# Adam Stone — Short Fiction character guide

> Adam Stone in Short Fiction by Cordwainer Smith.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Stone, Dimly behind Stone

**First appearance:** 0001-scanners-live-in-vain

## Snapshot

A stout, merry-looking man with grey hair and a plump hand on a Wirepoint, who conquered the Great Pain by loading the ships with life.

## Who they are

Adam Stone looks like a jolly guide from the Pleasure Gallery, not a man who stood at the edge of the Up-and-Out without haberman protection. He keeps himself lawfully armed, greets a self-declared Scanner with calm and a question — whose life and death? — and answers cryptically that he has loaded the ships with life. His composure under a stranger's confession is the hinge the early plot turns on.

## Relationships

### [Martel III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/martel_iii)

_rivalry_

Adam Stone and Martel III are locked in a bitter, high-stakes conflict, likely over power or ideology.

### [Parizianski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/parizianski)

_rivalry_

Adam Stone and Parizianski are opponents, possibly on opposite sides of a conflict.

### [Vomact](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/vomact)

_rivalry_

Adam Stone and Vomact are enemies, likely due to opposing loyalties.

### [Henry Haberman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/henry_haberman)

_friendship_

Adam Stone and Henry Haberman are allies, possibly working together against a common foe.

### [Luci](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/luci)

_friendship_

Adam Stone and Luci are allies, possibly sharing a common cause or personal loyalty.

### [Martel III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/martel_iii)

_rivalry_

Adam Stone and Martel III are locked in a bitter, high-stakes conflict, likely over power or ideology.

### [Martel III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/martel_iii)

_rivalry_

Adam Stone and Martel III are locked in a bitter, high-stakes conflict, likely over power or ideology.

### [Vomact](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/vomact)

_rivalry_

Adam Stone and Vomact are enemies, likely due to opposing loyalties.

### [Henry Haberman](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/henry_haberman)

_friendship_

Adam Stone and Henry Haberman are allies, possibly working together against a common foe.

### [Parizianski](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/parizianski)

_rivalry_

Adam Stone and Parizianski are opponents, possibly on opposite sides of a conflict.

### [Luci](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/luci)

_friendship_

Adam Stone and Luci are allies, possibly sharing a common cause or personal loyalty.

## In the story

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/chapters/iv)

The target of the Scanners' assassination vote; Martel races to warn him.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/chapters/v)

Receives Martel in his quarters, explains his discovery of using life (oysters) to shield ships from the Great Pain, and is warned of the assassination plot.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/adam_stone
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters