The Uninvited

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Human history is a juggernaut. If it’s tochange direction, it must first come to a stop. Ifour visitors believe the destruction of the worldwe have built is a prerequisite of humankind’scontinued existence on the planet, no wondertheir occupation is so brutal. It needs to be.His handwriting is neat and precise: thehandwriting of one uncorrupted bykeyboard use.People think ghosts are from the past, SunnyChen said in his testimony to Hesketh. Quote:‘We think they are all dead. But they are alive.And some of them are not even born yet. Theyare travellers . . . They go wherever they like.’So where is it transmitting from, thisoccupying force? And what is its mission?Hesketh asks what mythology the afflictedones are replicating. But that begs thequestion: why should we imagine they arereplicating what has gone before? And whymust we assume it is ‘mythology’ at all?
There is a lot more in this vein. Muchof it is highly speculative and emotional.The idea of a ‘hypothetical world’ heposited that day in Ashok’s office is takenmuch further. Like me, the professor wasinterested in the neutrino experiments –what scientist wouldn’t be – but theconclusions he drew made me wonderwhether he was ill when he wrote them. Idon’t like to consider the possibility thatmy mentor became unstable. Especiallynow that he is dead and I have no way ofascertaining precisely what he meant.The idea that the children have indeedtravelled – not forward in space, butbackwards across time – is as heroic as it isunthinkable. But how else to explain theircreeping occupation of our world?
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 and 634: pressed him further. Why I kept dig
Page 635 and 636: the island, he told me. All native
Page 637: to me daily, sometimes hourly. And
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

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?