Kondo Tatsumi and Tomonga Ijiro are Japanese men symbolize the changing order of the world following the war. Tatsumi was an outsider in Japan who chose to live his entire life within cyberspace. Ijiro, on the other hand, was a blind man, both pitied and shunned by the population. In both cases, these men fought through zombies as well as nature to save their own lives, and use their experiences to help others to learn self-defense and tactics of survival. Allowed back into society at the end of the novel, these characters clearly represent the new order of the world, as those once cast out are welcomed back as strong members of the worldwide community.