# Fred Rodebush — Triplanetary character guide

> Fred Rodebush in Triplanetary by E. E. Smith.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Rodebush, Frederick Rodebush, Doctor Frederick Rodebush, Doctor Rodebush

**First appearance:** 0017-vii-pirates-of-space

## Snapshot

A physicist who bets his life on inertialess flight, Rodebush pilots the super-ship he helped design and refuses to slow down when Earth is burning.

## Who they are

Rodebush is the engineering mind behind the Triplanetary Service's experimental vessel, the man who turns abstract theory about ultra-waves and free maneuvering into a machine that actually flies. His partnership with Cleveland crackles with the easy shorthand of two scientists who trust each other past the edge of known physics. When word arrives that a Nevian ship is destroying Pittsburgh, his instant answer is not caution but speed, and that instinct for the impossible is what makes the defense of Earth conceivable at all.

## Relationships

### [Lyman Cleveland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters/lyman_cleveland)

_friendship_

Fred Rodebush and Lyman Cleveland are close colleagues and friends, working together as scientists or engineers.

### [Lyman Cleveland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters/lyman_cleveland)

_friendship_

Fred Rodebush and Lyman Cleveland are close colleagues and friends, working together as scientists or engineers.

### [Lyman Cleveland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters/lyman_cleveland)

_friendship_

Fred Rodebush and Lyman Cleveland are close colleagues and friends, working together as scientists or engineers.

## In the story

### [The Hill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/xiii-the-hill)

Works out the theory behind the Nevians' iron-based power and discusses rebuilding the super-ship Boise with Cleveland.

### [The Super-Ship Is Launched](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/xiv-the-super-ship-is-launched)

Co-designer and pilot of the Boise; insists on flying alone despite risks.

### [Super-Ship in Action](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/xvi-super-ship-in-action)

Pilots the super-ship, endures inertialess vertigo, and makes the critical discovery of Roger's activity.

### [Roger Carries On](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/xvii-roger-carries-on)

Rodebush is mentioned as part of the Boise crew observing the aftermath of Roger's planetoid.

### [Giants Meet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/chapters/xix-giants-meet)

Pilots the Boise, coordinates rescue, and engages in battle with Nerado's ship.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters/fred_rodebush
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/triplanetary_se/characters