# Captain O'Leary — Short Fiction character guide

> Captain O'Leary in Short Fiction by Frederik Pohl.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** O'Leary, V Captain O'Leary

**First appearance:** 0000-asteroid-of-the-damned

## Snapshot

A blunt, furious security captain in a prison run on rigid specialization, O'Leary sees the coming riot clearly while the warden around him refuses to act.

## Who they are

O'Leary drags a terrified convict before the warden to prove the prison underground has sabotaged the tangler circuit, only to be met with platitudes and inaction. He understands that only the greaser-class electricians can repair the field, which means the inmates hold the real leverage, and he begs for permission to move on Block O before it is too late. His frustration with the warden's paralysis makes him the story's clearest voice of looming catastrophe.

## In the story

### [Conspiracy on Callisto](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/conspiracy-on-callisto)

Involved in the prison riot and smells trouble.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/v)

Reveals himself as an undercover League agent; Andrias is locked up.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/iii)

A guard captain who senses trouble brewing in the prison and tries to warn the warden.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/iv)

O'Leary warns the warden that he smelled trouble, reinforcing the escalating crisis.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/v)

Drags in a prisoner who sabotaged the tangler circuit; argues with the warden and pleads to lead a squad into Block O, but is denied.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/vi)

Leads guards through the yard, smells trouble, and is knocked unconscious during a fight with Lafon's group.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/vii)

Wakes groggily in a cell after being knocked out, assesses the riot, and intervenes to stop Lafon and Sauer from harming the governor.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/captain_oleary
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters