# The Judge — Plague of Pythons character guide

> The Judge in Plague of Pythons by Frederik Pohl.

**Role:** supporting

**First appearance:** 0000-i

## Snapshot

A fat youth with a bandaged leg who limps to his feet to preside over the Orphalese, reading Kahlil Gibran aloud while wounded hunters are tied to dentist's chairs.

## Who they are

When Guy's jaw is broken in the scuffle, Walter takes the rostrum—steel-rimmed glasses, ornate book, a sip of wine—and presides over the strange liturgy of the Orphalese, quoting the Prophet to explain why flame spirits tear their world apart. He is less a jurist than a preacher of makeshift theology, binding captives and reading comfort into catastrophe. His authority matters because it shows how quickly the possessed world has grown its own rituals, its own scripture, and its own willingness to tie a man to a chair and call it justice.

## Relationships

### [Chandler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plague_of_pythons_se/characters/chandler)

_rivalry_

Chandler and The Judge are antagonists, with the Judge representing authoritarian opposition to Chandler's actions.

### [Chandler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plague_of_pythons_se/characters/chandler)

_rivalry_

Chandler and The Judge are antagonists, with the Judge representing authoritarian opposition to Chandler's actions.

### [Chandler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plague_of_pythons_se/characters/chandler)

_rivalry_

Chandler and The Judge are antagonists, with the Judge representing authoritarian opposition to Chandler's actions.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plague_of_pythons_se/characters/the_judge
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plague_of_pythons_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/plague_of_pythons_se/characters