David and Mary
For much of the story—meaning most of the protagonist’s long life—his only human interaction is with two projections of his mind: David and Mary. They are basically like technologically advanced 3-D holograms; not real in any genuine sense except for the most important which is keeping Enoch sane. They become symbols of what existence really is: memories. David is a Union soldier and Mary is a composite of at least two women Enoch actually knew and they are both as real to him as actual human beings.
Alien Life
An assortment of strange alien life forms from across the vastness of space interact to varying degrees with Enoch. Most are not directly aggressive or portrayed as potential threats to humanity. In this respect, they collectively become symbols of what humanity has the potential to become.
The American Civil War
The protagonist of the story is a veteran of the American Civil War—a Union soldier. The necessity to place the origin of the story in the past is stimulated by the fact that Enoch does not age while he remains in the way station. That said, he could just as well as fought in the Revolutionary War or been a Confederate soldier. That he specifically is a former Union soldier is significant, symbolically. Civil wars are famous, of course, for the trope of “pitting brother against brother” and the underlying optimistic message of the story is that the ongoing civil war between all humanity—outside of the realm of nationalism—will one day conclude positively, just like the War to End Slavery.
The Talisman
The Talisman is surely a symbol representing something. The problem is that what something actually might be is not entirely clear. The Talisman is some sort of construction that allows its guardian to interact with a spiritual force that might simplistically be described as God. It is a symbol of the dream of brotherhood that crosses religious differences; a thing that in the right hands is capable of cosmic unification.
Claude Lewis
Claude Lewis an American agent—basically he is CIA though that isn’t expressly stated—who becomes obsessed with discovering all of Enoch’s strange secrets. He is the symbolic personification of the type of small-picture suspicion and paranoia that too often leads to devastating impact on the larger picture.
