Folklore 115: Numbers, the Merchant

Numbers was raised by merchants who valued hungry people above profit. Their kindness ruined them when a richer rival bought the loyalty of those they had helped. His parents gave him their last food and left him one lesson he refused to repeat.

In Solaris, Numbers pursued capital with a discipline sharpened by starvation. He became representative, market-maker, and keeper of ledgers, trusting value that could be counted more than gratitude that could disappear.

His parents had believed people mattered more than wealth. Numbers believed wealth was how one prevented people from taking everything.