# Citizen Germyn — Short Fiction character guide

> Citizen Germyn in Short Fiction by Frederik Pohl.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Germyn, V Citizen Germyn, Citizen

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

## Snapshot

A courteous citizen who shelters Gala Tropile, then faces Haendl at his door asking about a Wolf who was Translated.

## Who they are

Citizen Germyn performs the ritual greetings and deprecations even as Haendl and his companion arrive with no breeding and alarming news: Tropile and other Wolves have been Translated, which Germyn insists is impossible. He fingers the I.D. bracelet of a dead soldier, hiding his thoughts while weighing whether to raise the hue and cry. His shaken orthodoxy and careful manners make him the story's window into a society confronting a contradiction it cannot absorb.

## Relationships

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

_rivalry_

Citizen Germyn and Glenn Tropile are locked in a bitter ideological or personal conflict, each trying to undermine the other.

### [Haendl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/haendl)

_psychological_

Citizen Germyn and Haendl have a manipulative or coercive dynamic, with Germyn possibly exploiting Haendl for information or control.

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

_social_

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

### [Haendl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/haendl)

_psychological_

Citizen Germyn and Haendl have a manipulative or coercive dynamic, with Germyn possibly exploiting Haendl for information or control.

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

_rivalry_

Citizen Germyn and Glenn Tropile are locked in a bitter ideological or personal conflict, each trying to undermine the other.

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

_rivalry_

Citizen Germyn and Glenn Tropile are locked in a bitter ideological or personal conflict, each trying to undermine the other.

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

_social_

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

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

_social_

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

## In the story

### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/i)

A banker and Citizen of Wheeling, he meticulously performs the rituals of dressing and meditation, awaiting the Sun Re-creation.

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

A banker who observes Tropile's ungraceful behavior and later dines with his wife on Sun Re-creation Morning.

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

The Catheter Bearer who assists in the Donation ritual and is the first to notice the Eye forming over Boyne.

### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/xi)

Receives Haendl in Wheeling, struggles with fear of Translation and the lure of Connectivity, lies awake at night.

### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/xii)

Translated to the binary planet, he is shocked by the nudity and weapons, but gradually accepts his role as an Armed Man.

### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/xiv)

Part of the human army marching through tunnels to intercept Pyramid machines.

### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/xv)

Tropile seeks him out for conversation; Germyn listens to Tropile's historical analogy about the Indians and the Pyramids.

## Links

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