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.