# Captain Tillinger — Short Fiction character guide

> Captain Tillinger in Short Fiction by Frederik Pohl.

**Role:** minor

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

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

## Who they are

A captain with a minor narrative presence.

## Relationships

### [Peter Duane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/peter_duane)

_professional_

Captain Tillinger and Peter Duane have a military or hierarchical professional relationship, with Tillinger likely in command.

### [Peter Duane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/peter_duane)

_professional_

Captain Tillinger and Peter Duane have a military or hierarchical professional relationship, with Tillinger likely in command.

### [Peter Duane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/peter_duane)

_professional_

Captain Tillinger and Peter Duane have a military or hierarchical professional relationship, with Tillinger likely in command.

## 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.

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

Commands the Jodrell Bank; contacts McCray, verifies his impossible position near M-42, and expresses shock at the apparent involvement of super-beings.

## Links

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