# Vincent — Short Fiction character guide

> Vincent in Short Fiction by R. A. Lafferty.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Charles Vincent

**First appearance:** 0000-the-six-fingers-of-time

## Snapshot

A man who wakes to a morning where time itself has gone wrong, and must decide how much to meddle in a world grinding to a halt.

## Who they are

Charles Vincent is an ordinary man navigating a city where clocks, engines, and people have all slowed to impossible stillness, their eyes closing and opening in slow cycles. His instinct is to help—he brakes a dead driver's taxi, braces a stranger's face against a wheel—but he quickly senses that interference may only cause more damage. His wary, self-questioning restraint makes him the reader's grounded witness as the world's rules quietly dissolve.

## Relationships

### [Jennifer Parkey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/jennifer_parkey)

_romantic_

Jennifer and Vincent share a deeply passionate and tumultuous romantic relationship, marked by intense emotional highs and lows.

### [Texas Manuel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/texas_manuel)

_friendship_

Texas Manuel is Vincent's loyal and pragmatic friend, often acting as a grounding influence and ally in difficult situations.

### [Jenny](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/jenny)

_family_

Jenny is Vincent's younger sister, and their relationship is protective and caring, though strained by Vincent's personal struggles.

### [Dr. Mason](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/dr_mason)

_professional_

Dr. Mason is Vincent's therapist, attempting to guide him through psychological trauma with a mix of clinical detachment and genuine concern.

### [Eve](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/eve)

_psychological_

Eve and Vincent share a psychologically complex bond, with Eve acting as both a seductive manipulator and a mirror to Vincent's inner demons.

### [Texas Manuel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/texas_manuel)

_friendship_

Texas Manuel is Vincent's loyal and pragmatic friend, often acting as a grounding influence and ally in difficult situations.

### [Texas Manuel](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/texas_manuel)

_friendship_

Texas Manuel is Vincent's loyal and pragmatic friend, often acting as a grounding influence and ally in difficult situations.

### [Jennifer Parkey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/jennifer_parkey)

_romantic_

Jennifer and Vincent share a deeply passionate and tumultuous romantic relationship, marked by intense emotional highs and lows.

### [Jenny](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/jenny)

_family_

Jenny is Vincent's younger sister, and their relationship is protective and caring, though strained by Vincent's personal struggles.

### [Dr. Mason](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/dr_mason)

_professional_

Dr. Mason is Vincent's therapist, attempting to guide him through psychological trauma with a mix of clinical detachment and genuine concern.

## In the story

### [The Six Fingers of Time](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/chapters/the-six-fingers-of-time)

Charles Vincent, now able to enter an accelerated time state, uses his power for intellectual pursuit and pranks, but grows increasingly troubled by the faceless Old Man and the smell of the pit.

### [The Weirdest World](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/chapters/the-weirdest-world)

Experiences the slowing of time and grapples with the weirdness of his world.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters/vincent
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_45_se/characters