Receptor

  I open my eyes again and see Molly standing over by the desk.

  I get up and slowly make my way back into the living room.

  “They left this behind,” she says, and points at the manuscript, which is still there, exactly as we left it. “And that’s because they don’t know what it is.”

  I take a step forward, my eyes on the neat stack of pages.

  “They’re idiots,” she says.

  “I’m an idiot.”

  “No.” She pauses. “Well, not in their league.” She leans over and rests her hand lightly on the title page. “This is a time bomb, Ray. Almost literally.”

  I look at her.

  “Think about it,” she says. “If someone wrote The Paradox of Emergence today, they’d probably be accused of plagiarizing the works of established thinkers, of neuroscientists and anthropologists, or at the very least they’d be accused of spending too much time reading Wired or watching TED Talks on YouTube. Right?”

  “Probably.”

  “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.”

  ALSO BY ALAN GLYNN

  Paradime

  Graveland

  Bloodland

  Winterland

  Limitless (previously published as The Dark Fields)

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Alan Glynn is a graduate of Trinity College. His first novel, Limitless (originally published as The Dark Fields), was released as a film in March 2011 by Relativity Media and as a TV series in 2015 by CBS. He is also the author of Winterland; Bloodland, a finalist for the Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original; Graveland; and his most recent novel, Paradime, which is currently under option with ITV Studios America and One-Two Punch Productions. He lives in Ireland. You can sign up for email updates here.

  Thank you for buying this

  Picador ebook.

  To receive special offers, bonus content,

  and info on new releases and other great reads,

  sign up for our newsletters.

  Or visit us online at

  us.macmillan.com/newslettersignup

  For email updates on the author, click here.

  CONTENTS

  Title Page

  Copyright Notice

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Also by Alan Glynn

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Most of the characters and events portrayed in it are products of the author’s imagination. Where there are references to real people, to actual events, and to certain well-known institutions, the author has taken the liberty of invention. Scenes and dialogue involving these people, events, and institutions have been wholly fictionalized and are included in the narrative to provide historical context for the reader, as well as to convey an impression of authenticity.

  RECEPTOR. Copyright © 2018 by Alan Glynn. All rights reserved. For information, address Picador, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

  picadorusa.com • picadorbookroom.tumblr.com

  twitter.com/picadorusa • facebook.com/picadorusa

  Picador® is a U.S. registered trademark and is used by Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC, under license from Pan Books Limited.

  For book club information, please visit facebook.com/picadorbookclub or email marketing@picadorusa.com.

  Cover design by LeeAnn Falciani

  Cover photograph by Nikada/Getty Images

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

  Names: Glynn, Alan, 1960– author.

  Title: Receptor / Alan Glynn.

  Description: First U.S. edition. | New York: Picador, 2019.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018036692 | ISBN 9781250061805 (trade paperback) | ISBN 9781250061812 (ebook)

  Subjects: | GSAFD: Suspense fiction.

  Classification: LCC PR6107.L93 R43 2019 | DDC 823´.92—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018036692

  eISBN 9781250061812

  Our ebooks may be purchased in bulk for promotional, educational, or business use. Please contact the Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department at 1-800-221-7945, extension 5442, or by email at MacmillanSpecialMarkets@macmillan.com.

  First Edition: January 2019