# Chang — Short Fiction character guide

> Chang in Short Fiction by Cordwainer Smith.

**Role:** supporting

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

## Snapshot

A half-Chinese Scanner who taught himself to speak like an ordinary man through mirrors and soundtracks, hiding his defects to cheer the people around him.

## Who they are

Chang is the one Scanner in or between the Earths who can pass for a Man, a trick of practiced voice and controlled face that his father insisted on. He cannot feel or taste or hear any more than the others, yet he talks anyway, because it lifts the people near him — and because Luci, who lost Martel to the cranched emergency, deserves a voice that sounds alive. His careful performance of humanity is the quiet counter-argument to everything the Scanners have surrendered, and it makes him the story's most unsettling kind of hope.

## Relationships

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

_professional_

Chang interacts frequently with Martel III, likely as a subordinate or operative in a hierarchical organization.

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

_professional_

Chang and Parizianski have a working relationship, likely as part of the same organization.

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

_professional_

Chang interacts frequently with Martel III, likely as a subordinate or operative in a hierarchical organization.

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

_professional_

Chang interacts frequently with Martel III, likely as a subordinate or operative in a hierarchical organization.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/chapters/ii)

Martel's friend, a Scanner who has learned to speak like an ordinary person; Martel adjusts his lung-control during the meeting.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/chapters/iii)

A haberman who whispers comments to Martel during the meeting, showing control over his voice and skepticism about the proceedings.

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

Martel's friend who refuses to help, citing his duty as a Scanner and respect for the Committee's vote.

## Links

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