The Uninvited

More documents

Recommendations

Info

me. This is, of course, a figure of speech. Iwill remain alive. But I will not knowhappiness.As for myself, I try to eliminate all but theuseful memories of what life was likebefore. By which I mean those that canprovide clues as to what has happened,and help me map out a future worthy of thename.Routines help. So does planning.I order supplies by phone. Seeds andtubers to plant, an array of animal traps, agun for shooting rabbit and deer, somesacks of seed, a good stock of tins. A manwho doesn’t ask questions drops a box atthe gate when I need him to. Byspringtime, I’ll have no further need of hisservices. There are three feral groups on
the island, he told me. All native kids.‘And we protect our own.’ It was meantas a warning – he’d seen the gun – but itcame as a relief. From the local adults atleast, Freddy will be safe.There’s no internet any more, and little inthe way of media coverage since themilitary took over on the mainland.Inevitably, things are far worse there. Thisis confirmed occasionally when there’s aphone signal, and Ashok rings. His tone isangry and unsettled. He’s frustrated thatthere’s no role for the man who couldonce shine the hot light of a business ideathrough any prism. The fact that capitalismhas become ‘a dirty word’ enrages him.He’ll find his place, I am sure of it. But itmay not lie where he hopes. He’s doing ‘a
Page 3 and 4:
For Clare Blatchford ReesAn inspira
Page 5 and 6:
CONTENTSPrologueChapter 1Chapter 2C
Page 7 and 8:
PROLOGUEMass hysterical outbreaks r
Page 9 and 10:
she’d put it to her father’s fa
Page 11 and 12:
pewter glint of the Atlantic. I’d
Page 13 and 14:
Taiwan working flat out on the sabo
Page 15 and 16:
The TV showed a semi-detached house
Page 17 and 18:
existence. Ever since the High Ener
Page 19 and 20:
stepson aiming his catapult at anot
Page 21 and 22:
attracted you to Hesketh when you f
Page 23 and 24:
the package called Hesketh Lock and
Page 25 and 26:
some of the ‘normal social graces
Page 27 and 28:
of the country, or even abroad, to
Page 29 and 30:
evidence of dark forces: demons, sh
Page 31 and 32:
selling tofu, lychees, starfruit, s
Page 33 and 34:
cross-culture specialist, who has a
Page 35 and 36:
aid triggered further investigation
Page 37 and 38:
several hours, kept awake by coffee
Page 39 and 40:
The next morning I was at the timbe
Page 41 and 42:
though my Chinese was unfortunately
Page 43 and 44:
computer. It all added up, and he a
Page 45 and 46:
Martin Yeh sighed. ‘If I had been
Page 47 and 48:
police asked me the same thing. And
Page 49 and 50:
The loading of the trunks and the s
Page 51 and 52:
His face mask hid his features. I
Page 53 and 54:
drying up from the wood dust.‘The
Page 55 and 56:
He shook his head. ‘It’s bad. L
Page 57 and 58:
the concrete prairie. I like to be
Page 59 and 60:
and paint-colour charts (here I use
Page 61 and 62:
do what they want.’ As he spoke,
Page 63 and 64:
He took a deep breath. ‘The spiri
Page 65 and 66:
they are all dead. But they are ali
Page 67 and 68:
Chen seemed absorbed in his ownthou
Page 69 and 70:
the city. Up here, we were right on
Page 71 and 72:
shaking the black-stemmed bamboos a
Page 73 and 74:
with gold. Hell notes. Each leaf of
Page 75 and 76:
leg. I would have bent it to form a
Page 77 and 78:
The laugh came again. ‘Sure, I wi
Page 79 and 80:
settled it on the marble slab betwe
Page 81 and 82:
‘I made it,’ he said. ‘That
Page 83 and 84:
‘Do you fear that there will be a
Page 85 and 86:
sandalwood. I recognised it instant
Page 87 and 88:
it from me. I need to know why.’
