# Paul Meillard — Short Fiction character guide

> Paul Meillard in Short Fiction by H. Beam Piper.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Paul, Meillard

**First appearance:** 0005-flight-from-tomorrow

## Snapshot

A Terran contact officer gambling his career on a treaty with birdlike natives, knowing that failure means a desk job and a lifetime of being the man who flubbed it.

## Who they are

Paul Meillard leads the contact team on an alien world, a man whose future hinges on securing a settlement treaty with a red-crested, beak-nosed people who greet strangers with horn blasts and bronze spears. He is pragmatic, observant, and acutely aware that his mixed-race ancestry makes him an oddity even among his own crew. As the natives advance in slow, deliberate formation, Meillard must read their intentions before anyone reaches for a weapon—and his judgment will decide whether the mission ends in treaty or massacre.

## In the story

### [Ministry of Disturbance](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_24_se/chapters/ministry-of-disturbance)

Emperor Paul navigates political crises, family moments, and the student riot, reflecting on the fragility of authority.

### [The Answer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_24_se/chapters/the-answer)

Alexis Pitov, Richardson's colleague, is present at the test site and engages in conversation about the Auburn Bomb and the current experiment.

### [Naudsonce](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_24_se/chapters/naudsonce)

Leads the Terran expedition, makes decisions about the pump and the treatment of the Svant outcasts.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_24_se/characters/paul_meillard
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_24_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_24_se/characters