# Haendl — Short Fiction character guide

> Haendl in Short Fiction by Frederik Pohl.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** VIII Haendl, XI Haendl

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

## Snapshot

A gruff, practical leader of naked refugees hiding from the Pyramids, Haendl keeps order among the exposed and the shaken while something larger moves through them.

## Who they are

Haendl runs the cramped, improvised shelter where Citizen Germyn arrives stripped of every social rule he once lived by, and he has no patience for questions while supplies are being distributed. He is busy, unsentimental, and quietly aware that the Pyramids' own communication network may be the weapon turned against them. His refusal to stop and explain keeps the human resistance functional and makes him the anchor of the story's middle arc.

## Relationships

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

_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)

_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)

_psychological_

Glenn Tropile and Haendl have a manipulative or obsessive dynamic, with Haendl possibly being a pawn or obsession for Tropile.

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

_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)

_psychological_

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

## In the story

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

Haendl is a Wolf who inducts Tropile, showing him weapons and explaining the Wolves' goal to understand and fight the Pyramids. He reveals he has seen a Pyramid on Mount Everest.

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

Haendl sternly forbids Tropile from meditating, dismissing it as self-hypnosis and fearing the unknown phenomenon of Translation. He leads the Wolf colony's military drills.

### [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/viii)

Angrily searches for Tropile, witnesses the Eye forming above him, and coordinates with Innison to capture Translation data.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/ix)

One of the two men seeking Gala Tropile; he explains that Glenn Tropile and other Wolves have been Translated, causing fear among the Wolves.

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

On the ragged edge of breakdown, Haendl is losing sleep and morale as Wolves vanish; he visits Germyn to seek help.

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

Leads a party of armed rebels, eagerly following Tropile's orders to blow up Pyramid targets.

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

Seen joyously fitting a bayonet to a rifle as part of the human force.

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

Visits Tropile post-surgery, discusses the aftermath of the Pyramids' defeat and plans for the future.

## Links

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