Part 2, Chapters 12, 13, 14 and 15 Summary

"New Zealand Gets Nuked, Too"

This section, written in a more diary-like format, begins with Andy's brief commentary on Dag's sudden and unexpected disappearance, and a phone call Andy receives from Dag, made on a pay phone in Nevada. In explanation of his absence, Dag tells Andy about Otis from Palm Springs (which he likens to New Zealand - both communities, according to Dag, are isolated enough to be safe from the fallout of a nuclear war). He describes how Otis suddenly had the urge to investigate just how serious the threat of poisoning from nuclear fallout actually is, and how Otis traveled trip through New Mexico and Nevada (the site of several nuclear tests), where he discovered that the threat isn't as present or as dangerous as he feared. Dag then, however, describes the development of Otis' theory...