The President is Missing

Throughout the novel, the characters, particularly Duncan, often lack access to full and accurate information. These circumstances result in misunderstandings and false accusations, revealing how obfuscation, deceit, and a lack of unity render any organization—in this case, the American government—vulnerable to being exploited.

Duncan’s position in the novel acts as the prime example of the effects of limited information on decision-making. He is rendered particularly vulnerable because he knows that someone in his inner circle has betrayed him, but he lacks information about the source of the leak. He also lacks context about whether to trust Augie’s information and doesn’t know how the virus works or how to stop it. Duncan already faces a daunting situation due to the presence of the virus, but he would be better able to confront the threat if he had an accurate and transparent context. For example, Duncan is unsure whether to trust Russian authorities: He invites them to contribute to the efforts to stop the virus, but he is skeptical and on edge the entire time.

While Duncan confronts the consequences of lacking information, he also periodically obscures information from others. He even risks impeachment because he refuses to provide more than a nominal context about why he was meeting with Suliman Cindoruk. His decision to secretly leave the White House throws many of his staff into confusion and leads to speculation about his motivations and whether he is secretly working against the interests of the US. Duncan himself concedes, “I left even the vice president in the dark” (504). Perhaps most significantly, Duncan withholds key information during the final desperate push to stop the virus: He doesn’t volunteer the information that he already knows the password and that the virus has already been neutralized. To flush out the traitor, Duncan allows his key advisors (including Carolyn Brock) to believe that the fate of the US remains at risk, purposefully restricting the information he reveals to force a revelation.

However, unlike those who are keeping information from Duncan to push their own agendas, Duncan’s decision to occasionally mislead and withhold information results from his not knowing who to trust. The toxic context of betrayal and personal ambition forces Duncan to conceal his own motives and decisions. He laments, “[T]oday it’s us versus them in America. Politics is little more than a blood sport” (504). Because no one truly trusts anyone else and everyone acts in their own best interest, no one can be truly transparent. Because he is portrayed as such an effective leader, Duncan is ultimately able to make the right choices about what information to disclose and what to conceal. However, the novel’s ultimate message is that the confusion resulting from a lack of genuine solidarity heightens vulnerability for everyone.