Short Fiction · Character

Chester Deming

A castaway on an alien world who meets horror with cracked-voiced gallantry and a grim joke.

supporting

Also known as Deming

As a supporting figure in Short Fiction, Chester Deming is not background color—the story leans on what they do once the chapter opens.

A young mutineer, marooned alongside Adams and Roverton.

In the storyIOpen this moment free

Deming is one of the mutineers marooned on a strange planet, staggering beside Roverton across a reeking, rubbery plain after their escape from a carnivorous jungle. Even parched, half-conscious, and stripped of everything familiar, he asks what the next number on the program is — a wry defiance that keeps the pair moving. His stubborn humor against an environment that devours men gives the survival narrative its human counterweight to the alien sublime.

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Character Web

3 connections

A slice of how Chester Deming sits in the book — open the reader for the full interactive map.

Relationship types

Professional
Other

Character groups

Later chapter and plot figures
Protagonist

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Narrative arc

Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.

Setup
Escalation
Breaking point

This excerpt marks the story's dramatic climax because it depicts the protagonist's psychological nadir—a phan…

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Relationships

James Roverton
professional · positive
Chester Deming is a business partner or colleague of James Roverton, involved in trade… How this plays out →
Herbert Albert Adams
professional · positive
James Roverton
professional · positive
Chester Deming is a business partner or colleague of James Roverton, involved in trade… How this plays out →

Relationship notes

How these ties play out is in the reading companion — open the free preview.

See Chester Deming in the malay krise

In the story

Chester Deming appears across 13 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

I
A young mutineer, marooned alongside Adams and Roverton.
II
One of the mutineers; comments on the alien pitcher-plant and shows cautious curiosity.
Marooned!
One of the marooned men, he sits on a boulder-like mass and comments on the star Delta Andromedae.
A Strange Land
Comments on the pitcher-plant-like nature of the boulder-forms and compares the insect creatures to flies.
III
Expresses unease, wondering if the pygmies will eat them or elect them as deities.
A Conference
Expresses unease, wondering if the pygmies will eat them or elect them as deities.
IV The Brink of Doom
Complains about the foul smell, follows the group through the cavern and the escape.
The Brink of Doom
Complains about the foul smell, comparing it to Gorgonzola and fox-guts.
Into the Pouch
Captured alongside Adams and Roverton; survives the plant jungle and is flung unconscious onto the plain.
Into the Pouch
Seized by the bird and deposited in the pouch; also knocked senseless during the creature's convulsion.
A New Horror
Survives the plant attack alongside Roverton and is also flung unconscious onto the plain.
VI: The Great Plain
Revived by Roverton; accompanies him in exploring the plain and the ruins.
Volmar Again!
Stung by a giant insect; suffers a swollen hand but survives the attack.

Chapter companion notes

Spoil-light check-ins for Chester Deming unlock in the free preview.

See Chester Deming in the malay krise

See Chester Deming in I