Page 89 and 90:
should not ask.’‘Later she regr
Page 91 and 92:
too.’ I meant it.‘We will say g
Page 93 and 94:
As the taxi drove off, I looked bac
Page 95 and 96:
oof had lost a few tiles, and a dea
Page 97 and 98:
starting these miniature contained
Page 99 and 100:
the surface in tiny bubbles likecha
Page 101 and 102:
‘I know your mum has already talk
Page 103 and 104:
to do. So I cleaned it up. A few mi
Page 105 and 106:
toothpaste.Sometimes we pretended w
Page 107 and 108:
Taiwan whistle-blower?’Sunny Chen
Page 109 and 110:
said? Sunny Chen. Your factory-mana
Page 111 and 112:
don’t feel anything.But I do feel
Page 113 and 114:
feelings: they are a component of t
Page 115 and 116:
‘Ashok. Just tell me.’‘Er, Je
Page 117 and 118:
She is generally considered to beex
Page 119 and 120:
here and there, white blobs in a mu
Page 121 and 122:
publicity generated by a disgruntle
Page 123 and 124:
The French term un acte manquédesc
Page 125 and 126:
CHAPTER 3Sometime at the end of the
Page 127 and 128:
Taiwan report. Chen’s suicide mea
Page 129 and 130:
visible behind his left ear. I don
Page 131 and 132:
the matter in hand, so I say, ‘I
Page 133 and 134:
applied it. Last Christmas he sent
Page 135 and 136:
doodling a bunch of amoeba fucking,
Page 137 and 138:
over.’I was doing a tricky blintz
Page 139 and 140:
stuck through their combs where the
Page 141 and 142:
Station in Copenhagen, where I chan
Page 143 and 144:
The morning after my arrival in Sto
Page 145 and 146:
confused.’‘Is there no explanat
Page 147 and 148:
not Japanese and nor is Lars Axel,
Page 149 and 150:
If I am on to something, my blood f
Page 151 and 152:
invent, and get messy. He is a fan
Page 153 and 154:
choose it a name.’ He is very kee
Page 155 and 156:
woodlouses.’ His voice has change
Page 157 and 158:
field of study and secondly because
Page 159 and 160:
dog. But she would like one. I ask
Page 161 and 162:
established a definitive momentum m
Page 163 and 164:
‘No, but I’d like to,’ I tell
Page 165 and 166:
interrupted sex with the demographe
Page 167 and 168:
her smile, and led to her questioni
Page 169 and 170:
applying for. She told me she wante
Page 171 and 172:
By now I have studied Sverige Banke
Page 173 and 174:
CHAPTER 4When Ashok skypes me in th
Page 175 and 176:
‘Swiss-German. Attending a UNconf
Page 177 and 178:
a state of enlightenment. Was thiss
Page 179 and 180:
Svensson is probably in her mid-fif
Page 181 and 182:
violent. Never. He’s become anoth
Page 183 and 184:
happened at the bank.’‘So sit d
Page 185 and 186:
‘The fucking . . . creature. It
Page 187 and 188:
doctor buzzes an alarm. ‘You fuck
Page 189 and 190:
follow. Outside, others are chasing
Page 191 and 192:
on his mobile phone. Within seconds
Page 193 and 194:
Svensson and what followed. When I
Page 195 and 196:
combination with other things, have
Page 197 and 198:
get it over with.’ They look at e
Page 199 and 200:
else the image freezes. So I say,
Page 201 and 202:
Then I text Ashok asking for thedim
Page 203 and 204:
Men attacking institutions that the
Page 205 and 206:
fingers across the bicep, and a thu
Page 207 and 208:
gum in his mouth. Numerous studies
Page 209 and 210:
neurophysiology of self-deception.
Page 211 and 212:
fears which dominated the lives of
Page 213 and 214:
they had done.The Venn diagram in m
Page 215 and 216:
significance, on some level. ‘Som
Page 217 and 218:
would be catastrophic for farming -
Page 219 and 220:
‘Well, enjoy the rest of your lif
Page 221 and 222:
‘And what kind of fucked-up weird
Page 223 and 224:
He’ll shout, ‘Jesus Christ, Hes
Page 225 and 226:
she once claimed to find endearing.
Page 227 and 228:
the car and we put the dead body in
Page 229 and 230:
grow and then we eat the plants,’
Page 231 and 232:
is Afghan, so I try out a few words
Page 233 and 234:
day here, so at 8am local time I co
Page 235 and 236:
only travel in one direction. But n
Page 237 and 238:
shown that there are dimensions tha
Page 239 and 240:
At 10.30 I am heading upwards in a
Page 241 and 242:
the rest are erecting and dismantli
Page 243 and 244:
ig muscled arm to show me ‘the wo
Page 245 and 246:
lady, Halla. Very traditional. Can
Page 247 and 248:
they feature as recent additions to
Page 249 and 250:
overloaded now. I rock harder and h
Page 251 and 252:
child he stops licking his arm, he
Page 253 and 254:
Later, when I am being interrogated
Page 255 and 256:
him. I didn’t push him.’ I say
Page 257 and 258:
matter as you’ll be dead. But som
Page 259 and 260:
e shouting.I don’t usually shout.
Page 261 and 262:
construction elevator. Its slow sha
Page 263 and 264:
against my faith. And it’s not in
Page 265 and 266:
and he crumbled something into it.
Page 267 and 268:
with three daughters. One said she
Page 269 and 270:
de Vries then Mazoor could solve th
Page 271 and 272:
it seemed. And I heard her too. She
Page 273 and 274:
observes them, then looks up at me.
Page 275 and 276:
To the mother-root, when they haveb
Page 277 and 278:
epresentations are highly accurate.
Page 279 and 280:
speculations it has led to.‘I bel
Page 281 and 282:
honeybee. Serviced by a million dro
Page 283 and 284:
one. Quite rare, though it’s on t
Page 285 and 286:
This day has not been a good one so
Page 287 and 288:
comes to escort me back to my hotel
Page 289 and 290:
CHAPTER 6There is an explanation fo
Page 291 and 292:
At the time though, there was nocon
Page 293 and 294:
version. Lot and his wife and daugh
Page 295 and 296:
many tribes of Africa. He’d have
Page 297 and 298:
Is she beautiful? Most of my maleco
Page 299 and 300:
‘Whatever it is, now is not the t
Page 301 and 302:
speculation, I have to tell you. As
Page 303 and 304:
glass as I speak.‘With Chen it’
Page 305 and 306:
uprising. And there are other thing
Page 307 and 308:
together?’I grab a napkin and dra
Page 309 and 310:
Care Units for them. Drafted an arm
Page 311 and 312:
A classic distancing technique. You
Page 313 and 314:
‘A small figure,’ I say. ‘Chi
Page 315 and 316:
esults I’m waiting on. It may mea
Page 317 and 318:
entirely new way.’ In addition to
Page 319 and 320:
Victor?’ That familiar cracked an
Page 321 and 322:
Professor Whybray and Naomi Benjami
Page 323 and 324:
‘Superstition was part of Hesketh
Page 325 and 326:
Whybray.‘The girl,’ I say. ‘I
Page 327 and 328:
goodbye and Stephanie presses End C
Page 329 and 330:
their sudden, intense camaraderie a
Page 331 and 332:
I’m overloaded. I stand and pick
Page 333 and 334:
intense pummelling of my muscles.I
Page 335 and 336:
that happen. Kaitlin’s wrong to s
Page 337 and 338:
strain to hear it. ‘Don’t think
Page 339 and 340:
seems slightly drunk. Did she have
Page 341 and 342:
No. I am not OK.I clear my throat.
Page 343 and 344:
it. The hand-print’s too small to
Page 345 and 346:
hold of this and copied it?’ asks
Page 347 and 348:
CHAPTER 8Kaitlin’s house, built i
Page 349 and 350:
carry him through the narrow entran
Page 351 and 352:
when I moved in has disappeared fro
Page 353 and 354:
secretly a pirate ship, he insists.
Page 355 and 356:
‘I say, ond som jooz. Ploz.’A m
Page 357 and 358:
half-chewed crisps, and drops the l
Page 359 and 360:
tissue, but he wriggles out of her
Page 361 and 362:
‘What do you mean, Freddy?’ ask
Page 363 and 364:
Three ways to die. ‘Except there
Page 365 and 366:
He shrugs. ‘You saw the girl with
Page 367 and 368:
Freddy K?’He wipes his nose on hi
Page 369 and 370:
ago. But she is still beautiful and
Page 371 and 372:
another?’‘No,’ says Kaitlin.
Page 373 and 374:
Freddy and Hesketh both want to see
Page 375 and 376:
ottle of Australian Shiraz from the
Page 377 and 378:
huge. It’ll expand and peak. In w
Page 379 and 380:
has flown up around her neck, distu
Page 381 and 382:
I go to the window I see only one p
Page 383 and 384:
make you spaghetti. Out in the kitc
Page 385 and 386:
Stephanie says, ‘My sister says i
Page 387 and 388:
him into another mood. He pulls awa
Page 389 and 390:
desert. Is that what he wants? Is h
Page 391 and 392:
Care Unit. In the meantime there’
Page 393 and 394:
on all children under twelve in the
Page 395 and 396:
At five, Stephanie calls from the h
Page 397 and 398:
plasticine and cracked clay and a f
Page 399 and 400:
‘Yep?’‘It was an accident. No
Page 401 and 402:
Freddy is a collector, and tins are
Page 403 and 404:
world? Somewhere out there, Freddy
Page 405 and 406:
come in and hold the fort? Ashok’
Page 407 and 408:
youngest two killed him.’So Amit
Page 409 and 410:
pouring and stirring are soothing -
Page 411 and 412:
air can be bad for you!’‘No. Ai
Page 413 and 414:
engaged. The net connection hasdisa
Page 415 and 416:
lind!’ he calls after me as I lea
Page 417 and 418:
Professor Whybray - but the line’
Page 419 and 420:
nuts. I don’t know where he got h
Page 421 and 422:
‘Hesketh.’ That reedy, throaty
Page 423 and 424:
swayed by the culture.’‘You onc
Page 425 and 426:
‘Secondary hysteria?’ Is that w
Page 427 and 428:
‘Well the human extinction lobby
Page 429 and 430:
anomalies. ‘Any eye infections am
Page 431 and 432:
living in the cottage on the island
Page 433 and 434:
‘What do you mean, bones?’I rec
Page 435 and 436:
options to choose from on the BBC
Page 437 and 438:
anomalies, this information is unli
Page 439 and 440:
calls again. She sounds exhausted,
Page 441 and 442:
Freddy down,’ I say. ‘You need
Page 443 and 444:
changes often occur in patients who
Page 445 and 446:
information it contains.I’d antic
Page 447 and 448:
of denial, anger, bargaining, depre
Page 449 and 450:
did. In a manner of speaking.’ I
Page 451 and 452:
crap they wanted. There’s no way
Page 453 and 454:
intrigued me.If Freddy and I were g
Page 455 and 456:
the vast orange ziggurat of Sainsbu
Page 457 and 458:
taller, but not much older. Ten per
Page 459 and 460:
signal again. The sign of the eye.
Page 461 and 462:
camera angled at us from the corner
Page 463 and 464:
left with a glass door, through whi
Page 465 and 466:
you can join the others. OK?’‘Y
Page 467 and 468:
telling if it’s peaked. And there
Page 469 and 470:
where he waves at the three supervi
Page 471 and 472:
‘Glossolalia?’‘Except that I
Page 473 and 474:
eaching in his pocket. ‘Phone cal
Page 475 and 476:
I ask, ‘Do you have children?’S
Page 477 and 478:
ecame intimate, we would have to ha
Page 479 and 480:
emarkable,’ says Professor Whybra
Page 481 and 482:
I pull up a seat and glance through
Page 483 and 484:
eyes.’I jump up. ‘That fits!’
Page 485 and 486:
world with no adults, no toilets, n
Page 487 and 488:
answer. ‘He’s still Freddy. His
Page 489 and 490:
from life itself. If I am ‘waterp
Page 491 and 492:
CHAPTER 11The practical side of loo
Page 493 and 494:
on his head. ‘Freddy K. Mum’s i
Page 495 and 496:
next to the basin. ‘We were talki
Page 497 and 498:
eyes and it is as if the clock has
Page 499 and 500:
means?’I watch him in the rear-vi
Page 501 and 502:
for a place to settle. Her hair is
Page 503 and 504:
Stephanie together, the images I co
Page 505 and 506:
Stephanie. ‘Thank you, Hesketh.
Page 507 and 508:
she calls after me: ‘I heard toda
Page 509 and 510:
CHAPTER 12‘It was a disgrace,’
Page 511 and 512:
‘believed to be the work of anarc
Page 513 and 514:
a distaste for it. Contempt, even.
Page 515 and 516:
call it the White Death.’ The pro
Page 517 and 518:
e born and then you made us live li
Page 519 and 520:
hand on my shoulder. ‘Good work,
Page 521 and 522:
the unexpected. And then adapt. It
Page 523 and 524:
few, Hesketh. Hold on to that.’We
Page 525 and 526:
‘Hey!’ calls a male voice. I gl
Page 527 and 528:
lessing.’As we approach, a couple
Page 529 and 530:
two worlds can occupy the same spac
Page 531 and 532:
Vries jumped. I say urgently, ‘Pr
Page 533 and 534:
gently tries to prise her off. But
Page 535 and 536:
donning face masks. I call out a br
Page 537 and 538:
‘The reason for that is that supe
Page 539 and 540:
I slide some origami paper from the
Page 541 and 542:
global economy, bang goes capitalis
Page 543 and 544:
its knees. You heard about the arre
Page 545 and 546:
heading back to the Stone Age. At l
Page 547 and 548:
Ashok waves him into a seat and ask
Page 549 and 550:
what Svensson’s autopsy showed. I
Page 551 and 552:
They’re children for ever, like P
Page 553 and 554:
‘Hesketh,’ she says evenly, ‘
Page 555 and 556:
I give the short version.‘So I an
Page 557 and 558:
out what impact this has on our oth
Page 559 and 560:
‘Stop,’ I say. ‘This is now.
Page 561 and 562:
and started writing very fast. So I
Page 563 and 564:
Professor Whybray drops his noteboo
Page 565 and 566:
CHAPTER 14Kaitlin Kalifakidis is de
Page 567 and 568:
Kawasaki rose in an envelope marked
Page 569 and 570:
forced into a wide detour: a burst
Page 571 and 572:
since she organised this event, she
Page 573 and 574:
While the others head for the group
Page 575 and 576:
Mazoor. Mrs Helena Whybray’s. She
Page 577 and 578:
My belief is that when you die, tha
Page 579 and 580:
Freddy starts clicking his tongue.G
Page 581 and 582:
‘No,’ he whispers. Then he stan
Page 583 and 584: nodding at the door. ‘Go now.’A
Page 585 and 586: has no power in it. My groin is thu
Page 587 and 588: ‘Where are you?’ I keep my voic
Page 589 and 590: wearing a necklace like the one Fre
Page 591 and 592: with no sign of human life. I can i
Page 593 and 594: shouts, violent elbowing, shoving a
Page 595 and 596: comprising ten or so kids. Then the
Page 597 and 598: Then the world shrinks to a pinpric
Page 599 and 600: which forms a little tent. I don’
Page 601 and 602: the pillows behind my head.My mouth
Page 603 and 604: unexplained anomaly of the kidneys.
Page 605 and 606: CHAPTER 15The next morning I wake i
Page 607 and 608: pointing upward. ‘That’s lasagn
Page 609 and 610: another soldier on guard. I show hi
Page 611 and 612: een cordoned off. Some soldiers are
Page 613 and 614: notebook and then find Naomi.‘How
Page 615 and 616: hand-prints in human blood.Freddy i
Page 617 and 618: The door has a small reinforcedwind
Page 619 and 620: ‘Because there’s one in here.
Page 621 and 622: She puts a hand on my shoulder.‘Y
Page 623 and 624: Freddy in the car again. They haves
Page 625 and 626: of human history has begun.
Page 627 and 628: after a storm. We’d walk beyond t
Page 629 and 630: Svensson. Here’s where I’ll exp
Page 631 and 632: attention - or seemed to, until I s
Page 633: pressed him further. Why I kept dig
Page 637 and 638: to me daily, sometimes hourly. And
Page 639 and 640: There is a lot more in this vein. M
Page 641 and 642: We are a species in crisis: a speci
Page 643 and 644: the one I made for Sunny Chen. Irem
Page 645 and 646: what happens next, Freddy?’ He do
Page 647 and 648: eality.Once upon a time the Earth w
Page 649 and 650: ‘Stop. It means we want you to st
Page 651 and 652: think. They’ve come back to stop
Page 653 and 654: swivelling in my chair and watching
Page 655 and 656: new course is set. You know that,He
Page 657 and 658: metaphysics of being. I am not a gr
Page 659 and 660: you open them out, their intended s
Page 661 and 662: encouragement.My thanks also go to
Page 663 and 664: for the Orange Prize for Fiction an
Page 665 and 666: Also Available by Liz JensenThe Rap
Page 667 and 668: The Ninth Life of LouisDraxNine-yea
Page 669 and 670: My Dirty Little Book ofStolen TimeI
Page 671 and 672: War Crimes for theHomeLonglisted fo
Page 673 and 674: Click for more information
Page 675 and 676: a world of compulsive consumption,
Page 677 and 678: Since the year all British women be
Page 679 and 680: sister for backup, Hazel Sugden, fo
Page 681: SydneyA CIP catalogue record for th
show all

The Uninvited

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?