# Father Moontree — Short Fiction character guide

> Father Moontree in Short Fiction by Cordwainer Smith.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** The Shuffle Father Moontree

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

## Snapshot

A slow-spoken Father of the Scanner crew, whose words crawl out like molasses while the battle finishes before his sentence does.

## Who they are

Father Moontree is the ritual and command presence aboard the Fighting Room, phoning the captain to clear for planoform and intoning the order to move. His telepathic crew catches his meaning long before his heavy human speech arrives, so his voice becomes a measure of how fast the real fight is. He is the calm, ceremonial center of a crew whose cats and children think faster than he can talk.

## Relationships

### [Lady May](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/lady_may)

_friendship_

Father Moontree and Lady May share a close, trusting bond, possibly as confidants or spiritual advisor and patron.

### [Underhill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/underhill)

_social_

Father Moontree and Underhill are acquaintances, perhaps through community or spiritual events.

### [Lady May](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/lady_may)

_friendship_

Father Moontree and Lady May share a close, trusting bond, possibly as confidants or spiritual advisor and patron.

## In the story

### [The Game of Rat and Dragon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/chapters/the-game-of-rat-and-dragon)

A priest who provides spiritual counsel to the pinlighters and reflects on the nature of their work.

### [The Shuffle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/chapters/the-shuffle)

The senior pinlighter who draws a greedy old cat known for killing sixty-three Dragons.

### [The Deal](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/chapters/the-deal)

Mentioned as picking up a telephone to speak to a Scanner captain, announcing the Fighting Room is ready.

### [The Play](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/chapters/the-play)

A human who speaks slowly, his words lagging far behind the speed of the telepathic battle.

## Links

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