Randy, thirty-two years old, is the novel’s main character. The story begins shortly after he has lost a local political race. He takes intermittent work as an attorney and lives on his family’s land. Some characters—like Florence—see Randy as a good-for-nothing womanizer with low morals. After the nuclear attack, however, Randy becomes the leader and model citizen of Fort Repose. He is courageous, honorable, and loyal to his brother Mark and Mark’s family. Randy is willing to make difficult choices, like declaring martial law and executing the criminals who rob Dan Gunn. He is not pessimistic, but a realist who believes in natural selection. He believes that the war will turn the people of Fort Repose into beasts if he does not intervene in their lives.

Mark is Randy’s brother. He is an officer in the Air Force and relays the initial telegram to Randy with the words, “Alas, Babylon,” signaling the coming nuclear attack. Mark is a devoted military man who sends his family to Fort Repose so that he can do his duty. He dies in the attacks. However, his children and wife are brave and resourceful, showing that his influence lives on.