Fail-Safe characters

Appears from the start

A senior Air Force officer and bomber pilot troubled by a recurring dream in which a bullfighter kills a bull before a cheering crowd. He is disciplined, thoughtful, and conscious that the nuclear system he serves may demand an unbearable personal act.

Appears from the start

An influential civilian strategist who argues that nuclear conflict can be analyzed rationally and, under some conditions, survived or even won. Brilliant and emotionally detached, he presses political and military leaders to think beyond conventional moral limits.

First appears in chapter 2

The commanding general at Strategic Air Command headquarters in Omaha. Responsible for the bombers, tracking systems, and communications at the center of the crisis, he must improvise when rigid safeguards produce an event their designers believed impossible.

First appears in chapter 2

An Air Force colonel serving in the Omaha command center. Aggressive and deeply suspicious of the Soviet Union, he interprets the emergency through his conviction that hesitation may allow an enemy victory.

First appears in chapter 3

The commander of a Vindicator bomber group sent toward its designated fail-safe point during an alert. His training requires him to accept only properly authenticated orders once an attack code is received, protecting the mission from enemy deception but sharply limiting human intervention.

First appears in chapter 4

The unnamed American president, forced to manage an accidental nuclear attack through secure telephone links rather than direct control of the aircraft. Calm and decisive, he treats preventing a full war as his responsibility even when every available choice carries enormous loss.

First appears in chapter 4

A young presidential aide with fluent Russian who serves as interpreter on the emergency line to Moscow. He must convey not only literal statements but tone and intent while the two governments decide whether they can trust one another.

First appears in chapter 6

The head of the Soviet government, reached by the American president after the bomber group crosses its fail-safe boundary. He must judge whether the claim of an accident is genuine while preparing to defend his country and contain pressure for retaliation.

First appears in chapter 7

The Soviet officer directing the air defense of Moscow. Through the emergency contact between governments, he works with information supplied by the Americans while committing Soviet interceptors and missiles against the approaching bombers.

First appears in chapter 12

General Black's wife, living in New York with their children. Her presence there gives Black an immediate family stake in decisions that national leaders discuss in terms of cities, deterrence, and strategic balance.