Quote 1
Randy said, "Paul, there's one thing more. Who won the war?
[...]
"We won it. We really clobbered 'em!" Hart's eyes lowered and his arms drooped. He said, "Not that it matters." (13.107,110)
With this doozy of a closer, Alas, Babylon argues that nuclear war has no winner. One side might have a government at the end of it, and the other side might not, but both will have experienced death and destruction beyond compare. Can you really call tens of millions dead a victory?
Quote 2
Randy said, "Did you ever hear a little girl say 'If I grow up' before?"
"No, I never did. It gives me the creeps." (9.96-97)
It sure gave us the creeps reading it, if that counts for anything. Oddly, neither Peyton nor Ben Franklin—the two characters whose futures are most hindered by the nuclear apocalypse—seem all that bummed. In fact, they take it more in stride than the adults.
Quote 3
"No, thanks," Randy said. He was glad he wasn't a doctor. A doctor required special courage that Randy felt he did not possess. (8.74)
Randy joins Dan Gunn on a few house calls and regrets it every time. We would too. Dan witnesses an incredible amount of suffering each and every day. It must require some serious mental fortitude to work so hard in such a depressing situation.
Quote 4
Randy sensed that Pete, perhaps because he had never had much of it, still coveted money. He said, "I'll give you a price for salt right now." (7.91)
Some people still cling to the old order even after it's obvious it's gone for good. Case in point right here. Pete Hernandez trades a big old bag of salt—a super-hot commodity in the post-apocalypse—for what is effectively green paper with old dudes' faces on them. At least it makes for good TP.
Quote 5
"It was a wolf," Randy said. "It wasn't a dog any long. In times like these dogs can turn into wolves." (9.264)
Now that's a spicy metaphor, we say while kissing our fingers. Like the German Shepherd that keeps eating the Henrys' chickens at night, mankind can quickly go feral if society collapses. A scary thought indeed.
Quote 6
"I am an officer in the Reserve. I have been legally designated to keep order when normal authority breaks down. [...] And the first thing I must do to keep order is execute the highwaymen." (10.69)
Left for dead by the federal government and besieged by bloodthirsty highwaymen, Randy takes matters into his own hands and singlehandedly bring Fort Repose back from the brink of chaos. Sure, we might feel squeamish that his first act as sorta-sheriff is to murder a gang of criminals, but can we really blame him given the situation? It's eat or be eaten and all that.