Paul Redeker / Xolelwa Azania Character Analysis

Paul Redeker is the famous South African who came up with the Redeker Plan to help in the fight against the zombies. He had first attracted the attention of the South African government in the apartheid years because he had come up with a plan to deal with that crisis, as well. When the outbreak takes place, the father of the nation (perhaps Nelson Mandela, though he isn’t named) sends for Redeker to help the government. Sure enough, Redeker has a plan ready for dealing with the zombies and saving people, but it is so startlingly cruel that the government officials balk at adopting it. Redeker states that it is impossible to save all people, so the government must retire behind a safe zone along with some of the populace who can help with reconstruction efforts. Other people must be left outside the safe zone since their resources would not be able to provide for so many. He says that these people can be used as bait to lure the zombies away from the safe zones. However, the father of the nation stands up for Redeker’s ideas and sees it as a solution to the crisis. He even gives Redeker a warm hug. Redeker has always prided himself on being a completely rational person who derides emotions, but that hug seems to call up his repressed emotions and triggers a breakdown. After this, he goes by the name of Xolelwa Azania and does not realize that he is Redeker. His story seems to be proof that all human beings have emotions, whether they acknowledge them or not. Either because Redeker suddenly recognizes his own or because he knows that his plan will cause the death of many, he cannot bear to be himself and takes on a new identity.