# Citizen Boyne — Short Fiction character guide

> Citizen Boyne in Short Fiction by Frederik Pohl.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Boyne, Citizen

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

## Snapshot

A Citizen whose strange behavior on Sun Re-creation Day leaves his neighbor Germyn staring after him in alarm, Boyne may be on the verge of something no Citizen dares name.

## Who they are

Citizen Boyne moves through the ritualized world of Wheeling—salt twists, oatmeal stalls, the endless waiting for the Sun to blossom flame—but on this particular Sun Re-creation Day he breaks form badly enough that Germyn is left slack-jawed in the street. The only explanation Germyn can imagine is the one no Citizen is supposed to think about another: that Boyne might be about to run amok. His small, public lapse plants the story's first crack in the Citizens' placid order and gives the reader a warning that the Wolves are not as rare, or as hidden, as the community believes.

## Relationships

### [Glenn Tropile](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/glenn_tropile)

_rivalry_

Citizen Boyne and Glenn Tropile are frequent antagonists, likely clashing over ideology or power within their society.

### [Citizen Germyn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/citizen_germyn)

_social_

Citizen Boyne and Citizen Germyn are fellow citizens with frequent but neutral interactions, possibly in a shared community or faction.

### [Glenn Tropile](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/glenn_tropile)

_rivalry_

Citizen Boyne and Glenn Tropile are frequent antagonists, likely clashing over ideology or power within their society.

### [Citizen Germyn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/citizen_germyn)

_social_

Citizen Boyne and Citizen Germyn are fellow citizens with frequent but neutral interactions, possibly in a shared community or faction.

### [Citizen Germyn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/citizen_germyn)

_social_

Citizen Boyne and Citizen Germyn are fellow citizens with frequent but neutral interactions, possibly in a shared community or faction.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/ii)

A Citizen who runs amok, killing the baker before being chased down.

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

Tropile's cellmate, a calm and philosophical murderer who accepts his death and composes a death poem.

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

Fellow detainee who accepts his Donation calmly, allowing Tropile to manipulate the situation.

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

The Donor in the ritual, who is prepared for spinal fluid extraction and subsequent beheading; he is the target of the Pyramid's harvest.

## Links

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