Dr. Robert Kierans
Dr. Kierans is the hero-antihero of the novel. He is a forty-year-old man who looks much older because of his deeply tanned, weather-beaten and illness-worn skin. He also sports a scraggly beard bleached from constant exposure to the sun’s harsh rays. He is part of a generation of people born after the ecological catastrophe and as a result he has no recall of the great cities of men. Upon completing his studies Dr. Kierans starts off doing studies of the biological changes in the local flora and fauna. Every year that passes fills him with a sense of futility however as the results of his research only serve to confirm the scientific forecasts of scientists from two or three decades past. He is one of the last to experience the vivid primordial visions but he is also the most deeply affected by them. Unlike the rest of the survivors he decides to pursue the dreams, pulling away from humanity--entranced by the dreams and fully accepting that the time of man has passed.
Strangeman
The enigmatic raider cum cult leader that traverses submerged European cities collecting lost treasures is known by no other name save the one he gives, Strangeman; and he is very strange indeed. Physically, he stands out from the rest of the now swarthy denizens of semi-aquatic Europe because he’s an albino. He also has at his disposal a large throng of men of African descent who all but worship him. They regard him as a supernatural being, mistaking his pallor for a state of living death. Strangeman enhances his mystique by going through great pains to dress in white. Oddly enough, he also seems to have a modicum of control over an unusually large congregation of alligators that follow him around from the waters when he travels on his aquatic plane. He is obsessed with draining out the lagoons that have formed all over London to restore the cities into their pre-apocalyptic state.
Dr. Alan Bodkin
Dr. Bodkin is a rarity in that he is one of the few living people on Earth that recall living in the cities before the cataclysm struck. When not engaged in scientific research he likes to reminisce about how things were, sculling about in a small boat searching for landmarks of old London that have not been ruined by flood, heat, and fungus. He is also the first to attempt to explain the spreading phenomena of nightmares plaguing the surviving population and comes up with the concept of neuronics or the recollection of a biological memory imbedded deep in the collective subconscious of all humanity. He is initially enamored by the idea that London can be drained because he would be able to visit his old haunts but when he realizes that what Strangeman wants to achieve is the total restoration of the old world he tries to sabotage his plans causing his demise.
Beatrice Dahl
The wealthy former socialite is perhaps the last living woman in London. She was largely spared from the widespread destruction brought about by the floods and environmental change because she lived at the penthouse of a luxury apartment building that was stocked with all manner of indulgence items. Beatrice now lives an idyllic, if isolated life, lounging by the pool drinking and having trysts with Dr. Kierans. When Strangeman comes into the story he becomes greatly enamored with her but she spurns his affections.
Col. Riggs
The kindhearted and cheerful Colonel Riggs is part of the military detachment assigned to guard the scientists heading the biological research efforts and rescue survivors living in isolated communities they come across during their missions. He faithfully carries out his orders but expresses an uncharacteristic cynicism in the long-term objective of their mission, which is to eventually reclaim the submerged metropolis of Europe. He is one of the few characters that are not afflicted by the primordial nightmares making him unsympathetic to those that suffer from the dreams. He is also one of the few characters that are not suspicious or averse of Strangeman, even insisting on rewarding him for his efforts to drain the cove.
Lt. Hardman
The once tall and proud Lt. Hardman used to be Col. Riggs’ ‘copter pilot. His days of navigating the flooded city ruins are long gone however as he is one of the first and most badly affected by the nightmares. Many of his comrades believe that the dreams have driven him insane as he is driven by an inexplicable need to go south. His former C.O., seeing that there is no reasoning with him in his current state of mind leaves him to respond to the primal urgings to travel to the equator. Dr. Kierans eventually comes across the crazed Lt. Hardman, afflicted with cataracts caused by staring directly at the sun, despite this however he continues to plod on to the south spurred on by forces not understood by men.
