Albion, and needs a boat for the Channel.
- Ch 19Elizabeth senses Bryan will not stay with Group Green long, as he has not built dependence on the group.
- Ch 20Goes into Exile in tropical kit, armed with a steel-tipped stick and hidden throwing knife, carrying Mercy's picture and dossier; feels tired and stubborn.
- Ch 21Bryan is an English cultural anthropologist who specialized in analyzing certain kinds of social conflict, and he is eager to study Exile society.
- Ch 21Bryan carries a color picture of Mercedes Lamballe and asks where she is; he is seeking her.
- Ch 21Bryan notices his walking stick and throwing knife were removed while he was disoriented, probably by a metal-detector frisk; he is locked in his reception room.
- Ch 21Bryan says he can earn his living as a fisherman or coastal trader and owns a trimaran, fishing gear, books, music and a voicewriter.
- Ch 26Bryan is a prisoner who waves goodbye to Claude as the riders take him away through the barbican.
- Ch 26Bryan is searching for Mercy, and Claude hopes he finds her one way or another.
- Ch 27Bryan wears no torc, so he missed the telepathic exchange; he sharply questions Tanu claims of benevolence.
- Ch 28An anthropologist who brought a sailboat and wants to visit Finiah and Goriah; Creyn says he will be allowed without a torc because the Tanu hold something he wants.
- Ch 30Anthropologist who refuses to wear a torc and made this a condition of his cooperation; he is deeply wary of Tanu society.
- Ch 30Carries a durofilm picture of Mercy in his shirt pocket and is bound to her by love, though he has never heard her play.
- Ch 32Bryan is an anthropologist and experienced hobby sailor who stayed conscious through the rapids and expects the Tanu have other plans for him.
- Ch 34A professor-like human who thinks the Tanu are still at clan-level socialization and that Aiken is being deliberately seduced into submitting to training.
- Ch 35Bryan is one of the enslaved humans Felice hoped to rescue.
- Ch 36Bryan, from Stein's group, wears no torc; the Tanu seem to want an anthropologist to explain humans' effect on their society.
- Ch 38Bryan once sailed the Mediterranean and finds the Tanu song strangely familiar.
Book 2: The Golden Torc
- Ch 1Bryan is a torcless anthropologist searching for Mercy Lamballe, whom he knew only one day, and who was sent to Muriah.
- Ch 1As a boy Bryan searched a bat cave for his lost kitten Cinders, who was safe at home, leaving him with lasting horror of the loved thing lost.
- Ch 1Bryan realizes the Tanu escort and banquet are chiefly to see Elizabeth, and fears the danger she faces if she refuses to cooperate with their genetic schemes.
- Ch 1Bryan is horrified by Highjohn's state and suspects the Tanu use ecstasy to cure humans' loneliness and control them.
- Ch 2Bryan is an anthropologist who followed Mercy through the time-gate into Exile; the Tanu want his analysis of their society.
- Ch 2Bryan drinks heavily at the feast, troubled by thoughts of Mercy's situation, and declines to dance.
- Ch 3Bryan is a drunken guest who collapsed on the table after toasting Mayvar Kingmaker and the King.
- Ch 5Bryan is an anthropologist from the twenty-second-century Milieu, commissioned to study the culture impact of human and Tanu societies; he refuses a torc to keep his freedom and sanity.
- Ch 5Bryan came through the time-portal following the woman he loved, Mercy, and cooperates because it is his only way to see her.
- Ch 5Bryan suspects the King has another motive for commissioning the study and is glad Ogmol cannot read his thoughts.
- Ch 5Bryan hides his thoughts from Gomnol's mind-reading by mentally repeating a counting chant, as Elizabeth advised, and flatters Gomnol's ambition.
- Ch 9Bryan is Elizabeth's friend, conducting a survey that may inform Brede's judgment on human participation.
- Ch 10Bryan is a torcless anthropologist from the Galactic Milieu conducting a culture-impact survey for the Tanu, due before the Grand Combat.
- Ch 11Bryan followed Mercy into the Pliocene because he loves her and wanted to marry her; he accepts her situation, seeking only her happiness.
- Ch 11Bryan is drawn into a mental and physical union with Mercy and promises to help her in any way.
- Ch 12Human anthropologist commissioned by the Thagdal and Eadone to conduct a study of human culture impact on the Tanu.
- Ch 22A human anthropologist who co-wrote a confidential preliminary survey of stress patterns in Tanu-human interaction for King Thagdal, and is secretly Mercy's lover.
- Ch 22Is deeply in love with Mercy, fears losing her after the Combat, and is unsure she loves him; he forgot his unease about Ogmol.
- Ch 22Bryan is an earnest anthropologist who wrote a survey warning of terrible consequences for the Tanu if they continue as before with humans; he does not grasp how it could be misused.
- Ch 25The human anthropologist whose survey predicts human and hybrid ascendancy; Nodonn holds him secretly and has a copy of the book.
- Ch 32Bryan, an anthropologist, is held in comfortable confinement in Redactor Guild headquarters, disappointed to miss the Combat; Culluket says he has a special later role.
- Ch 37Bryan, an anthropologist, slept three days in Redact House. He is now dazed, wearing a golden torc, and compelled by Nodonn.
- Ch 37Bryan wrote a survey of Tanu–human relations commissioned by Thagdal; Nodonn uses it to argue against human assimilation.
- Ch 38Bryan spoke through his golden torc to persuade barbarians that shutting the time-gate was good, on Apollo's behalf, turning the crowd against Aiken Drum.
- Ch 38Bryan loves Mercy, longs to return to the mind-cave where she waited, and resents being revived; he wonders if he may survive after all.
- Ch 41Bryan, an anthropologist rumored linked to Lady Rosmar, died in the Retort with a smile on his face.
Connections
- friend ofMercedes Lamballeclose, evening plans together
- partner ofMercedes LamballeGrenfell loves her after one day together; she has since left
- friend ofGaston
- partner ofVaryaformer lovers and colleagues
- member ofGroup Green
- related toMercedes LamballeBryan is searching for Mercy
- friend ofRichard Voorheesfellow traveler from the same group
- friend ofClaude MajewskiClaude wishes Bryan well as he departs
- friend ofHighjohn
- related toOgmolassigned guide and assistant on the King's study
- related toSebi-GomnolGuarded visitor deceiving Gomnol while being given a tour
- friend ofOgmol
- related toGreg-Donnetsecretly sabotages their survey
- led byNodonncompels him through the torc
- ally ofOgmolassociate on the survey
- ally ofAluteyn Craftsmasterrevives and tends him
Key moments
- Book 1 · Ch 2The May pageant at Riom
Mercy cues pageant elements as the ducal party stages a 1410 maying festival for tourists. Grief overwhelms her during a troubadour's song, but she recovers and carries on.
- Book 1 · Ch 10Grenfell learns Mercy has gone into Exile
On landing at Unst, Grenfell finds Mercy's teleview service canceled; Gaston tells him she quit and went through the time-portal into Exile.
- Book 1 · Ch 10Grenfell researches the time-portal in Lyon
Grenfell posts conference data in London, goes to Lyon, and spends three days absorbing the literature on the Guderian time-portal, weighing what to do about Mercy.
- Book 1 · Ch 15Grenfell studies Mercy's file
After a lecture, Grenfell retrieves Mercy Lamballe's dossier, portrait and inventory from the terminal, studies them emotionally, and ponders finding her beyond the time-portal.
- Book 1 · Ch 18Bry's farewell letter
On the eve of passage through the time-portal, Bry writes to Varya describing Group Green, his plans as a sailor and fisherman, and his fears about the reception in the Pliocene.
- Book 1 · Ch 19Last night terrace talk
After the last supper, Group Green's members discuss metapsychic powers, Pliocene coal and plans, Felice's unhappiness, and Aiken's Connecticut Yankee costume as a storm gathers over Lyon.
- Book 1 · Ch 19Elizabeth and Bryan confide
Elizabeth explains her latent state and the tornado that killed Lawrence; Bryan describes his plan to search for Mercy. The downpour begins and they go inside.
