# Mr. Sollenar — Short Fiction character guide

> Mr. Sollenar in Short Fiction by Algis Budrys.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Sollenar

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

## Snapshot

A powerful broadcaster who once voted the Special Public Relations Office into being, now uneasily receiving its agent in his mirrored office above the city.

## Who they are

Sollenar commands a corporation that has just come into control of patents for a new video system, and he conducts business with theatrical gestures, dimming lights and opening doors with a crooked finger. He is guarded, watchful, a man who helped arm an enforcement body he now half-fears, and his involuntary blink at Ermine's talk of criminals betrays the unease beneath his magnificent smile. His wariness sets the story's central negotiation in motion.

## Relationships

### [Mr. Ermine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/mr_ermine)

_professional_

They appear to be colleagues or business associates with frequent, possibly adversarial, interactions.

### [Cortwright Burr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/cortwright_burr)

_professional_

Cortwright Burr and Mr. Sollenar share a working relationship, possibly as employer and employee or partners.

### [Mr. Ermine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/mr_ermine)

_professional_

They appear to be colleagues or business associates with frequent, possibly adversarial, interactions.

### [Mr. Ermine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/mr_ermine)

_professional_

They appear to be colleagues or business associates with frequent, possibly adversarial, interactions.

### [Cortwright Burr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/cortwright_burr)

_professional_

Cortwright Burr and Mr. Sollenar share a working relationship, possibly as employer and employee or partners.

### [Cortwright Burr](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/characters/cortwright_burr)

_professional_

Cortwright Burr and Mr. Sollenar share a working relationship, possibly as employer and employee or partners.

## In the story

### [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/iii)

Paces his office in despair, attends the TTV Executives' Ball, confronts Burr, and is served a formal notice by Ermine.

### [IV](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/iv)

Attacks Ermine and flees to the Martian city; his mental state is deteriorating, showing paranoia and inappropriate responses.

### [V](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/v)

Sollenar visits the Martians to acquire a device similar to the one Burr obtained, offering currency and ultimately receiving a projector set to a specific situation before being shot by Ermine.

## Links

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