# Luci — Short Fiction character guide

> Luci in Short Fiction by Cordwainer Smith.

**Role:** supporting

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

## Snapshot

Martel's wife, who ruffles his hair, lays out lamb-chop smell-records, and teases him toward a meat he has never tasted.

## Who they are

Luci is the domestic warmth Martel limps home to, feeding him old-book smells and music wires while he tries to relearn being a body. Her gaiety is a little forced, and she knows more than she says about what he has become. When the lamb-chop scent trips every alarm in his chestbox, her innocent dinner game becomes the first test of whether a Scanner can survive being human.

## Relationships

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

_psychological_

Luci is deeply entangled with Martel III, possibly as a victim or obsessive follower in a manipulative dynamic.

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

_psychological_

Henry Haberman and Luci have a tense, possibly manipulative or victim-perpetrator dynamic.

### [Adam Stone](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/adam_stone)

_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)

_psychological_

Luci is deeply entangled with Martel III, possibly as a victim or obsessive follower in a manipulative dynamic.

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

_psychological_

Luci is deeply entangled with Martel III, possibly as a victim or obsessive follower in a manipulative dynamic.

### [Adam Stone](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/characters/adam_stone)

_friendship_

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

## In the story

### [Scanners Live in Vain](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/chapters/scanners-live-in-vain)

Martel's wife, who reluctantly helps him with the Cranching Wire despite her grief and worry about the dangers.

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_11_se/chapters/i)

Martel's wife, who tries to comfort him during his distress and supports him despite the demands of his Scanner duties.

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

Mentioned as Martel's patient and loving wife, who endures his long absences and the limitations of his haberman body.

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

Martel's wife; his hope of winning her motivates his defiance.

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

Mentioned by Martel as his wife when he asks to be announced to Stone.

## Links

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