6.1 Leonard Mead
| Trait | Evidence |
|---|---|
| individual, nonconformist | walks every night; has no viewing screen |
| lover of nature and simple pleasures | enjoys the air, frost, silence, moonlit streets |
| lonely | has never met another walker; unmarried — "nobody wanted" him |
| thoughtful, imaginative | compares the city to a graveyard; whispers to the houses |
| gentle and harmless | does nothing wrong; answers politely |
| a writer in a world without readers | his profession counts as "no profession" |
| defenceless against the system | cannot argue with a machine; taken away |
6.2 The police car
| Trait | Evidence |
|---|---|
| mechanical, inhuman | no driver; a metallic voice |
| authoritarian | gives orders; allows no explanation |
| unable to understand individuality | sees walking without purpose as an illness |
| cold and indifferent | does not reply when Mead says, "That's my house" |
| symbol | of a state controlled by technology |
6.3 The people of the city (unseen)
| Trait | Evidence |
|---|---|
| passive, isolated | sit indoors in the dark watching screens |
| like the dead | the houses are like tombs; the people like phantoms |
| conformist | all behave the same way |