# Klaus Epstein — Short Fiction character guide

> Klaus Epstein in Short Fiction by Philip K. Dick.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Epstein, Klaus

**First appearance:** 0010-the-variable-man

## Snapshot

A crewman aboard Franco's ship during the loading of the Martian livestock, present for the strange arrival of the wub.

## Who they are

Epstein is part of the working complement that loads go-birds and animals up the gangplank while Franco haggles with the Optus below. He belongs to the ship's small society of men — Peterson, Jones, French — whose routines are interrupted when a four-hundred-pound creature called a wub is led aboard on a string. His presence among the crew matters because the wub's fate will be decided collectively, by men who each react to it differently.

## Relationships

### [Major Hendricks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_43_se/characters/major_hendricks)

_rivalry_

Klaus Epstein and Major Hendricks are bitter rivals, often clashing over authority and conflicting agendas.

### [Tasso](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_43_se/characters/tasso)

_psychological_

Klaus Epstein exerts a manipulative and obsessive influence over Tasso, creating a dynamic of control and unease.

### [Major Hendricks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_43_se/characters/major_hendricks)

_rivalry_

Klaus Epstein and Major Hendricks are bitter rivals, often clashing over authority and conflicting agendas.

### [Tasso](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_43_se/characters/tasso)

_psychological_

Klaus Epstein exerts a manipulative and obsessive influence over Tasso, creating a dynamic of control and unease.

### [Major Hendricks](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_43_se/characters/major_hendricks)

_rivalry_

Klaus Epstein and Major Hendricks are bitter rivals, often clashing over authority and conflicting agendas.

### [Tasso](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_43_se/characters/tasso)

_psychological_

Klaus Epstein exerts a manipulative and obsessive influence over Tasso, creating a dynamic of control and unease.

## In the story

### [Second Variety](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_43_se/chapters/second-variety)

Kills Rudi after identifying him as a Second Variety machine; covers Hendricks from the rise.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_43_se/characters/klaus_epstein
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_43_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_43_se/characters