Rick said, “So if you only did the clinics, what other ‘manifestations’ could be out there?”
A shrug. “Who knows? I wasn’t the only researcher handed a supply of melis. It went to other places.”
Laura felt her stomach turn. “Really? Like where?”
“I don’t know. I asked Greve many times but he never gave me a straight answer. He used to love to tell me how far it was above my clearance. But he’d drop hints, you know, like you can be sure some melis has been doled out to places like Plum Island and the animal research center in Nebraska. Things like that.”
Bad enough about animals, but … “What about people?”
“I don’t doubt it.”
“That’s awful!”
Maureen seemed to take offense. “I’m sure the researchers don’t think so. I thought I might be increasing kids’ intelligence. I’m not justifying the means, but the end was noble. Back in the day I overheard talk at the bunker about using melis to make stem-cell therapies more effective. Who knows where that could lead?”
Rick had a sour expression. “Knowing where it came from, I’m saying it can’t lead anywhere good.”
Maureen sighed. “After the other night, I tend to agree with you. But Mister Stahlman wants to see if I can come up with a marker to identify people who’ve been exposed to melis.”
“And then what?” Rick said.
“And then see what’s different about them.”
“Without a finder like Marie,” Laura said, “that sounds like a tall order—like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack.”
“Maybe not. According to Greve, DoD has spread a lot of melis around.”
Rick didn’t look too happy about that. “Really? How much we talking about?”
Maureen gave another shrug. “He said stem-cell applications look very promising. But even big pharma companies like Merck and Schelling and Pfizer have been given supplies to experiment with for new drug development. Never told the origin, of course. DoD has a whole vat of it. Plenty to go around.”
Laura stared at Rick. “Oh, my.”
2
SHIRLEY
Did it get any better than this?
Rick slouched on the couch next to Marissa and pretended to be engrossed in the Mets game against the Braves, their rival for a playoff spot, while Laura puttered around in the kitchen. They’d feasted on filet mignon—marinated by Laura, grilled by Rick—and Champagne.
Hanging out with the two best people in the world. He’d never dreamed he’d know this kind of bliss, and he was still pretty sure he didn’t deserve it.
And then the Braves’ left fielder hit a single that drove in the man on second, giving them the lead.
Marissa shook both fists at the screen. “I hate the Braves!”
“Don’t hate, honey,” Laura said from the kitchen.
In a low voice, Rick said, “Say you have great antipathy for the Braves.”
“What’s ‘antifathy’?”
“Antipathy. Means strong dislike.” Or something like that. “Tell your mother.”
“Hey, Mom. I have great antipathy for the Braves.”
“That’s nice. Wait—what?”
Marissa chortled. Did nine-year-olds chortle? This was the only little girl he knew so—
And then Marissa grabbed his hand—well, mostly his thumb—and squeezed.
“I’m glad you’re back, Rick. You make me smile inside.”
He didn’t respond. Couldn’t. His throat had locked.
It came to him then that if the two best people in the world thought he was okay, how bad could he be?
When Marissa wasn’t looking he ran the cuff of his shirt across his damp eyes.
Damn allergies.
THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE WORLD
The preponderance of my work deals with a history of the world that remains undiscovered, unexplored, and unknown to most of humanity. Some of this secret history has been revealed in the Adversary Cycle, some in the Repairman Jack novels, and bits and pieces in other, seemingly unconnected works. Taken together, even these millions of words barely scratch the surface of what has been going on behind the scenes, hidden from the workaday world. I’ve listed them below in chronological order. (NB: “Year Zero” is the end of civilization as we know it; “Year Zero Minus One” is the year preceding it, etc.)
THE PAST
“Demonsong” (prehistory)
“The Compendium of Srem” (1498)
“Aryans and Absinthe”** (1923–1924)
Black Wind (1926–1945)
The Keep (1941)
Reborn (February–March 1968)
“Dat Tay Vao”*** (March 1968)
Jack: Secret Histories (1983)
Jack: Secret Circles (1983)
Jack: Secret Vengeance (1983)
“Faces”* (1988)
Cold City (1990)
Dark City (1991)
Fear City (1993)
YEAR ZERO MINUS THREE
Sibs (February)
The Tomb (summer)
“The Barrens”* (ends in September)
“A Day in the Life”* (October)
“The Long Way Home”+
Legacies (December)
YEAR ZERO MINUS TWO
“Interlude at Duane’s”** (April)
Conspiracies (April) (includes “Home Repairs”+)
All the Rage (May) (includes “The Last Rakosh”+)
Hosts (June)
The Haunted Air (August)
Gateways (September)
Crisscross (November)
Infernal (December)
YEAR ZERO MINUS ONE
Harbingers (January)
“Infernal Night”++ (with Heather Graham)
Bloodline (April)
The Fifth Harmonic (April)
Panacea (April)
The God Gene (May)
By the Sword (May)
Ground Zero (July)
The Touch (ends in August)
The Peabody-Ozymandias Traveling Circus & Oddity Emporium (ends in September)
The Void Protocol (September)
“Tenants”*
YEAR ZERO
“Pelts”*
Reprisal (ends in February)
Fatal Error (February) (includes “The Wringer”+)
The Dark at the End (March)
Nightworld (May)
* available in The Barrens and Others
** available in Aftershock and Others
*** available in the 2009 reissue of The Touch
+ available in Quick Fixes—Tales of Repairman Jack
++ available in FaceOff
BY F. PAUL WILSON
* * *
The ICE Trilogy* Panacea / The God Gene / The Void Protocol
Repairman Jack* The Tomb / Legacies / Conspiracies / All the Rage / Hosts / The Haunted Air / Gateways / Crisscross / Infernal / Harbingers / Bloodline / By the Sword / Ground Zero / Fatal Error / The Dark at the End / Nightworld / Quick Fixes—Tales of Repairman Jack
The Teen Trilogy* Jack: Secret Histories / Jack: Secret Circles / Jack: Secret Vengeance
The Early Years Trilogy* Cold City / Dark City / Fear City
The Adversary Cycle* The Keep / The Tomb / The Touch / Reborn / Reprisal / Nightworld
Omnibus Editions The Complete LaNague / Calling Dr. Death (3 medical thrillers) / Ephemerata
The LaNague Federation Healer / Wheels Within Wheels / An Enemy of the State / Dydeetown World / The Tery
Other Novels Black Wind* / Sibs* / The Select / Virgin / Implant / Deep as the Marrow / Mirage (with Matthew J. Costello) / Nightkill (with Steven Spruill) / Masque (with Matthew J. Costello) / Sims / The Fifth Harmonic* / Midnight Mass / The Proteus Cure (with Tracy L. Carbone) / A Necessary End (with Sarah Pinborough)
The Nocturnia Chronicles (with Thomas F. Monteleone) Definitely Not Kansas / Family Secrets / The Silent Ones
Short Fiction Soft & Others / The Barrens and Others / Aftershock and Others / The Ch
ristmas Thingy / The Peabody-Ozymandias Traveling Circus & Oddity Emporium* / Quick Fixes—Tales of Repairman Jack* / Sex Slaves of the Dragon Tong
Editor Editor Freak Show / Diagnosis: Terminal / The Hogben Chronicles (with Pierce Watters)
*See “The Secret History of the World” (here).
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
F. PAUL WILSON is the New York Times bestselling author of the Repairman Jack novels and a winner of the Bram Stocker Award for Lifetime Achievement. He continues to practice as a physician and lives in Wall, New Jersey.
Visit him online at repairmanjack.com, or sign up for email updates here.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Acknowledgments
Then
Now
Then
Now
Then
Now
Then
Now
Saturday
Tuesday
The Secret History of the World
Also By F. Paul Wilson
About the Author
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
THE VOID PROTOCOL
Copyright © 2018 by F. Paul Wilson
All rights reserved.
Cover design by Michael Graziolo
Cover images © 2018 Shutterstock.com
A Forge Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
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Forge® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Wilson, F. Paul (Francis Paul), author.
Title: The void protocol / F. Paul Wilson.
Description: First edition. | New York, NY : Tom Doherty Associates, 2019. | “A Tom Doherty Associates Book.” | “A Forge Book.”
Identifiers: LCCN 2018044748 | ISBN 9781250177346 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781250177322 (ebook)
Subjects: | GSAFD: Suspense fiction.
Classification: LCC PS3573.I45695 W55 2019 | DDC 813/.54—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.goc/2018044748
eISBN 9781250177322
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First Edition: January 2019
The Void Protocol Page 36