Renault is a compact, weather-hardened human with a long-backed posture that makes him seem taller when he is angry and smaller when he is tired. He walks with his left foot placed carefully, heel first, as though every floor might conceal a loose board. His hands are broad and permanently darkened around the nails by oil, graphite, and ground brass. A narrow strip of polished copper is woven into his beard, not as decoration but to keep the beard from catching in machinery. He wears round smoked lenses when working, yet removes them to read faces with unsettling directness. His movements are economical and nearly silent until he becomes excited, at which point he begins circling objects as if he is trying to find their hidden gear teeth. The unexpected contradiction is that his rough traveler's clothing and gunpowder-stained hands conceal an immaculate white shirtfront, changed every morning regardless of weather or expense.