The main character is Eugene Debs Hartke, a Vietnam War veteran and carillonneur who realizes that he has killed exactly as many people as the number of women he has had sex with.

The character's name is an homage to American labor and political leader Eugene V. Debs and anti-war senator Vance Hartke, both from Vonnegut's home state, Indiana.

[2] Upon his discharge from the military, Hartke becomes a professor at Tarkington College in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York, but is later fired for sexual misconduct.

[3] Upon completion of the riddle on the final page, Eugene's number of sexual partners and confirmed kills is found to be 82.

[6]: 169  Robert M. Philmus [Wikidata] concludes that the author of the fictional story, not named in the text, is intended to be recurring Vonnegut character Kilgore Trout.