# Glenn Tropile — Short Fiction character guide > Glenn Tropile in Short Fiction by Frederik Pohl. **Role:** major **Also known as:** Glenn, Tropile, VI Glenn Tropile, Nirvana **First appearance:** 0000-asteroid-of-the-damned ## Snapshot A calorie-hoarding misfit who breaks the Seventeen Conventional Gestures and flies for the first time, discovering a town that wastes energy without shame. ## Who they are Glenn Tropile is a Son of the Wolf in a starving, ritual-bound world where every motion is measured against survival, and his restless hunger for something more has already marked him for a Donation he intends to survive. Aboard Haendl's helicopter he confronts Princeton's striding, electricity-burning citizens and a guide who laughs at the Gestures, and the contrast splits his old life open. His refusal to be docile is the engine that turns a personal escape into something far larger. ## Relationships ### [Citizen Boyne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/citizen_boyne) _rivalry_ Citizen Boyne and Glenn Tropile are frequent antagonists, likely clashing over ideology or power within their society. ### [Haendl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/haendl) _psychological_ Glenn Tropile and Haendl have a manipulative or obsessive dynamic, with Haendl possibly being a pawn or obsession for Tropile. ### [Citizen Germyn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/citizen_germyn) _rivalry_ Citizen Germyn and Glenn Tropile are locked in a bitter ideological or personal conflict, each trying to undermine the other. ### [Wolf](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/wolf) _rivalry_ Glenn Tropile and Wolf are direct adversaries, often clashing violently or strategically in pursuit of opposing goals. ### [the Pyramids](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/the_pyramids) _psychological_ Glenn Tropile has an obsessive or symbolic fixation on the Pyramids, possibly as a source of power or mystery. ### [Haendl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/haendl) _psychological_ Glenn Tropile and Haendl have a manipulative or obsessive dynamic, with Haendl possibly being a pawn or obsession for Tropile. ### [Citizen Boyne](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/citizen_boyne) _rivalry_ Citizen Boyne and Glenn Tropile are frequent antagonists, likely clashing over ideology or power within their society. ### [Haendl](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/haendl) _psychological_ Glenn Tropile and Haendl have a manipulative or obsessive dynamic, with Haendl possibly being a pawn or obsession for Tropile. ### [Wolf](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/wolf) _rivalry_ Glenn Tropile and Wolf are direct adversaries, often clashing violently or strategically in pursuit of opposing goals. ### [Citizen Germyn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/citizen_germyn) _rivalry_ Citizen Germyn and Glenn Tropile are locked in a bitter ideological or personal conflict, each trying to undermine the other. ### [Citizen Germyn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/citizen_germyn) _rivalry_ Citizen Germyn and Glenn Tropile are locked in a bitter ideological or personal conflict, each trying to undermine the other. ### [the Pyramids](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/the_pyramids) _psychological_ Glenn Tropile has an obsessive or symbolic fixation on the Pyramids, possibly as a source of power or mystery. ## In the story ### [The Day of the Boomer Dukes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/the-day-of-the-boomer-dukes) Leader of the Boomer Dukes, struggles with the gang's violent ethos. ### [Survival Kit](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/survival-kit) Observes Mooney's actions, reflecting on the moral compromises of prison life. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/vi) Narrator who infiltrates the power plant, frees Arthur, and returns to the Queen. ### [Wolfbane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/wolfbane) The protagonist, a processed human living under the Pyramids' rule, struggling with his identity and purpose. ### [I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/i) A non-Citizen who manipulates Gala, establishing a dominance cycle and exulting in his advantage over her. ### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/ii) A Wolf struggling to fit into Citizen society, he exploits Boyne's amok to steal food but is caught and denounced. ### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/iii) Imprisoned and awaiting execution, Tropile rages against his fate, denies being a 'Son of the Wolf,' and plots to use his wife Gala to escape. ### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/iv) Protagonist facing execution; uses manipulation and psychological warfare to escape. ### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/vi) Tropile is recruited by the Wolves, shown guns, and told about the Pyramids. He flees with his wife but is captured by a helicopter. He ultimately agrees to join the expedition to Mount Everest. ### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/vii) Tropile adapts to Wolf society, working in nursery school and fields, but struggles with the ban on meditation. He ultimately achieves a deep meditative state and undergoes Translation, disappearing. ### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/viii) Harvested by the Pyramids during Meditation, turned into a Component in a nutrient tank, programmed to process 3,7,12-trihydroxycholanic acid into Protoporphin IX. ### [X](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/x) Awakens as the central consciousness of an eight-branched entity, learning to navigate shared memories and control. ### [XI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/xi) Referenced as the first to be Translated, his disappearance haunts both Haendl and Germyn. ### [XII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/xii) Now a Wolf within the Pyramid network, Tropile communicates telepathically, directs the rebellion, and awakens other Components. ### [XIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/xiii) Now merged with the Pyramid network, he attacks their communications, takes over their circuits, and drafts humans into his army. ### [XIV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/xiv) Leads the defense against the Pyramids, coordinates with Alla Narova, and experiences profound loss at her sacrifice. ### [XV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/xv) Awakens from surgery, struggles with loss of transcendent awareness, and contemplates returning to the Pyramids' state. ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/glenn_tropile - Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se - All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters