by Alan Glynn
‘But it was written in 1953.’ She throws her hands up. ‘That’s sixty years ago, and it effectively predicts everything that came after it – the internet, big data, nanotechnology, stem-cell therapy.’ She counts them off. ‘Facebook, VR, bitcoin, even blockchain. It’s incredible. But not only that, it was written under the influence of a named psychoactive substance. It’s stated explicitly.’ She clicks her fingers. ‘I think it’s on—’
‘Page fifteen, second paragraph. My initial dose was 75 mcg of MDT-48 …’
‘Exactly. So if we publish this, if we get it out there, and get people to read it, Eiben won’t be able to sit on MDT for much longer.’ She pauses. ‘Besides, they don’t own MDT. I mean, what did Proctor tell us? Doesn’t it originally come from a fungus that grows on the bark of some tree?’
‘Yeah, the bawari tree. In the Amazon jungle.’
‘Right. He also said it was time for another leak. But you know what, Ray? I think it’s time to break open the whole dam.’
She’s right. But I look ahead and all I can see are obstacles.
The document is not real.
It’s a hoax.
It’s fake.
Molly takes her phone out and starts scrolling.
‘What are you doing?’
‘None of this will be easy,’ she says, still focused on the screen, still scrolling. ‘So first I’m going to find someone who can analyze these pages – the paper stock, and then the ink from the typewriter ribbon. Obviously, we need to prove that the manuscript is as old as we think it is. Then we can establish copyright and ownership.’
I keep staring at her. My heart is quaking again. ‘And second?’
She looks up and holds my gaze. ‘Well, the dating and legal stuff is probably going to take a while … so in the meantime I thought I’d find us a cheap flight to Brazil.’
About the Author
Alan Glynn is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin, where he studied English Literature. His debut novel, The Dark Fields, was released in 2011 as the hit movie Limitless, which went to #1 on both sides of the Atlantic and became a CBS network show. His other novels include Bloodland, Irish Crime Fiction Book of the Year in 2011 and also nominated for an Edgar, Graveland and Paradime, described in the Guardian as a ‘wheels-within-wheels conspiracy novel both insidious and ingenious’. He is married with two children and lives in Dublin.
Also by the Author
THE DARK FIELDS/LIMITLESS
PARADIME
WINTERLAND
BLOODLAND
GRAVELAND
Copyright
First published in the UK in 2018
by Faber & Faber Ltd
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA
This ebook edition first published in 2018
All rights reserved
© Alan Glynn, 2018
Cover design by Faber
Cover photograph © Silvia Otte / Getty
The right of Alan Glynn to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
ISBN 978–0–571–31627–4