Dr. Renna Rose is a renowned researcher from the Principality of Kesh. Within living memory of the end of COUNTER/Weight, they are the lead author on an academic publication titled "Counter-Example Guided Model for Non-Interventionist Regulation of the Meta-Divine"—a paper that is notable for proposing the machine that would one day be called Crystal Palace.[1]
Personality
Renna is highly respected as a researcher. Like their contemporary and peer Dr. Jace Rethal, Renna is a stratus, and rumour has it that their mental acuity exceeds even Jace's.[1]
History and Involvement
Early in their career, Renna meets Jace Rethal at a conference. Although this brief encounter is for a long time their only encounter, the academic rumor mill begins to whisper that Dr. Rose and Dr. Rethal are "bitter rivals".
At the time "Counter-Example Guided Model" is written, Renna is not yet a celebrity in their field but they have enough cred as an up-and-coming researcher that tenured scholars are eager to be credited as contributors to Renna's publication. Building on the work of the Ethno-Logistical State for a More Prosperous Golden Branch, Renna and their colleagues propose a hypothetical device that could be used to increase the Rapid Evening's surveillance capabilities and prevent criminal offenses within the Principality of Kesh's jurisdiction before they even occur. The authors intend this proposal only as a thought experiment, a launching pad for an argument regarding public policy. "Counter-Example Guided Model" is published in the academic journal Foundations and Findings in Post-Divine Technologies 822 years before the First Day of Guaranteed Events.
Jace Rethal peer reviews the article prior to its publication. While Renna and their colleagues only ever intended the device as a hypothetical, Jace immediately recognizes this as a failure of vision on their part: the machine could exist, and it would be an "ocular tyrant". He recommends that the paper not be published. While his veto is overturned, he is permitted to publish "a scathing perspective on the study" in the same issue of the journal. Eventually, Renna and Jace find themselves sharing a table at a professional event, where Jace asks Renna to "retract and disavow" their article. Renna refuses, insisting that building the machine would be impossible and that, even if it were built, "it [would] last a day before it [was] destroyed."[1]
Trivia
- It's unclear whether Renna is related to Ibex, although much is made of the shared surname by the rumour mongers who insist on a rivalry between Renna and Jace.[1]