Old Man

An elderly resident of the mining colony, the Old Man occupies the margins of the settlement’s fracturing social order. His presence evokes quiet authority born of long experience, though his exact role within the community remains undefined. He endures the miners’ sudden violence without apparent provocation, his reaction one of fear or confusion rather than defiance. The snapshot of his assault—caught between Jack’s aggression and the young man’s theft—positions him as an unintended casualty of forces beyond his control, embodying the colony’s unraveling cohesion.