Content Warning: This section references existential dread, disaster and its aftermath, and emotional and psychological distress.

Mitchell Zukor is the protagonist of the novel. Mitchell is described as having an “Ozark accent” and “flat russet hair that lay on his head like straw” (4). His demeanor is “brooding” and “eccentric” with a “depressive humor.” Though the first chapter frames him as prophet-like, it soon becomes clear that this is media sensationalism. In reality, he is a very anxious man and very different than his peers in The Business of Fear. Mitchell is not driven by the acquisition of wealth or power but by his own fear of the unknown: He creates The Illusion of Control by using his intelligence and logic to compute the probability of various disasters.

Initially, Mitchell uses his extensive understanding of statistics and mathematics to work at Fitzsimmons Sherman, a large company in New York City, but he grows disillusioned when he learns of his own insignificance to the business. He takes a job at FutureWorld, where he is valued for his ability to anticipate and research disasters, but slowly comes to realize that FutureWorld is also a heartless corporation.