Acts_of_the_Apostles

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A novel of nanomachines,

neurobiology, and technoparanoia

After another grueling week in the Silicon Valley fast lane, burnt-out software engi-

neer Nick Aubrey boards a “red-eye”  ight to Boston and winds up seated next to a

very disturbed man who claims to know the secret of Gulf War Disease. Over Utah,

Nick’s chance companion meets his dramatic demise—and the police accuse Nick of

murder. As the world closes in around him Nick discovers that his only hope lies in a

pharmaceutical laboratory in Basel, Switzerland, where scientists are frantically work-

ing to unleash submicroscopic machines that will make the Gulf War look like child’s

play. Only Nick can stop them—and in stopping them, maybe save himself.

“ACTS OF THE APOSTLES is a nanotech science- ction thriller packed with every-

thing you would expect a hard core geek to like… but it’s also a book infused with

a sensibility that you don’t normally expect a ‘hard science  ction’ novel to have:

real emotions, real heartbreak, and a real sense of the craziness at the heart of the

human condition.”

Andrew Leonard, Salon.com

“It’s great to read a book that scares that crap out of you… I’d classify this book

in the same category as cyberpunk classics NEUROMANCER by William Gibson,

SNOW CRASH by Neal Stephenson, and 1984 by George Orwell.”

J.P. Hackworth, NewsTrolls.com

“[T]he plot, while it holds everything together and keeps one turning the pages, is

actually the least interesting part of ACTS. What sets it apart is the sophistication

with which it deals with ideas and and technology and the depth and interest of its

characters.”

Danny Yee, www.dannyreviews.com

“A technothriller that has everything you’re looking for. Once you pick this book up,

you won’t stop ‘til you’ve read it all.”

Sam Evans, Geek.com, 9 1/2 out of 10 stars.

John F. X. Sundman has been a truck driver, chair of the Software

Development Architecture Team of Sun Microsystems, and construc-

tion laborer on an Internet billionaire’s island trophy house. Since

1970 he has donated over  ve gallons of blood. There is no truth

to the rumor that he is a retired New York City Police Department

detective. Acts of the Apostles is his  rst novel.

See www.wetmachine.com

John F. X. Sundman

The undergound sensation about

a Silicon Valley Messiah

“What Tom Clancy would write if

he were smart”

Jeff “Hemos” Bates, Slashdot.org

John F. X.

Sundman

ROSALITA ASSOCIATES Rosalita

Associates

7819299 752270

ISBN 1-929752-27-X

51500>

$15.00

Praise for John F.X. Sundman’s A   A

Winner of the Writer’s Digest National Self Published

Book Award

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES is the fin de siecle techno-thriller novel.

It is an incredible read. In it a nightmare of nanotechnology and

genetic manipulation of uncomfortable believability unfolds before

us, the equal if not better of any work by any seasoned big name

writer in this genre. As a first novel, its craftsmanship is quite beyond

accounting. Author John F. X. Sundman has written a magnificent

work of literature, and has simultaneously made a bold ethical state-

ment about the inexorable but blind quest of science, the technologi-

cal hubris that feeds off of it, and freedom of the individual mind that

is threatened by it.

— John Jurek, Midwest Book Review

This book is four kinds of good. First, it is a good fictional illustra-

tion of the nanotechnology fears that Bill Joy was writing about in his

famous Wired article, “Why the future doesn’t need us”. . Second,

and more importantly, it is a good international conspiracy suspense

action thriller (not easy to do); Third, it is somewhat of a roman a clef,

which provides extra entertainment as you compare its fictional world

with the real world. And fourth, it is a very intelligent satire as well,

reminiscent of the Terry Southern of Dr. Strangelove.

—The Luddite Reader

A classy IT thriller… a page turner… Sundman does not rely solely

on his fast paced action and brilliant thrills to engage the reader. He

wins the reader of A   A with finely developed char-

acters.

— Candace Cael Carmen, Blackcat Books

Sundman . . . creates a “well, everything is possible” feeling and made

me believe these crazy things while the story was flowing and the pages

were turning. Which are just about all you can ask when the ideas

are this far out. Or are they? Well most of them are, but Sundman

manages to inject some interesting thoughts about the way that we

live and the things we cling to as basic truths. . . The characters are

believable and their normality makes a nice contrast to the weirdness

of the story. I’ll be looking forward to something else from Sundman

and so should you.

—TC, SFBook.com

Consistently interesting … frighteningly believable. The book will

have you looking at the world around you in a new light. A thumbs

up.

— Fantastica Daily, Mervius.com

A satisfying suspense thriller that is disturbingly thought-provoking.

Like [Douglas] Coupland’s work, it is deeply saturated in the geek

world view, and full of enjoyable cultural and pop-cultural allusions.

Unlike Coupland’s work, it is plot-driven.

— Jeff Zeldman Presents Daily Report

It’s nice to know that there are people out there that are more paranoid

than yourself. It’s great to read a book that scares the crap out of you.

Self-dubbed ‘Techno-Paranoid’ author John Sundman’s novel, ACTS

OF THE APOSTLES, did just that. Acts of the Apostles is a technol-

ogy thriller filled with little nuggets of technology intermingled with

a fast paced plot. From beginning to end, I pored over every detail

that was placed in this book. And when I was done, I re-read it to

see if I had missed anything the first time around. … I’d classify this

book in the same category as cyberpunk classics NEUROMANCER

by William Gibson, SNOW CRASH by Neal Stephenson, and 1984

by George Orwell.