- Book 1 · Ch 20Group Green enters the time-gate
At five hundred hours Mishima leads the eight travelers through the garden to the Guderian cottage cellar. Bryan, Stein, Richard and Felice are translated first.
- Book 1 · Ch 21Arrival at Castle Gateway
Bryan emerges from the time-portal disoriented, is guided by a guardian to Castle Gateway past the amphicyons, and is placed in a reception room.
- Book 1 · Ch 21Interview with Tully
Tully interviews Bryan about his background and equipment. Bryan asks about population and disease and about Mercedes Lamballe; Tully says she went to the capital, then leaves and locks Bryan in.
- Book 1 · Ch 26Prisoners ride out through the barbican
A file of ten riders, including prisoners, enters the barbican passage. Bryan waves to Claude, who silently wishes him luck finding Mercy, then returns to the dormitory to help with Richard.
- Book 1 · Ch 28The Hunt glimpsed
The party sees a fast, multicolored streak of light, the Hunt, cross a ridge. Creyn refuses to explain it but hints Aiken might suit it.
- Book 1 · Ch 30Arrival at Roniah
Creyn's caravan with the captive time-travelers reaches the illuminated city past midnight, enters through the gate, and is greeted by Tanu nobles in the marble quarter.
- Book 1 · Ch 30Bryan refuses the torc
Bormol welcomes Bryan and offers mental refreshment; Bryan refuses, rejecting the torc, and retires to bed while the others join the party.
- Book 1 · Ch 30The Hunt returns
At dawn Bryan watches the Tanu Hunt return, carrying heads of monsters and two ordinary humans on lances.
- Book 1 · Ch 32Shooting Cameron's Sluice
The party boards the Mojo and rides the Rhône through violent rapids; most passengers are asleep or calmed, while Bryan stays awake and Highjohn offers him a job.
- Book 1 · Ch 34Prisoners lodged at Darask
The travelers stop at the Riverside Palace, where Kennedy locks the prisoners in a tower chamber, and Elizabeth is summoned to help Creyn with the dangerous birth.
- Book 1 · Ch 38Descent of the Dreadful Slide
The riverboat goes over the continental brink at the end of the Rhône and plunges into the empty Mediterranean basin, ending after four hours in a great bitter lake. The torc-wearers refuse Creyn's offer of oblivion.
- Book 1 · Ch 38Arrival at Muriah
On the sixth day after leaving Castle Gateway, the travelers reach Muriah, hauled up from the salt by helladotheria and welcomed with song by the Tanu.
- Book 2 · Ch 1Arrival at Aven
Tanu and human riders welcome the boat at Aven; hellads haul it toward Muriah while Bryan seeks Mercy and Highjohn explains torcs and Tanu society.
- Book 2 · Ch 1Welcome at the Tanu palace
The boat arrives at the King's palace in Muriah, where Lady Eadone greets the time-travelers and Elizabeth replies in Tanu and English before the escort erupts in celebration.
- Book 2 · Ch 1Highjohn's reward
Creyn gives Highjohn a mental reward; Bryan and Elizabeth find him convulsing in ecstasy, and Bryan closes the door before they follow the others inside.
- Book 2 · Ch 2Time-travelers appear at the feast
The five time-travelers meet in new Tanu finery, joined by Aiken, who hints at coming mischief and shows he is working around his metafunction curb before the court procession.
- Book 2 · Ch 2Presentation to the High Table
The honorees are presented; Elizabeth is hailed with Slonshal. Thagdal and Nontusvel welcome them, Nontusvel promises Bryan he will see Mercy, and Ogmol is named as his assistant.
- Book 2 · Ch 2Thagdal explains Tanu breeding and torcs
Over the supper Thagdal and Nontusvel explain his sovereignty by fertility, the eugenic program with human help, and how honorary golden torcs were granted to key human arrivals.
- Book 2 · Ch 2Toast to Elizabeth and fellowship
Thagdal declares Elizabeth a gift of Tana and announces her training under Brede; the court toasts fellowship, then feasting and dancing begin.
