The imagery of Fraa Lio
The narrator employs vivid descriptions to present the appearance of Fraa Lio. The imagery begins with the narrator’s acknowledgment of Lio’s stockiness. It then becomes more refined as he is presented as squatting in the shade of an apple tree concentrating intensely on the dirt. Lio’s imagery becomes more pronounced and specific as the narrator describes the way in which he had tied his bolt and the remainder of which had been slung on his back like a bedroll:
“On a patch of disturbed earth in the shade of an apple tree, he was squatting, hypnotized by the dirt. He had wrapped the selvage end of his bolt around his waist and between his thighs in the basic modesty knot. The remainder he had rolled up into a tight cylinder which he had tied at each end with his chord and then slung diagonally on his back, like a bedroll.”
Tactile imagery
An instance of tactile imagery is brought out in the work when the narrator vividly describes the feeling associated with the chain he had cut from titanium. The coldness of the chain is thus presented in conceptual terms that facilitate a more profound understanding of the chain and thus becomes an instance of tactile imagery:
“I took a moment to feel the chain. It was like a trickle of ice water over my fingers.”
Visual imagery
The narrator enhances the visual perception of his actions through the employment of action words that define the image of the same in the reader’s subconscious. The image begins with the slashberry cane arches in his path and gradually develops as the narrator closes his hands on a few thornless inches of the slashberry. The narrator jerks it and swings it until the flowers graze Fraa Lio’s scalp. These descriptions play a substantial role in enhancing the visual imagery of the narrator’s actions:
“A slashberry cane arched across my path. I found a few thornless inches, closed my hand around it, jerked it up by its roots, and swung it round until the tiny flowers at its tip grazed Fraa Lio’s stubbly scalp.”
The Præsidium
Intense descriptions of the appearance of the Præsidium dominate its presentation. The imagery of the building begins with its four pillars on which it stands and proceeds with its square cross-section to become more specific:
“The Præsidium stood on four pillars and for most of its height was square in cross-section. Not far above the dials, however, the corners of the square floor-plan were cleaved off, making it into an octagon, and not far above that, the octagon became a sixteen-sided polygon, and above that, it became round. The roof of the Præsidium was a disk, or rather a lens, as it bulged up slightly in the middle to shed rainwater.”
