# V Marlowe — Short Fiction character guide

> V Marlowe in Short Fiction by Algis Budrys.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Marlowe

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

## Who they are

A grizzled, white-maned Secretary who eats candy bars at a bare desk on the tarmac and tells the Dovenilid envoy, gently, that Earthmen are a race of maniacs.

## In the story

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

Marlowe is the senior official, directing the scheme against Holliday and reflecting on the ethics of their actions.

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

Struggles with his mundane routine and finds solace in writing a poem about humanity's discontent.

### [VI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/vi)

Receives news of Harrison's deportation, orders investigation and recall of Holliday.

### [VII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/vii)

Marlowe meets with Ud Klavan, then urgently prepares for an interview with Holliday, ordering Mead and Bussard to find a suitable planet.

### [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_2_se/chapters/ix)

The grizzled, white-maned official who explains the Earthman's paradoxical logic and the impossibility of saving the Dovenilid state, reflecting on Holliday's driven civilizing mission.

## Links

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