# Walter Sills — Short Science Fiction character guide

> Walter Sills in Short Science Fiction by Isaac Asimov.

**Role:** major

**Also known as:** Walt, Sills, Trouble Walter Sills

**First appearance:** 0000-the-magnificent-possession

## Snapshot

A fifty-year-old chemist grinding out ore analyses in a dingy Hudson-side lab, Sills is one experiment away from isolating pure ammonium — and from the fame he is certain he deserves.

## Who they are

Sills works alone in a dirty hole of a laboratory, scraping by on occasional analyses while lesser men take easy industrial posts. His discovery of Ammonaline has brought him halfway to a Nobel Prize, and he guards the straw-colored liquid with the fervor of a man who has nothing else. His hunger for recognition — and his willingness to gamble on one more experiment — drives the story toward its dangerous bargain.

## Relationships

### [Eugene Taylor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/characters/eugene_taylor)

_rivalry_

Eugene Taylor and Walter Sills are antagonists, possibly competing for power or ideological dominance in a corporate or political setting.

### [J. Throgmorton Bankhead](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/characters/j_throgmorton_bankhead)

_professional_

J. Throgmorton Bankhead and Walter Sills are business or political partners, likely working together in a corporate or bureaucratic hierarchy.

### [Mike the Slug](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/characters/mike_the_slug)

_psychological_

Mike the Slug and Walter Sills have a manipulative or obsessive dynamic, possibly with Mike as a pawn or victim of Sills' schemes.

### [Baldy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/characters/baldy)

_professional_

Baldy and Walter Sills are associates in a criminal or corporate network, with Baldy likely serving as an enforcer or subordinate.

### [Eugene Taylor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/characters/eugene_taylor)

_rivalry_

Eugene Taylor and Walter Sills are antagonists, possibly competing for power or ideological dominance in a corporate or political setting.

### [Eugene Taylor](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/characters/eugene_taylor)

_rivalry_

Eugene Taylor and Walter Sills are antagonists, possibly competing for power or ideological dominance in a corporate or political setting.

### [J. Throgmorton Bankhead](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/characters/j_throgmorton_bankhead)

_professional_

J. Throgmorton Bankhead and Walter Sills are business or political partners, likely working together in a corporate or bureaucratic hierarchy.

### [J. Throgmorton Bankhead](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/characters/j_throgmorton_bankhead)

_professional_

J. Throgmorton Bankhead and Walter Sills are business or political partners, likely working together in a corporate or bureaucratic hierarchy.

### [Baldy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/characters/baldy)

_professional_

Baldy and Walter Sills are associates in a criminal or corporate network, with Baldy likely serving as an enforcer or subordinate.

## In the story

### [The Magnificent Possession](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/chapters/the-magnificent-possession)

The chemist who discovers ammonium metal and ammonium oxide, dreaming of fame and wealth.

### [A Night of Trouble](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/chapters/a-night-of-trouble)

Delighted by his discovery but soon overwhelmed by the unwanted attention and burglary attempt.

### [An Unexpected Surprise!](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/chapters/an-unexpected-surprise)

Robbed by gangsters at the bank; successfully plates ammonium onto a spoon but is overwhelmed by the resulting stench; flees to the Hudson River.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/characters/walter_sills
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_science_fiction_se/characters