Stan Willis is one of the man’s coworkers and is the only named character in the story. One day, Stan confides in the man about his strange, apocalyptic dream. When the man reveals that he had the same exact dream the night before, Stan relaxes and seems unsurprised. His reaction is one of the many illustrations in the story of how accepting one’s reality, rather than living in denial or anxious speculation, leads to a sense of peace—but also complacency.