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Nobody worried very much about the prospect of a car spinning off the course and killing a few spectators.

This description of the qualifying heats for the Australian Grand Prix appears in Chapter Seven, and illustrates the dangerous relationship between humans and the machines that pervades the novel. Even though technological gadgets are responsible bringing the world to the end, humans are still in love with these gadgets. At this racetrack, people are more concerned about proving the efficiency of their machines than the safety of the drivers or spectators, knowing that everyone will be dead from radiation sickness in a short while anyway. Like the people who created and used the atomic bomb, the racecar drivers are ready and willing to use technology, but are not willing to take responsibility for their potential dangers.

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