Spoiler alert – this review gives away plot points!
Sundmannʼs bio-infomatic thriller, first published in 1999, features realistic characters with plausible motives as it explores the intersection of sex, greed, and nanotechnology. The good guys – including Nick Aubry, our self-doubting hero – have discovered the machinations of an evil genius named Montaigne Meekman, who developed AIDS to motivate scientists to study the immune system. Once it has been figured out, Meekmanʼs minions, aka The Apostles, invent a “machine that would be able to change any one DNA sequence into any other DNA sequence. With this capability the age of the new alchemy would truly begin.”
Turns out itʼs not the deep state we should worry about, but the deep corporations who hire brainiacs to engineer “designer diseases.” Meekman’s Machiavellian goal, he boasts, is to remove the human sense of autonomy, which after all is illusory anyway. With free will gone, it will be possible to harness the brains of experts to work together in lockstep.
Anyone who figures out whatʼs really going on is summarily offed by the “Apostles,” his acolytes. The first victim is murdered in the opening 20 pages – or so it seems; later it turns out he survives, albeit in a vegetative state. The real twist comes when we learn still later that the decision to render him merely comatose was all part of the master plan.
The Apostles hunt down subsequent victims across continents, from Palo Alto to Zurich. This allows our sharp-eared author to give examples of comical English as spoken by foreigners. Thus one of the novel’s Swiss characters, when conversing with an American scientist he wishes to impress, comes out with gems like: “How is it that I can be helping you?” and “In what capacity he may work I am not remembering” – sentences that would never cross the lips of a native speaker.
The final chapters turn to a quartet of heroic misfits led by Nick Aubry, whose charisma is such that he can even convert a suspicious cop into a loyal friend. Together, this gang of four pools their own minds to decode messages hidden in Frank Zappa’s “Uncle Meat” album. The good guys thwart the baddies, so Meekman ultimately does not inherit the earth.
At least not this time. The happy end looks to be at best temporary, as a truth spoken early on is borne out, namely, that no individual heroics can stop “the Walmartification of once-beautiful downtowns …; the strengthening of multinational conglomerates relative to poor people, human rights workers and small countries; the end of privacy, the eclipse of democracy, and realistic mayhem in video games.”
Later we read a scientistʼs rueful self-indictment: “This scientific curiosity that we celebrate, this ‘noble quest to understand our universe,’ … It’s a lie. It’s just a fancy name for lust. And for pride. There is no limit to the depravity that mankind will commit in the name of ‘progress.’ And why? Because we feel like it. That’s it. No other reason. Because we feel like it. It amuses us.”
Care to bet on whether this lust can be reined in by thoughtful appeals for moderation or the issuance of reasonable regulations we can all agree on?
In any case, make space on your bookshelf for Act of the Apostles – next to 1984.
PS For a limited time, John is making Acts of the Apostles available for free download to anyone who signs up for his newsletter, Sundman figures it out! Subscribe and enjoy his essays, which typically appear three or four times per month. Here’s a link to sign up and get your free book: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/rm9rwnrh8v
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