# Ish — Short Fiction character guide

> Ish in Short Fiction by Algis Budrys.

**Role:** major

**First appearance:** 0000-riya-s-foundling

## Snapshot

A winged watcher who cannot run and can barely feel, beating toward a chosen town to be the first voice that ends the world's long nightmare.

## Who they are

Ish moves through a night of cold stars and the Veld's desperate making, thinking of Charpantier bent over his pot and of the messengers dismissed but not quite sure. He has hands yet lacks them, and he knows he can do little but speak, so he has chosen a small town where the men who must first unbind themselves from years of no questioning will hear him. His errand of reassurance, and his doubt that the Veld's hand held steady, carry the story's opening.

## Relationships

### [MacKenzie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/mackenzie)

_friendship_

Ish and MacKenzie are close friends or allies, often found together.

### [MacKenzie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/mackenzie)

_friendship_

Ish and MacKenzie are close friends or allies, often found together.

### [MacKenzie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/mackenzie)

_friendship_

Ish and MacKenzie are close friends or allies, often found together.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/ish
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters