# Swanson — Short Fiction character guide

> Swanson in Short Fiction by Frederik Pohl.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** V Swanson

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

## Snapshot

A hunted survivor who has learned to read the shape-shifters of Tylerton, Swanson lives like a mouse in the woodwork, searching for the one man who might believe him.

## Who they are

Swanson alone among Tylerton's citizens remembers each repeated June 15th, and that memory has made him a fugitive—dodging the role-changing strangers he calls 'them' and scavenging a mouse's existence at the fringe of life. His weeks of hiding have hardened him into a wary, desperate witness whose one hope is Burckhardt, the man who forgets everything. When he leads Burckhardt through the tunnel toward the silent Contro Chemicals plant, Swanson becomes the story's proof that the loop is real and that someone, somewhere, is running it.

## Relationships

### [Mr. Burckhardt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/mr_burckhardt)

_professional_

Mr. Burckhardt and Swanson have a formal working relationship, likely as boss and employee or colleagues in a structured setting.

### [Mr. Burckhardt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/mr_burckhardt)

_professional_

Mr. Burckhardt and Swanson have a formal working relationship, likely as boss and employee or colleagues in a structured setting.

### [Mr. Burckhardt](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/characters/mr_burckhardt)

_professional_

Mr. Burckhardt and Swanson have a formal working relationship, likely as boss and employee or colleagues in a structured setting.

## In the story

### [The Tunnel Under the World](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_18_se/chapters/the-tunnel-under-the-world)

A neighbor who interacts with Guy, reinforcing the mundane surface of the town.

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

A casual acquaintance who approaches Guy with desperate eagerness, then turns away disappointed.

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

A little man who stops Guy with desperate urgency on the street but then leaves him cold.

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

The little man who contacts Burckhardt, leads him through the city, and reveals the time loop and hidden tunnel.

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

Reluctantly follows Burckhardt through the tunnel and into the plant, expressing fear and doubt.

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

Hysterically begs the steel robot for mercy, showing fear and submission.

## Links

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