- Book 2 · Ch 5Market and café talk
Ogmol pushes Bryan to take a golden torc; Bryan refuses. Over pastries Ogmol explains hybrid status and prejudice, then arranges a visit with Gomnol telepathically.
- Book 2 · Ch 5Gomnol overpowers Bryan's mind
Gomnol hears Bryan's thought about how he became Coercer President and briefly crushes Bryan's mind, then releases him. He sends Ogmol away and takes Bryan to tour the torc factory.
- Book 2 · Ch 5Torc factory tour
Gomnol shows Bryan the torc works, explains psychoregulators and Tanu genetics, and Bryan asks how the Firvulag fit in.
- Book 2 · Ch 5Gomnol reveals his past and ambition
While touring the workshops, Gomnol bitterly reveals he designed the docilization device credited to Eisenmann and states his plan to build a superior culture with new operants; Bryan conceals his alarm.
- Book 2 · Ch 5News of Felice's revolt
Gomnol questions Bryan about Felice, revealing that her caravan revolted en route to Finiah, killing Epone and the gray-torc escort; Felice and three others remain free.
- Book 2 · Ch 10Royal box discussion
Bryan reports on his survey while Tanu leaders voice fears about human influence, and Greg-Donnet rants about cloning.
- Book 2 · Ch 10Nodonn arrives
Nodonn and Rosmar arrive; Rosmar reunites with Bryan. Nodonn goes to the arena, and Raimo desperately seeks Aiken.
- Book 2 · Ch 11Sail to the Great Brackish Marsh
Mercy and Bryan sail a trimaran with her psychokinetic wind through the lagoon and Long Fjord to the marsh and anchor for a picnic.
- Book 2 · Ch 11Mercy reveals her powers and plans
Mercy conjures cherries, explains her creator powers, ambitions with Nodonn and the Thagdal's child, then seduces Bryan and secures his promise to help her.
- Book 2 · Ch 22Survey finalized and data erased
Bryan and Ogmol finish the survey and print three copies. Greg-Donnet then secretly overrides the lock, prints a fourth copy for himself and expunges all data from the computer.
- Book 2 · Ch 22Mercy challenges Aluteyn
At an extraordinary assembly Mercy challenges Aluteyn for the Creators' presidency. Aluteyn conjures a lamprey; she answers with fish and chips and is validated to contend at the Grand Combat.
- Book 2 · Ch 22Night on the Mount of Heroes
Mercy and Bryan meet and make love on the mountain summit. Bryan asks whether she loves him and will stay after the Combat, and she evades.
- Book 2 · Ch 22Mercy obtains Bryan's survey
After seducing Bryan, Mercy persuades him to give her his copy of the survey and keep it secret, then drives down the mountain with him asleep.
- Book 2 · Ch 22Bryan handed over to Culluket
At Redact House Nodonn and Culluket receive the sleeping Bryan. Nodonn orders him protected and kept unaware until the Combat ends, then leaves with Mercy for Creation House to deal with the computer.
- Book 2 · Ch 25Nodonn reveals his strategy
Nodonn outlines his plan to exploit the planned raid and expose the survey at the Grand Combat, summoning the top fighters to a reunion luncheon, and reveals Mercy's genes.
- Book 2 · Ch 32Mercy visits Bryan
Mercy visits the confined Bryan, tells her story, projects the First Day games for him, and leaves, asking him to wait until they come for him.
- Book 2 · Ch 37Nodonn presents Bryan's survey
At the banquet, Nodonn brings the torc-compelled Bryan before the Tanu to expose the consequences of human assimilation, while Celadeyr defiantly backs Aiken Drum.
- Book 2 · Ch 38Bryan revived in the Great Retort
Aluteyn pulls Bryan from his mind-cave; Bryan, longing for Mercy, learns he is in the Great Retort while captives speculate about earthquakes.
- Book 2 · Ch 41Survivors in the floating Retort
Raimo and Aluteyn caulk the Retort and sort survivors from the dead; Aluteyn gives Raimo Bryan's golden torc.