# Peter Duane — Short Fiction character guide

> Peter Duane in Short Fiction by Frederik Pohl.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Duane, Peter, Pete

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

## Snapshot

A dazed operative wakes from a bullet-gun blow to find his memory gone, his enemy jailed, and the captain he distrusted was on his side all along.

## Who they are

Peter Duane comes to in a ship's infirmary with a nurse watching his eyelids and a captain explaining that Andrias is locked below and the rifles never reached Callisto. He sabotaged the controls himself, trusting no one, and now learns he and the captain were both League undercover workers stalling a delivery that could have ignited a political powder-keg. His fractured memory and slow recovery frame the story's central question of who he can believe, including himself.

## Relationships

### [Captain Tillinger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/captain_tillinger)

_professional_

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

### [Stevens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/stevens)

_professional_

Peter Duane and Stevens have a work-related relationship, likely as colleagues or in a chain of command.

### [Captain Tillinger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/captain_tillinger)

_professional_

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

### [Captain Tillinger](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/captain_tillinger)

_professional_

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

### [Stevens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/stevens)

_professional_

Peter Duane and Stevens have a work-related relationship, likely as colleagues or in a chain of command.

### [Stevens](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/stevens)

_professional_

Peter Duane and Stevens have a work-related relationship, likely as colleagues or in a chain of command.

## In the story

### [Conspiracy on Callisto](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/conspiracy-on-callisto)

Arrested on Callisto and confronted by Governor Andrias about the conspiracy.

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

Wakes up with amnesia after a fight with Stevens; accused by Andrias of murder.

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

Suffering from amnesia, Duane is coerced by Andrias but refuses to sign, eventually attacking Andrias. He recalls fragments of his past involving a gunrunning deal with Stevens.

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

Duane escapes Andrias's office by knocking out Andrias and a guard, then disguises himself. He boards the 'Cameroon' and confronts the captain, struggling with memory loss and trust issues.

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

Takes control of the Cameroon, destroys the ship's controls, and faces Andrias in a standoff before being shot.

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

Wakes in sickbay, memory restored, reunited with fiancée.

### [The Day of the Boomer Dukes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/the-day-of-the-boomer-dukes)

A member of the Boomer Dukes, involved in the gang's rampage.

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

Gang member who is sick with shakes and heaves after the heroin wears off.

### [Wolfbane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/wolfbane)

Another processed human, involved in discussions about rebellion and the nature of their existence.

## Links

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