# Short Fiction — Character guide

> Key figures in Short Fiction by Fritz Leiber.

- [Ernie Meeker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/ernie_meeker.md): Ernie — called Tom Dorset in the scene — is a button man from an art group, wary of discussing the Vacation Fellowships and their nervous little cabins. He confesses to Lois Wolver that he sometimes wonders if anyone can
- [Pop Trumbull](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/poppy_pop_trumbull.md): Tin Philosopher, called Poppy Pop, chairs the conference where Puffyloaf's helium-filled loaf is inaugurated, flanked by Phineas T. Gryce and Rose Thinker. He credits Rose's relays for the idea and Roger for the details,
- [Violet Gusterson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/violet_gusterson.md): Daisy, married to Gusterson, lives with him and their three children in a nearly abandoned topside apartment building they call a glass death trap. She paints murals on the floor of an empty neighboring apartment and jok
- [Fay](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/fay.md): Fay drops in on the Gustersons carrying two small packages: a beauty mask for Daisy and a tickler for Gusterson, a mech reminder named after a secretary's tickler file. His manner is subdued or closely controlled, and Gu
- [Mary Alice Pope](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/mary_alice_pope.md): Mary Alice Pope stands behind a fence watching for Jack, speaking in a hushed, hurried voice and warning him to go away before her aunts find him. She has been made to believe she was born around 1916 and that it is 1933
- [Jack Barr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/jack_barr.md): Jack Barr crosses to the island to show Mary Alice Pope newspapers with 1951 datelines, hoping to break the spell her aunts Hani and Hilda have woven around her. He tells her he loves her and asks for an answer at sunset
- [Sandra Lea Grayling](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/lee_grayling.md): Sandra Lea Grayling works the tournament as a columnist, elated by her press credentials and paired with Doc Pyeskov as his escort before and after his disastrous games. When Judy asks what she does for him when he's unh
- [Martin Kesserich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/martin_kesserich.md): Martin Kesserich is the celebrated researcher whose sisters Hani and Hilda have served an eighteen-year penance, and whose arrival on the island pulls Jack, Mary, and the sisters into a reckoning. He faces his sisters wi
- [George Gusterson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/george_gusterson.md): Gusterson is a novelist up to his ears in a book, dodging Fay's tickler and lecturing him that forgetting is a danger signal, not a job for a gadget. He insists he isn't afraid of machines sprouting minds — he thinks the
- [Tom Dorset](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/tom_dorset.md): Jack Barr is the man who has shown Mary the lie her life has been and believes she loves him for it, standing between her and Kesserich on the island lawn. He trades blows and accusations with the biologist, refusing the
- [Doc Pyeskov](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/doc_pyeskov.md): Doc Pyeskov loses three games in a row and faces the Machine with a 1–6 score and undisputed last place, growing depressed and macabre in Sandra's company. When the Machine malfunctions and he announces mate in four, he 
- [Mr. Ellenby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/mr_ellenby.md): A supporting character in various social settings.
- [Meg Winterly](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/meg_winterly.md): Daisy is Gusterson's wife in a half-empty apartment building, watching neighbors flee underneath like cockroaches and weighing his soft offer to move below for cleaner, safer living. She runs her fingertip across the mur
- [Simon Grue](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/simon_grue.md): Simon Grue moves through a world of thinking boxes, martinis, and corporate shelters, where his ability to reduce a memo to its gist makes him indispensable to men like Fay. What unnerves Gusterson is not the machine's e
- [Richard Rowe Krumbine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/richard_rowe_krumbine.md): Krumbine presides over an office of four phones and twoscore microphones, where personal communication is diagnosed as a morbid form of advertising and letters are barely remembered relics. When Potshelter brings him an 
- [Jorj Helmuth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/jorj_helmuth.md): A character appearing in various storylines.
- [Mr. Poet Madson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/madson.md): A poet character, often providing commentary or humor.
- [Harry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/harry_hank_hal.md): A male character appearing in multiple stories.
- [Sidney J. Lessingham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/sidney_lessingham.md): A character associated with theatrical or literary themes.
- [Pa](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/pa.md): A paternal figure in one or more stories.
- [Willard Farquar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/willard_farquar.md): A young male character in various plots.
- [Mr. Grunfeld](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/grunfeld.md): A supporting character in business or social contexts.
- [Morton Opperly](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/opperly.md): A character with a role in specific story arcs.
- [Robie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/robie.md): A character appearing in multiple narratives.
- [Bela Grabo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/bela_grabo.md): A character with a mysterious or foreign air.
- [William Augustus Angler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/william_augustus_angler.md): A character often involved in chess or intellectual pursuits.
- [Rosalind Wolver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/rosalind_wolver.md): A female character with a role in family or romantic plots.
- [Jeff Bogart](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/jeff_bogart.md): A male character in various storylines.
- [Jan Tregarron](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/jan_tregarron.md): A character with a notable presence in certain stories.
- [Effie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/effie.md): A female character, often a servant or minor figure.
- [Willie Angler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/willie_angler.md): A character related to the Angler family.
- [Celeste Wolver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/celeste_wolver.md): A female character in the Wolver family.
- [Catherine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/catherine_kitty.md): A female character, possibly a cat or nickname.
- [Ray Baker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/ray_baker.md): A character appearing in various stories.
- [Theodor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/theodor_teddy.md): A character with a role in specific plots.
- [Simon Great](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/simon_great.md): A character involved in chess or intellectual contests.
- [Mrs. Kesserich](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/mrs_kesserich.md): The wife of Martin Kesserich.
- [Agnes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/agnes_ness.md): A female character, possibly a servant or acquaintance.
- [Miss Nefer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/miss_nefer.md): A mysterious female character.
- [Patrick](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/patrick.md): A male character in various narratives.
- [Dave](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/dave.md): A supporting male character.
- [Dr. Jan Vanderhoef](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/dr_vanderhoef.md): A doctor involved in chess tournaments.
- [Brute](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/brute.md): A character with a brutish nature.
- [Croker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/croker.md): A supporting character in various plots.
- [Queen Elizabeth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/queen_elizabeth.md): A historical figure referenced in stories.
- [Lois Wolver](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/lois_wolver.md): A member of the Wolver family.
- [Ma](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/ma.md): A maternal figure in one or more stories.
- [Joggy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/joggy.md): A character with a nickname.
- [The Butcher](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/butcher.md): A character associated with butchery.
- [Tickler](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/tickler.md): A character from a theatrical context.
- [Jack Barry](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/jack_barry.md): A male character in various stories.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters