Alas, Babylon

Context

Pat Frank was a pen name adopted by the author Harry Hart, who was born on May 5, 1907 inChicago. After attending the University of Florida in Gainesville for two years, Hart went towork as a reporter for the Jacksonville Journal. His career in journalism lasted through WorldWar II, when he served as the chief of the Washington bureau of the Overseas News Agency,and then as a war correspondent in Eruope from 194446, where his work earned him a WarDepartment commendation.

After the end of the war, Frank gave up journalism to become a novelist. Drawing on hisexperience as a chronicler of politics and world affairs, he concentrated his writings on whatwere then the pressing issues in international relations, particularly the proliferation of nuclearweapons. In his first novel, Mr. Adam, an accident at a nuclear power plant leaves every male inthe United States sterilized. The novel tells the story of the only man who escapes this fate,whose subsequent adventures provide a satire of American culture and politics. After thesuccess of this novel, he wrote extensively on the Korean War (195053), and was appointed asa member of the U.N. mission to Korea in 1952. In 1956, he returned to the subject of nuclearweapons, this time with Forbidden Area, a novel dealing with U.S. governmental andbureacratic incompetence in the face of an imminent Soviet attack, which is only averted at thelast moment.

In 1959, at the height of tensions between America and the Soviet Union, Frank published Alas,Babylon, his most famous novel. The portrait of a small Florida town's efforts to cope with theaftermath of an all-out nuclear war is a work of science fiction, but at the time, with the armsrace escalating into space, it seemed all too realistic. Harry Hart lived to see the Cuban MissileCrisis of 1962, when his vision of nuclear conflict almost became a terrible reality. After thepublication of Alas, Babylon, he continued to work as a writer, publishing countless articles andessays, and taking time to write How to Survive the H-Bomb, and Why, a book of advice forpost-holocaust survival. From 19631964, he served as a consultant for the Department ofDefense. He died on October 12, 1964, in Atlantic Beach, Florida.

Summary

At the height of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union, Mark Bragg, anofficer in the Air Force, warns his brother Randy that nuclear war is imminent. Mark, who livesin Omaha, sends his wife, Helen, and his children, Ben Franklin and Peyton, to live with Randyin the isolated Florida town of Fort Repose. While he waits for them to arrive, Randy warns hisfriends, including his neighbors, the Henrys, and his girlfriend, Lib McGovern. He begins tostockpile food, and picks up Helen and her children at the airport, as the radio reports thattensions are escalating between the two superpowers. The next morning, war breaks out, andnuclear weapons destroy all of Florida's major cities. Washington is also destroyed, and a low-level Cabinet official becomes President. Having lost all power and communication with therest of the country, Fort Repose is completely isolated.

Disorder prevails in the small town. Randy's best friend, the local doctor Dan Gunn is beaten upby drug addicts, who ransack his clinic; the local police chief is killed; the bank president,Edgar Quisenberry, kills himself. But Randy and his friends, who all eventually come to livewith him in his house on River Road, manage to survive and maintain a kind of order in theirlives. Randy hooks up a supply of fresh water for his house and his neighbors, and the Henryfarm provides food, as does the nearby river. Dan continues to travel around the town seeingpatients, doing the best he can with limited medical supplies. A crisis occurs when he discoversthat a number of people are suffering from radiation poisoning, acquired from irradiatedjewelry that a man named Porky Logan brought back from near a contaminated city. Dan andRandy handle the crisis together. They collect the jewelry and bury it, along with Porky Logan'sbody, in a lead-lined coffin. When the townsfolk refuse to help bury the coffin, Randybrandishes a gun and forces them to do so.

Randy's authority in the town becomes more and more respected. A radio announcementdeclares that former Army Reserve officers are to assume responsibility for martial law inisolated areas, and Randy is a former Reserve officer, so he begins to post decrees and takeresponsibility for law enforcement. When a group of bandits attack and brutally beat Dan Gunn,he collects a posse and hunts them down on the same afternoon that he and Lib are married.He and his friend kill three of the bandits and hang the other, although his neighbor, MalachaiHenry, is shot and dies.

The town struggles through the summer, surviving a brief shortage of fish, and Randy solves acrisis involving a lack of salt. He combs the diary kept by his ancestor, who founded the town,and finds a reference to a nearby pool with a plentiful supply of salt. In autumn, governmentplanes begin flying over the town, and a helicopter lands, carrying Paul Hart, a military manand friend of Randy's from before the war. He tells them that the country is still trying torestore basic services, and that centuries may pass before the contaminated regions becomeclean. He also confirms that Mark died in the war, meaning that Helen is free to marry Dan,with whom she has fallen in love. He offers to take them out of Fort Repose, but they all preferto remain in the community they have rebuilt.

Characters

Randy Bragg - The protagonist, and the descendant of an old Florida family. When the novelbegins, he is a failed candidate for political office, living off his family's land and theoccasional work as a lawyer in the small Florida town of Fort Repose. After the nuclear war,however, he becomes responsible for his brother Mark's family and the people who live aroundhim. He eventually emerges as the leader of the entire town.Dan Gunn - Fort Repose's doctor, and Randy's best friend. A bitter divorce has left himdisillusioned, but after the nuclear war, he becomes a hero, throwing himself into the difficultwork of serving as a doctor to a community in turmoil.Elizabeth McGovern - Randy's girlfriend, and later his wife. A smart, resourceful, attractivewoman, her parents have moved to Fort Repose from the North. After her mother dies ofdiabetes, she and her father, Bill McGovern, move in with Randy.Helen Bragg - Mark's wife, and the mother of Peyton and Ben Franklin. Her husband, fearingimminent war, sends her to Fort Repose from their home in Omaha, where she moves in withRandy on the day before war breaks out.Mark Bragg - Randy's brother, and an officer with the Strategic Air Command in Omaha. Hewarns his brother that nuclear war is imminent, and sends Helen and their children to live withRandy. He dies in Omaha during the first nuclear exchangealthough Helen does not learn ofhis death for months.Malachai Henry - Randy's neighbor, who works a farm with his family.Bill McGovern - Lib's father. After his wife's death, he and Lib move in with Randy.Ben Franklin - Mark and Helen's son. He is thirteen when the war breaks out.Peyton - Mark and Helen's daughter. She is eleven when the war begins.Florence Wechek - Randy's neighbor, a gossipy older woman who runs the telegraph office inFort Repose.Admiral Hazzard - A retired military man, he lives near Randy on the River Road, andoperates a ham radio as a hobby.Rita Hernandez - A poor but beautiful woman who lives in the slum known as Pistolville.She is a former girlfriend of Randy.Alice Cooksey - The Fort Repose librarian, and Florence's best friend.Two-Tone Henry - Malachai's lazy brother, and Missouri's husband, called "Two-Tone"because his face has two shades of color.Missouri - Two-Tone's wife, she lives with him on the Henry farm, and cleans houses for aliving.Edgar Quisenberry - The President of the Fort Repose bank.Preacher Henry - Malachai and Two-Tone's father.Paul Hart - An officer in the Air Force, stationed in Orlando, and a friend of Randy and Mark.Pete Hernandez - Rita's brotherPorky Logan - The local representative to the state legislature, who defeated Randy for theoffice. A fat, greedy man, he dies of radiation poisoning from contaminated jewelry that he ishoarding.Lavinia McGovern - Lib's mother, who suffers from diabetes.Bubba Offenhaus - The owner of the local funeral parlor.Mrs. Josephine Vanbruuker-Brown - Formerly the Secretary of Health, Education and

Welfare, she becomes President of the U.S.A. after nuclear weapons wipe out Washington.

Chapters 12

Summary

It is an ordinary December day in 1960, in the sleepy Florida town of Fort Repose. On the riverroad, Florence Wechek, the local Western Union telegraph manager, awakens and watches themorning news as she makes her breakfast. Tensions between the Soviet Union and the UnitedStates are highthe Russians are launching more Sputnik satellites, and there is a crisis in theMiddle Eastbut as Florence leaves for work, she is more concerned with her neighbor, RandyBragg, who she suspects of spying on her.

Randy is a descendant of the founders of Fort Repose a good-natured lawyer who failed as apolitician and now makes his living off his family's property, and the occasional bit of legalwork. As he drinks his morning coffee, he receives a telegram from his brother, Mark Bragg, anofficer in the Air Force. The telegram asks to meet him at the local Air Force base at noon, saysthat Mark's wife Helen and his two children are flying into Orlando from their home in Omahathat night, and concludes with the cryptic postscript, "Alas, Babylon." Randy is suddenlyfrightened"Alas, Babylon" is a private family signal, taken from the fire and brimstonesermons that were given at a local Black church in the Bragg brothers' youth. It means thatMark believes that nuclear war is imminent, and is sending his family to Fort Repose becausehe believes the town will be safer than Omaha, the site of the Strategic Air Command (SAC).

Randy drives to Orlando, listening to news of international tension on the radio as he drives.Meanwhile, Florence Wechek is having lunch and sharing gossip with her friend AliceCooksey, the Fort Repose librarian. Near the end of the meal, Florence mentions the telegramthat Randy received that morning, with the cryptic phrase "Alas, Babylon" at the end. Thatafternoon, Alice looks up the reference in a Bible in her library, and finds the quotation in theBook of Revelation, referring to the destruction of a great city "Alas, alas, that great cityBabylon . . . for in hour is thy judgment come."

Arriving at noon, Randy finds the Orlando Air Force base empty. Paul Hart, an ace pilot and afriend, tells him that most the planes are on standby near the Soviet Union, since they will havelittle warning if war breaks out. Mark arrives, greets his brother, and leads Randy into a backroom. He tells him that the Russians are trying to take over the Mediterranean, and that they arewilling to start a nuclear war, believing that their advantage in long-range missiles ("the gap,"Mark calls it) will win the conflict for them. Then Mark gives Randy a check for five thousanddollars, and tells him to cash it and buy necessities. Mark is going back to Omaha, and SAC,and he begs Randy to take care of his wife and children, Peyton and Ben Franklin. The twobrothers say goodbye, and Randy begins the long drive back to Fort Repose.

Analysis

Alas, Babylon speculates about America in the aftermath of a nuclear war. Because the threat ofnuclear war has largely dissipated, Frank's novel can seem dated. However, it provides us witha look at the concerns of Americans in the late 1950s. Pat Frank's decision not to include dateswith any of the events he describes is a way of suggesting that these events could happen at any

time. Nevertheless, the story is clearly set in the years around 1960, when the Cold Warbetween America and the Soviet Union was at its height. There are references to the crises of1957 and '58, which included a coup in Iraq, a Soviet attempt to blockade West Berlin, anAmerican invasion of Lebanon, and a Soviet crackdown in Hungary.

Pat Frank, through the character of Mark Bragg, attributes the arrival of war to two factors thatwere of great concern in the arena of global politics around 1960. The first is the Soviet Union'sattempt to gain access to, and eventually dominate, the Mediterannean. By the early '60s, thearena of conflict had shifted to the Caribbean, where the Cuban missile crisis would bring theworld as close as it ever came to Pat Frank's nightmare vision. But in the late '50s, Russianaggression in the Mediterranean seemed to pose the greatest danger to world peace. With thisSoviet Mediterranean push as the motivating factor, Alas, Babylon uses the idea of a "missilegap" to provide the rationale for why the Soviets would start a nuclear war. According to thisidea, which John F. Kennedy used in the 1960 presidential election, the Soviets had achieved anadvantage in long-range missiles, which they could use to launch a surprise attack on theUnited Statesan attack much like the one that takes place in the pages of this novel. Thesepolitical concerns are of secondary importance in Alas, Babylon. They affect the story fromtime to time, but the story focuses primarily on ordinary people, in an ordinary town. The maincharacter, who is introduced in these opening chapters, is representative of an average personwho is suddenly forced to deal with an extraordinary situation.

Chapter 34

Commentary

In Fort Repose, Randy cashes Mark's check at the local bank, although the bank president,Edgar Quisenberry, who dislikes the Bragg family, gives him some trouble. Then Randy makeshis way to the supermarket, where he stocks up on foodstuffs, buying three hundred dollarsworth of meat, coffee, and canned foods. His massive shopping spree draws murmurs from hisfellow shoppers, and Randy suppresses an urge to shout at everyone and warn them what iscoming. Instead, he takes his groceries home and warns one of his neighbors, Malachai Henry,that a war may be coming. The Henry family, which keeps a small farm beside the river,includes Malachai, Missouri, her husband Two-Tone, their father, Preacher.

After Malachai leaves, Randy is visited by Elizabeth McGovern, his girlfriend, whose familymoved to Florida from Cleveland. He tells her that Mark's family is coming to stay with him,and is about to tell her why, when Dan Gunn, the local doctor, shows up at the door. Dan wantsto talk to Lib about her mother's diabetes, but Randy takes the opportunity to warn them boththat a nuclear war may be on the way. Once they are convinced that he is not joking, Dan beginsmaking a list of medical supplies he needs to order, and Lib goes home to warn her parents.Randy, meanwhile, goes birdwatching, following a parrot toward Florence Wechek's home,until Florence comes out and accuses him of spying on her. He begins to tell her about theimpending war, but she slams the door in his face.

The story shifts briefly to the eastern Mediterranean, where a United States fleet is beingshadowed by enemy aircraft. Then it moves to the Omaha airport, where Helen Bragg gives anunhappy goodbye to her husband Mark and then takes her children, Peyton and Ben Franklin,on a plane to Orlando to meet Randy. In the Mediterranean, meanwhile, an American pilotpursues the enemy plane and fires on it and misses, hitting a harbor in Syria, which is an allyof the Soviet Union.

Back in Fort Repose, Randy goes to the McGovern house, where Lib lives with her parents.Neither parent likes Randy very much, and Bill McGovern accuses him of spreading scarestories. Bill insists that there are always rumors that war is going to come, but it never does,because the two sides always work things out. After leaving the McGoverns, Randy goes hometo hear the radio report that Syria is accusing the United States of an unprovoked attack on theircity. His brother, who is in "the Hole," the buried bunker at Strategic Air Command in Omaha,hears the same reports, and notes that Moscow is ominously silent. He hopes, desperately, thathis wife reaches Orlando before war breaks out.

His wish is granted. Helen arrives in Orlando with her children at 3:30 A.M. Randy picks her upand drives her back to Fort Repose. Meanwhile, the United States issues a statement that theSyrian incident was an accident. In the Hole, Mark convinces his commanding officer toreceive authorization from the President to use their nuclear weapons. They receive theauthorization, and a few moments later, they receive data that an object, perhaps a missile, hasbeen fired from inside the Soviet Union. After a brief delay, four missiles appear on theirscreens, streaking toward the United States. War has begun.

Analysis

The specter of war hangs over this part of the novel. Frank, unlike many writers of the period,is not interested in making arguments about the moral equivalency of the Soviet Union and theUnited States. The Russians are painted as villains. Their aggression paves the way for theconflict, and they fire the first nuclear missiles. But the author also demonstrates the role ofchance in warfare, showing how a mistake by a foolhardy American pilot provides the sparkthat ignites the entire, world-changing conflict. As Frank puts it, "quite often the flood ofhistory is undammed or diverted by the character and actions of one man."

Meanwhile, we are introduced to the other characters who figure prominently in the post-holocaust world. The Henry family appears, their friendship with Randy providing a model forthe cooperation that will be necessary between blacks and whites in the wake of the disaster.Lib McGovern is Randy's a love interest. Lib's father's persistent refusal to believe that war isimminent can be read as a stinging critique of complacency among the American public. Andfinally, we meet Dan Gunn, Randy's best friend, who fills an important role after the disaster asa selfless, courageous doctor. With the arrival of Helen and her children, all the majorcharacters are in Fort Repose.

Chapters 56

Summary

In the house on the River Road, Randy, Helen, thirteen-year-old Ben Franklin, eleven-year-oldPeyton are awakened by what feels like an earthquake. The earthquake turns out to be twinnuclear explosions, far south of them, in Miami and at the SAC base in Homestead. Clusteredtogether outside the house, they see fighter jets soar overhead, and then a third nuclearexplosion occurs, to the southwest, in the direction of Tampa-St. Petersburg. Peyton, whohappens to be looking right at the explosion, is blinded by the burst of light.

Randy hurries into town, looking for Dan Gunn. He passes a crashed car and a woman's deadbody on the way, and finds Fort Repose in turmoil, with people crowding the stores and the gasstation. The guests in the local hotel are milling about in confusion, and Randy finds Dan Gunnin one of the hotel rooms, seeing to a heart attack victim. Dan, hearing what happened toPeyton, says that she will probably be all right, and prescribes some eye drops and says that sheshould rest in a dark room. Randy hurries back to the river road, passing a gang of escapedconvicts carrying guns, and a car carrying Florence and Alice.

Florence makes her way to the telegraph office, where she deals with a long line of peopletrying to send messages&mdash most of which cannot be sent, since communication north ofJacksonville is forbidden. Edgar Quisenberry, the bank president comes in, and tries to wire toJacksonville to ask for instructions from the Federal Reserve Bank there. However, as hismessage goes through, Jacksonville is wiped out by a nuclear weapon. Quisenberry returns tothe bank, where a huge crowd shows up, wanting to withdraw money. After a time, the demandgrows so great that he is forced to close the bank. He makes his way home, distraught by thecollapse of the financial system. Unable to bear the idea of a world in which banks and moneyhave ceased to exist, he shoots himself.

Forever afterward, the first day of nuclear war would be known simply as "the Day" in FortRepose. For Randy, listening to the radio in his home, the events seem difficult to understand,especially when the new "Acting President" of the United States comes on the radio.Washington has been destroyed, and with it, the President and the government have gone. TheUnited States is now led by Mrs. Josephine Vanbruuker-Brown, formerly the Secretary ofHealth, Education and Welfare. In a speech, she reports that many major cities have been wipedout, but "that our reprisal was swift, and, from the reports that have reached this command post,effective." Later that night, Dan Gunn shows up to look at Peyton, who has been wearing abandage over her eyes. When it is removed, her sight has begun to return. Dan has a drink withRandy, telling him that several people have already died or committed suicide, among themEdgar Quisenberry. Then the two men discuss the possibility of radiation poisoning.Fortunately, the prevailing winds have been blowing east, carrying the fallout toward theAtlantic Ocean.

After Dan leaves, Randy visits his neighbor, Admiral Hazzard, a retired Navy officer. TheAdmiral owns a ham radio, and he has been monitoring signals during The Day, and trying topiece together the military situation. As he and Randy talk, Orlando, to the southeast, is hit with

a missile, and the lights go out in Fort Repose.

Analysis

Alas, Babylon largely a cautionary tale, and the immediate aftermath of the nuclear explosionsis meant to demonstrate that the United states is completely unprepared for a nuclear attack. InWashington, the President, Cabinet, and Congress do not even have time to escape before thebombs fall. As a result, the government is turned over to a low-level Cabinet Secretary.Meanwhile, civil order breaks down in Fort Repose almost immediately. There are accidentsand dead bodies on the highway, escaped prisoners wandering around with guns, and mobs inthe stores and gas stations. There is no one to restore order; once communication with theoutside world is cut off, no one is willing to take responsibility for the situation in the town.

The novel also explores how individuals react to such a sudden shift in the way the worldworks. Randy rises to the occasion, remaining calm and planning what is best for the family.Likewise, Dan throws himself into his medical work to try to take control of the situation. Theolder women, Florence and Alice, acquit themselves, bravely making their way into work andcarrying on with their jobs and lives despite the crisis. Their courage and their refusal to crackunder the pressure is contrasted with the behavior of Edgar Quisenberry, who holds the banktogether in the afternoon, but finally breaks down and kills himself when he realizes thatmoney has suddenly become worthless. Dan delivers his epitaph: "Some people melt in the heatof crisis and come apart like fat in the pan. Others meet the challenge and harden."

The Day begins and ends with nuclear explosions. The last one, incinerating Orlando, knocksout power in the town. "The lights went out," Frank writes, "and in that moment, civilization inFort Repose retreated a hundred years." The image of darkness falling is a motif that recurs atthe novel's close. It points to the extinguishing of the modern world, and the plunge intobarbarism.

Chapters 78

Summary

With the destruction of Orlando, Fort Repose loses power. In order to ensure a supply of cleanwater, Randy decides to run a pipe out to a nearby grove, where an artesian pump draws waterup from the ground. He lays the pipe with the help of Malachai and Two-Tone Henry, andHelen begin to salt their meat, to prevent it from spoiling. Randy drives into town, in the hopesof finding some jars for Helen to use. The town is largely empty, with dangerous- lookingyoung men lounging on street corners. In the grocery store, the clerk, Pete Hernandez, carries agun. Pete reluctantly agrees to sell Randy two ten-pound bags of salt for two hundred dollars.

At the clinic, Randy finds Dan amid a pile of ruined medicine bottles, with the local chief ofpolice lying dead in a hallway. Dan tells him that a gang of drug addicts broke in, stole hismorphine, and shot people at random. Randy convinces him to move in with them on RiverRoad, and Dan reluctantly agrees. That night, while the Hanry family is over for dinner, a radioannouncer reports the numerous parts of the United States that have been declared"Contaminated Zones." They include Omaha, where Mark was stationed (Helen still hopes thathe is alive) and the entire state of Florida, meaning that Fort Repose is now completelyisolated.

On the sixth day after the attack, the local hotel burns to the ground. Three days after that, LibMcGovern's mother, Lavinia McGovern, dies of diabetes. Her supply of insulin is cut off by thewar. Randy helps Lib and Bill McGovern bury her, and insists on inviting them to move intothe house at River Road. Bill, feeling useless and old, reluctantly agrees.

Four months pass. Coffee has vanished, tobacco can't be found, and a mild, gnawing hunger is afact of life. Randy clumsily shaves with a hunting knife. The Henrys have been having troublewith predators stealing their animals, and Ben Franklin is appointed to carry a gun and serve asa guard for the barn and henhouse. Dan and Randy drive into townthey are down to the dregsof their gas. They use the Henrys' ancient Model-A Ford, because it is more fuel- efficient.Randy carries a pistol. Dan tells Randy that he has encountered several cases of radiationpoisoning, and he cannot figure out why, since there isn't enough radiation in the Fort Reposeair to cause it.

While Dan visits the radiation victims, Randy goes to the park, which has become a gatheringplace for men trying to barter, and spends several fruitless hours trying to trade a bottle ofScotch for two pounds of coffee. Dan picks him up, and they drive out to the slum, known asPistolville, where Pete Hernandez has radiation poisoning. His sister, Rita, still has feelings forRandy, and she tries to flirt with him, but to no avail. Then Dan notices a ring on her finger thathas left a dark circle on the skin. He orders her to take it off all her jewelry, it turns out, isradioactive, including the watches that Pete is wearing. Porky Logan, the local representative tothe state legislature picked it up outside the ruins of Miami as he drove back to Fort Repose onthe day of the attack. They hurry over to Porky's home, and find him dead on his bed. Aftermaking sure that the other radiation victims get rid of their jewelry, Dan and Rusty go home,resolving to bury Porky's corpse the next day.

Analysis

The disorder in the town of Fort Repose contrasts the order that Randy and his friends manageto instill on the River Road. Cooperation, it becomes clear, is the key to survival. As the Henrysand Braggs work together, they are able to insure a supply of clean drinking water and food,taken from the Henry farm and the nearby river. Even as this is going on, the weeding out of theweak continues: just as Edgar Quisenberry was psychologically incapable of surviving after thedisaster, Lib McGovern's insulin-dependent mother is physically incapable of surviving. In away, her death, like the addicts' rampage through Dan Gunn's clinic, is a blessing in disguisefor the other survivors, since it encourages everyone to move in together on River Road. Thiscloseness improves the group's overall chances of survival.

The primitive market on the town green illustrates how, in the post-war world, new customsdevelop. The demise of the cash economy means that the town of Fort Repose returns to thebarter system that characterized human societies in primitive eras. Luxuries, like tobacco,coffee, and alcohol, become tremendously valuable, since there is no prospect of any of theseitems becoming available again. The discovery of the radioactive jewelry is at once a reminderof the continuing danger from nuclear fallout, and a miniature morality play. Instead offocusing on cooperation and survival, Porky Logan and the people to whom he gives jewelryare trying to profit off the disaster by accumulating riches. The radiation poisoning is theirpunishment for the sin of greed, as the beautiful objects are tainted.

Chapters 910

Summary

Burying Porky Logan is difficult. Randy and Dan convince the local funeral parlor manager,Bubba Offenhaus, to let them use a lead-lined coffin to hold both Porky and his tainted jewelry,but the coffin requires eight men to carry it, and none of the people gathered on the greenvolunteer. Randy draws his gun and forces them to help with the funeral.

Back on River Road, Two-Tone (so-called because the left and right sides of his face aredifferent shades) and Bill McGovern rig up a still to make corn whiskey, or "moonshine," usingparts scrounged from various automobiles. Meanwhile, on the radio, it is announced that anyformer officers in the Reserves or National Guard are ordered to assume responsibility formaintaining order in the Contaminated Zones. Randy is a Reserve officer, and he decides toassume legal authority in Fort Repose.

Meanwhile, there are problems in his house, as Helen becomes briefly delusional and thinksthat he is Mark, his brother and her husband, and tries to kiss him. Lib reassures him that this isa temporary insanity, brought on by the tremendous strain of everyday life after the day of theattacks. That night, Alice Cooksey (who now lives with Florence) puts together a beautifuldinner, using edible wild plants. But Dan is late coming home from town. Randy and Lib leaveto look for him. They go to Admiral Hazzard's house, where they listen to various garbled newsaccounts on the Admiral's ham radio. The Admiral compares this disastrous war to the fall ofthe Roman Empire. Randy and Lib walk along the riverbank, where they talk about how muchthey love one another. Randy hears an alarm bell ringing from his house and rushes home.

Rushing home, he finds that Dan has staggered in, bruised and bleeding. He is too weak to talk,so they feed him and let him rest. That night, Ben Franklin shoots the dog that has beenmenacing the Henrys' animals. Meanwhile, Dan recuperates. When he is well enough to talk, herecounts what happened to him. He says that as he was driving back from seeing a little girl illwith typhoid, he was ambushed, and a group of thugs took all his medical supplies and the car.They beat him savagely. Randy resolves to deal with the situation, in his capacity as local lawenforcement officer. He and the Admiral decide that they need to set up an ambush for the"highwaymen." Going into town, he posts three official notices, declaring martial law, warningabout the presence of typhoid germs in the river, and declaring that the penalty for "robbery orpillage" is hanging. Then he makes his way to Pistolville, and convinces Rita to allow him toborrow her grocery truck. She promises to put the word out that it was filled with goods fortrade, and that someone stole it. He hopes that this rumor will put the highwaymen on thelookout for it.

Returning home, he is met by Lib. "I wish we were married," he tells her, and she points outthat under martial law, he makes the laws, so if he wants to grant himself a marriage license, hecan. Easter is approaching, and they decide to get married on the holiday.

Analysis

Having achieved a measure of order and security in his home, Randy begins to takeresponsibility for the community as a whole. With Dan as his ally, he takes charge of apotentially dangerous situation: the burial of Porky Logan's body. Significantly, he does notconvince the men to bury Porky through reasoned argument or democratic process. He points agun at them, and they obey, which illustrates the new reality in Fort Repose. Force mattersmore than good intentions. This new reality is also illustrated by the decision to allow thirteen-year-old Ben Franklin to carry a gun and defend the Henrys' farm. The announcement that menlike Randy are to assume responsibility in the Contaminated Zones by declaring martial law,gives official sanction to Randy's power.

The brutal attack on Dan is not only an attack on Randy's closest friend; it is an attack on legalorder in Fort Repose. In a sense, the attack sets up a classic confrontation between a sheriff-figure and bandits. Randy, like a fearless sheriff, is attempting to instill order in a savage place.Just as the western hero is trying to build America, he is trying to rebuild it. His decision to getmarried to Lib the same day he goes out to hunt the bandits is also reminiscent of westerns. Librepresents the safety of his home, River Road, which has never been directly attacked by thehighwaymen. Randy has changed drastically since the beginning of the novel. Randy Bragg haslost his lackadaisical attitude and has become a genuine hero.

Chapter 1113

Summary

On Easter Sunday, Preacher Henry marries Randy and Lib with a bandaged Dan Gunn as bestman. The marriage is performed under the auspices of Randy's recently published Order No. 4,which provides for marriage and birth certificates. Almost immediately after the wedding,Randy begins to make plans to ambush Dan's assailants. He charts out a route through FortRepose and its surrounds, and plans to drive Rita's truck around, with Malachai, AdmiralHazzard, and Bill McGovern carrying guns in the back. At the last minute, Malachai points outthat it will be more believable to have him, a black man, driving, and Randy reluctantly agrees.

After cruising around, they realize that they are being herded toward a bridge where a carblocks the far end. Malachai stops the truck, and four men approach them, two from each side.Randy shoots one of the men in the front, and the other is taken prisoner, while Bill and theAdmiral gun down the two bandits in back. In the brief gunfight, Malachai is hit in the chest,and is bleeding badly. Tying up the last surviving thug, they hurry home. Dan tries to operateon Malachai, but he dies before he can be cut open. The day after Malachai's death, thecaptured man in hanged in the public park. The same day, Randy takes volunteers for "Bragg'sTroop," as the local lawkeeping force comes to be known.

As summer arrives, the Admiral's ham radio finally short-circuits, cutting them off fromcommunication with the outside world. Dan learns hypnosis, to help him with surgery in theabsence of anesthetic, and he uses it to extract Ben Franklin's appendix when it becomesinflamed. Meanwhile, the crops begin to wither in the August heat, the fish stop biting, and theabsence of salt threatens the survival of the town. They are saved when Randy searches thediary of his ancestor, Lieutenant Randolph Rowzee Peyton, who founded the town, anddiscovers a reference to a pool with a white beach of pure salt. An expedition returns with sacksof salt. Meanwhile, Peyton steals Florence's goldfish and poles out deep into the river, whereshe uses the goldfish as bait to catch large bass. The heat breaks, the fish begin biting again,and life returns to normal.

That fall, a makeshift school is set up in town, and Dan delivers the first healthy babyconceived since the attacks. In November, he tells Randy that he wants to marry Helen, but thatshe won't agree to it until she knows for certain if Mark is still alive. That same month, a U.S.government helicopter lands, carrying men conducting surveys of radiation in the contaminatedzones. The commander is Randy's old friend Paul Hart, and he tells them that Denver is now theU.S. capital, and that all the undamaged regions of the country are still trying to restore electricpower and transportation. Other nations are shipping grain and fuel to America. He tells Helenthat Mark did not survive the destruction of Omaha, and then goes on to say that all the citieshit with bombs may be radioactive for hundreds of years. He offers to take them all out ofFlorida in the helicopters, and everyone refuses, preferring to stay and help rebuild FortRepose.

Randy asks who won the war. Paul responds, "'You're kidding.&133; You mean you really don'tknow? &133; We won it. We really clobbered them!' [His] eyes lowered and his arms drooped.

He said, 'Not that it matters.'"

Commentary

Frontier justice, is the best phrase to describe how Randy and his friends handle thehighwaymen. There is no attempt at arrest, prosecution, or trial by jury. Instead, the medievalpenalty for crime is revived, and the only criminal to survive the shootout is hanged in a publicplace, to serve as a grisly warning to other would-be lawbreakers. Order and tranquility are notachieved without sacrifice, as the death of Malachai makes clear. In the months that follow,Randy slips into the role of Fort Repose's leader. His discovery of the hidden pool where saltcan be gathered not only saves the town, but also links him to his pioneering forebear, who firstcarved Fort Repose out of the wilderness. Randy's use of his diary makes the connectionbetween the two men obviousboth are in the business of building civilization out of chaos.

Life has continued in the rest of the United States over the long months that Fort Repose hasbeen cut off, and at the end of the novel, the appearance of Paul Hart gives a brief sketch of thebig picture. In contrast to some novels dealing with nuclear war, Alas, Babylon does not portraythe U.S.A. being wiped out entirely. The absurdity of the entire "war" is summed up in Raul'sparting comment America "won," by blowing the Russians off the map, but the price ofvictory was so high that victory ceased to matter. With Paul gone, the image of darkness recurs,symbolizing the end of civilization and the triumph of barbarism. "The engine started," Frankwrites, "and Randy turned away to face the thousand-year night." But in a sense, the message ofthe book contradicts this final pessimistic image, since in their small way, Randy and the otherpeople of Fort Repose have carved out their own piece of civilization as a bulwark against thedarkness.

Analysis

Alas, Babylon is a novel bound to a specific time and place. It describes the peak of the ColdWar between the United States and the Soviet Union, in the late 1950s and early 1960s. It tellsthe story of a war that did not happen, a destructive nuclear struggle that nearly destroyscivilization in the United States. The arrival of war is attributed to two factors: Soviet Union'sattempt to gain access to, and eventually dominate, the Mediterannean, and the idea of a"missile gap" that gives the Russians an advantage in missile technology and leads them toattempt a surprise attack on the United States.

But these political concerns are of secondary importance in Alas, Babylon. They enter the storyin the person of Mark Bragg, who first explains the situation to his brother Randy, and after thewar, the outside world appears only in the form of occasional radio broadcasts. But the novel isultimately more interested in ordinary people than in international politics. The narrativefocuses on the small town of Fort Repose, Florida, and how its residents deal with aremarkaable new situation. In this sense, this seemingly frightening and apocalyptic novel canactually be called optimistic. Its tone contrasts sharply with much of post-apocalyptic fiction,in which nuclear war either wipes out the entire population of earth or reduces humanity to asavage, Stone Age existence. Order collapses in Fort Repose, but over the course of the novel itis gradually restored, largely through cooperation and friendship between the main characters,all of whom are sympathetic figures. Racism, for example, is hinted at early in the novel, butnever seems to become a problem after the war. Conflict between the main characters is almostnonexistentdanger comes from outside, from shadowy, one-dimensional drug addicts andgangsters. By the end of the novel, Fort Repose has weathered a number of crises involvingfood shortages, radiation poisoning, and crime, and it has become a reasonably pleasant placeto live again. So pleasant, in fact, that when an offer arrives to helicopter some people to a saferpart of the country, it is turned down, as the characters prefer to remain and continue rebuildingtheir home.

In addition to this optimistic view of the human spirit, Alas, Babylon also offers optimism on asmaller scale, in the person of the protagonist, Randy Bragg. When we first meet Randy, he is alikable man in decline, having failed in his attempt to run for political office. Since his defeat,he is sliding through life. He has no real job, and lives off the profits from his family land. Hehas taken to drinking before breakfast. In the aftermath of the nuclear war, however, Randychanges drastically, and his decision to take responsibility for his family and friends is acritical part of Fort Repose's climb toward order and civilization. With the heroic doctor DanGunn, Randy works first to build a safe, sustainable community for his family and neighbors onRiver Road, and then uses his authority as an officer in the Army Reserve to assumeresponsibility for law and order throughout Fort Repose, dealing with outlaws and keeping thepeace. He becomes a kind of classic American herothe reluctant sheriff who assumesresponsibility for law and order in a frontier town.

Questions for Study

Discuss the parallels between Alas, Babylon and the traditional western.

In American film and literature, the western is traditionally the story of how a wilderness wasturned into a civilized country. The western hero is a figure of order and justice, a sheriff bringslaw to an isolated community. Fort Repose may not be a frontier town when the novel begins,but the collapse of civilization following the nuclear attacks rapidly places it on the frontier,and allows lawlessness to take over. This transition is symbolized by the deaths of suchauthority figures as the police chief and the bank president, and the repeated attacks on thelocal doctor, Dan Gunn. Randy Bragg, in his capacity as an Army Reserve officer, is the sherifffigure of Alas, Babylon. He is a classic reluctant hero, with a new wife waiting for him athome, but he nevertheless does the right thing, by gathering a posse and going after the villains.There is even a shootout reminiscent of classic westerns, in which Randy's men deal with thebandits and hang the sole surviving robber.

Is Alas, Babylon an optimistic novel? Why or why not?

Certainly, disastrous, tragic events take place in Alas, Babyloncities are wiped out andmillions of people are killed in a pointless conflict. But the message of the novel contrasts withmuch of post- apocalyptic fiction, in which nuclear war either wipes out the entire populationof earth or reduces humanity to a savage, Stone Age existence. In Alas, Babylon, order breaksdown in Fort Repose, but over the course of the novel it is gradually restored, largely throughcooperation and friendship between the main characters. The villainous characters are drugaddicts and gangsters who appear only briefly, and the inhabitants of Fort Repose are presentedas good, decent people doing their best in an extraordinary situation. By the end of the novel,they have restored law and order, and have successfully overcome a number of crises involvingfood shortages, radiation poisoning, and crime. When an offer arrives to take some of them outof Florida it is turned down, as the characters prefer to remain and continue rebuilding theirhome. It is difficult to see this celebration of friendship and community as anything but theoptimistic message that even in adversity, the human spirit survives.

What is the role of the female characters in the novel?.

Analyze the political events that the novel portrays leading up to a nuclear exchange. Is itconvincingly portrayed?

Discuss the aftermath of "The Day." How does the novel portray the breakdown of order?

Why does Edgar Quisenberry commit suicide? What does his death illustrate?

What are the symbolic roles of the image of darkness, and the radioactive jewelry, in the story?

What is the novel's political message?

Review Questions

During what conflict does Alas, Babylon take place?

(A) World War II(B) The Cold War(C) The Gulf War(D) World War I

Randy Bragg lives on what street?

(A) Main Street(B) River Road(C) Bragg Lane(D) Repose Street

Florence Wechek works at the

(A) Bank(B) Doctor's office(C) Telegraph office(D) Town hall

Mark Bragg is a(n)

(A) Aide to the President(B) Professor of international affairs(C) Ambassador to the Soviet Union(D) Officer in the Air Force

Mark's wife is named

(A) Peyton(B) Helen(C) Rita(D) Lib

Randy's girlfriend, at the time the novel begins, is named

(A) Lib(B) Helen(C) Rita(D) Alice

Who of the following does not live on River Road?

(A) The Henrys

(B) Rita Hernandez(C) Admiral Hazzard(D) Florence Wechek

Dan Gunn is a

(A) Lawyer(B) Banker(C) Air Force pilot(D) Doctor

Residents of Fort Repose refer to the day that nuclear war begins as

(A) "The Day"(B) "Atom-Day"(C) "D-Day II"(D) "Day of Fire"

When it becomes clear that money will soon be worthless, Edgar Quisenberry

(A) Shoots himself(B) Burns down the bank(C) Shoots his wife(D) Drives into the path of the fallout

After the destruction of Washington, _____ takes over as President of the U.S.A.

(A) Mark Bragg(B) Mrs. Josephine Vanbruuker-Brown(C) Admiral Hazzard(D) Douglas MacArthur

The destruction of what city knocks out power in Fort Repose?

(A) Atlanta(B) New York(C) Miami(D) Orlando

Lib McGovern's mother dies of

(A) Diabetes(B) Radiation poisoning(C) A gunshot wound(D) Cancer

Who does not move in with Randy in the aftermath of the nuclear war?

(A) Lib McGovern(B) Rita Hernandez(C) Dan Gunn(D) Bill McGovern

Porky Logan transmits radiation poisoning to several people in Fort Repose by selling themcontaminated

(A) Food(B) Gasoline(C) Jewelry(D) Alcohol

In order to get people to help with Porky Logan's burial, Randy

(A) Offers them money(B) Offers them alcohol(C) Threatens them with a gun(D) Threatens to leave the body on the town green

Helen has a moment of temporary insanity, in which she thinks that Randy is

(A) God(B) Dan Gunn(C) Mark(D) Her son

Which character owns and operates a ham radio?

(A) Admiral Hazzard(B) Randy(C) Rita Hernandez(D) Edgar Quisenberry

Randy takes charge of law enforcement in Fort Repose because

(A) He is a Reserve officer(B) He has the most guns(C) Bandits kill Peyton(D) The townspeople elect him

Which character gets beaten up by robbers?

(A) Randy(B) Dan Gunn(C) Lib(D) Admiral Hazzard

On Easter Sunday, Randy marries

(A) Rita(B) Helen(C) Florence(D) Lib

Who gets killed in the shootout with the robbers?

(A) Bill McGovern(B) Randy(C) Malachai(D) Admiral Hazzard

What happens to the sole surviving robber?

(A) He is hanged(B) He is given a trial by jury and sentenced to life in prison(C) He is exiled from Fort Repose(D) He kills himself

How does Randy find a supply of salt?

(A) By taking salt-sniffing dogs into the swamp(B) By consulting the diary of an ancestor who founded Fort Repose(C) By breaking into an abandoned warehouse(D) By finding a route to the sea

Who shows up in a helicopter at the end of the book, and who does he tell them won the war?

(A) Mark; the U.S.A.(B) Paul Hart; the Soviet Union(C) Mark; the Soviet Union(D) Paul Hart; the U.S.A.

Further Reading

Frank, Pat. Alas, Babylon. New York: HarperCollins, 1999.

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Table of Contents

Chapter 34Chapter 1113

Chapter 34Chapter 1113