Flec is an artisan from Extramuros who visits the Concent of Saunt Edhar to perform some maintenance, just before Apert. He is questioned by Fraa Orolo about events and customs Extramuros and how they may have changed over the last decade as part of the concent's preparations for Apert, and quickly loses patience with answering what he perceives to be outlandish questions about day to day life Extramuros.
Flec provides the first perspective on the Saecular population in Anathem. His impatient reaction to Fraa Orolo's questions reveals not just how removed Mathic Society is from the Saecular, but just how short attention spans are in the largely illiterate world Extramuros. As a follower of the Warden of Heaven, Flec also provides a window on the religious and political turmoil surrounding the events of Anathem.
Though Flec calls on Quin to complete the work started in order to avoid further interaction with the avout, Flec does return to the concent with a speelycaptor in order to record Provener with Orolo's permission. Orolo is surprised to discover from Quin that the Ita prevented the recording because Flec's speelycaptor was sufficiently advanced to take images of the avout hidden behind screens. Orolo's interest in this forbidden praxis leads to his eventual anathem.