Short Fiction · Character

Ray Pelton

A fifteen-year-old who can taste the difference between real butter and synthetic, and worries about the cost of both, even as his father runs for Senate.

major

Also known as Pelton, Raymond Pelton, young Ray Pelton

First appearance: time crime

As a major figure in Short Fiction, Ray Pelton is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

Chester Pelton's son, also rumored to be a Literate; present during the political discussions.

In the storyChapter IOpen this moment free

See Ray Pelton in Chapter I Book page

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Ray Pelton is the son of a wealthy department-store magnate and senatorial candidate, a boy who devours real eggs and bacon while calculating exactly what they cost. He idolizes the wrong neighbor, a Literate named Jimmy Hartnett, and bristles at his father's snobbery even as he inherits the Pelton instinct for a bargain. His hunger—for food, for status, for the forbidden—makes him the family's most restless member and the first to sense that the world outside their pantry is changing.

Continue beside the text

The fuller portrait of Ray Pelton sits in Reading Lens — open the free preview to keep reading with notes on the page.

See Ray Pelton in time crime

Character Web

17 connections

A slice of how Ray Pelton sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Friendship
Family
Other

Character groups

Time Travel Agents
Time Machine Inventors

+12 more in the full Character Web

Open in reader

Narrative arc

Story tension across the book.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point
Aftermath
Closing

This is the story's dramatic climax because it presents the protagonist's emotional and psychological peak of…

Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.

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Relationships

Frank Cardon
friendship · positive
Frank Cardon and Ray Pelton are close friends and fellow soldiers, sharing a camaraderie… How this plays out →
Claire Pelton
family · positive
Doug Yetsko
friendship · positive
Claire Pelton
family · positive
Frank Cardon
friendship · positive
Frank Cardon and Ray Pelton are close friends and fellow soldiers, sharing a camaraderie… How this plays out →
Frank Cardon
friendship · positive
Frank Cardon and Ray Pelton are close friends and fellow soldiers, sharing a camaraderie… How this plays out →
Doug Yetsko
friendship · positive
Claire Pelton
family · positive
Doug Yetsko
friendship · positive

Frank Cardon
Frank Cardon and Ray Pelton are close friends and fellow soldiers, sharing a camaraderie forged in battle.
Claire Pelton
Claire Pelton and Ray Pelton are siblings, with a protective and sometimes strained familial bond.
Doug Yetsko
Doug Yetsko and Ray Pelton are close friends and comrades, sharing a deep loyalty and mutual support.
Claire Pelton
Claire Pelton and Ray Pelton are siblings, with a protective and sometimes strained familial bond.
Frank Cardon
Frank Cardon and Ray Pelton are close friends and fellow soldiers, sharing a camaraderie forged in battle.
Frank Cardon
Frank Cardon and Ray Pelton are close friends and fellow soldiers, sharing a camaraderie forged in battle.
Doug Yetsko
Doug Yetsko and Ray Pelton are close friends and comrades, sharing a deep loyalty and mutual support.
Claire Pelton
Claire Pelton and Ray Pelton are siblings, with a protective and sometimes strained familial bond.
Doug Yetsko
Doug Yetsko and Ray Pelton are close friends and comrades, sharing a deep loyalty and mutual support.

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Ray Pelton in time crime

In the story

Ray Pelton appears across 2 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Ray Pelton unlock in the free preview.

See Ray Pelton in time crime

See Ray Pelton in Chapter I