# Pop Trumbull — Short Fiction character guide

> Pop Trumbull in Short Fiction by Fritz Leiber.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Poppy Pop, Pop, Charles Swinburne Pop

**First appearance:** 0001-coming-attraction

## Snapshot

The machine who presides over Puffyloaf's historic helium-loaf launch, spinning philosophy about bread and culture while Roger Snedden and Rose Thinker wait for credit.

## Who they are

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, then launches into a Long View of bread as the upward course of culture. His grandiloquent patter and mid-speech clang give the corporate ritual its comic gravity, making him the story's presiding voice of institutional absurdity.

## In the story

### [II](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/ii)

The old geezer who appears from behind the plane, accusing Jack and Mary of murder.

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/iii)

Old scrounger; talkative and meddlesome; presses buttons causing the plane to take off.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/iv)

Pop describes the fellowship of Murderers Anonymous and his own journey away from killing, engaging Ray and Alice in philosophical debate about guilt and redemption.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/v)

Pop handles the parachute and box of cubes for the drop, admits to being a member of Murderers Anonymous, and struggles with Alice over the drop.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/vi)

Engages in conversation about war, shaves with butter, and listens to Alice's story; comments on justification for murder.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/chapters/vii)

Leads the group, reassures them, and uses a steel cube to inject the sick woman with a serum.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters/poppy_pop_trumbull
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_19_se/characters