— J.P. Hackworth, NewsTrolls.com

[Sundman’s] skills can be compared to early Tom Clancy. In H

 R O, Clancy surprised us all by making military lingo

seem like plain English. Sundman has equivalent skills when writing

about the computer and biological sciences.

— Mostlyfiction.com

The book is exciting, well paced, and at most times up-close and

“personal” and it’s more than readable even if you’re slightly techno-

phobic.

—Sffworld.com

The book is purportedly about Gulf War Syndrome and its causes,

but that’s only the starting point… I’ve described it to friends as

“What Tom Clancy would write if he were smart.” The plot devices,

the characters and topics are all very familiar to the geek audience,

and it’s quite refreshing to read a book that understands the mindset

its audience will have… Summary: Good book. It’s easy to pick up

after being away from for a while, but good enough that you’ll want

to read it straight through.

—Hemos, Slashdot.org

John Sundman has written a really exciting and fun to read techno-

thriller that has everything you’re looking for. This book is totally

cool on an amazing number of levels… Once you pick this book up,

you won’t stop ‘til you’ve read it all—the pages seems as short as a .15

micron process. Too many technothrillers use the ‘tech’ parts as filler;

A   A uses ‘tech’ as an integral piece of the book’s and

the characters’ development.

—Sam Evans, Geek.com

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES is a compelling vision of a present where

the fundamental building blocks of life are suddenly as easily modi-

fied at the icon on your desktop. . . Sundman obviously “gets it,”

and more importantly, he gets it right. The result is an intelligent,

credible story of action and intrigue reminiscent of Mamet’s Spanish

Prisoner.

—Pete St. Onge, BioInformatics.org

The science fiction writer who can create real, believable characters

and weave a plot that keeps you turning pages late into the night is a

good find. […]. But a science fiction writer who can do both those

things, and base them on real, believable technical knowledge, well,

those are rare as hen’s teeth. Neal Stephenson is one, Bruce Sterling

is another. And folks, add John Sundman to that list. . . Acts of the

Apostles may well be the ultimate hacker book.

—Rusty, Kuro5hin.org

I got hooked and found myself sneaking away from [work] to finish

it. [Sundman] manages to weave a lot of technology into the book at a

breathless pace. . . I am a Sixties-style paranoid and a conspiracy buff,

and I have to say that this book would easily win the World Series of

Paranoia. Read it and you’ll never think about genomes or nanoma-

chines without a bit of a spinal chill.

— Frank Willison, Editor-in-Chief, O’Reilly & Associates

• A Gulfwarvets.com recommended title

• A Fatbrain.com recommended title

• A Geek.com pick

• A Tbook.com Top Four selection

apostle (

pos

l): noun

any of the twelve followers of Jesus Christ whom he

chose to teach other people about Christianity, or

someone who strongly supports a particular belief

or political movement.

the Apostle Paul

an apostle of world peace/liberty

(from Cambridge International Dictionary of English)

Acts of the Apostles

Mind Over Matter Volume Blue

John F. X. Sundman

Rosalita Associates

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial

License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd-nc/

1.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 559 Nathan Abbott Way, Stanford, California

94305, USA.

This is a work of fiction. All resemblances to real people and actual events are coincidental.

Rosalita Associates

Post Office Box 2641

Greenwood Avenue, Tisbury MA 02568

www.wetmachine.com

Book design by John Hallett and John Sundman

Cover design by Gary Gray

“The Four Evangelists,” from the Book of Kells.

Music and lyrics to “The Air” and “El Monte Legion Stadium” are from the album “Uncle

Meat” by (Frank Zappa and) The Mothers of Invention.

Music and lyrics to “Pound” and “Andy Fell” are from the album “In a Roman Mood” by

Human Sexual Response.

Music and lyrics to “Uh-oh” are from the album “Uh-oh” by Rosenshontz.

The description of Wilder Penfield’s work is paraphrased from Göedel, Escher, Bach, by

Douglas Hofstadter.

Nick and Casey’s hack is based upon the article “Diary of a Hacker Break-in” in Client-

Server magazine.

The phrase “cigarette paper upon which the bumblebees have urinated” is taken from the

marvelous poem “Taking a walk with you” by Kenneth Koch.

The character Monty Meekman speaks one sentence that was cribbed verbatim from A

Bend in the River, by V.S. Naipaul.

Citations from the work of Abraham Maslow, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Vannevar Bush

are as appear in the text.

ISBN 1-929752-27-X

Printed and bound in the United States of America.

54321 (first printing of second edition)

for Betty Burton, of Boeke Road, Evansville

My N-dimensional isoelectric focusing

Polyacrylamide bride

And for her mother Jo,

Who I hope forgives me the naughty bits

And in memory of her father Gene

Whom I loved

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摘要：

Anovelofnanomachines,neurobiology,andtechnoparanoiaAfteranothergruelingweekintheSiliconValleyfastlane,burnt-outsoftwareengi-neerNickAubreyboardsa“red-eye”flighttoBostonandwindsupseatednexttoaverydisturbedmanwhoclaimstoknowthesecretofGulfWarDisease.OverUtah,Nick’schancecompanionmeetshisdramaticdemise...

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