The Passage (Cronin novel)

The Passage

Author	Justin Cronin
Illustrator	David Lindroth
Genre	Dystopia, science fiction, vampire fiction
Publication date	June 8, 2010
Publication place	USA
Media type	Hardcover
Pages	766
ISBN	978-0345504968

The Passage is a novel by Justin Cronin, published in 2010 by Doubleday Canada.

Story

The first novel in a proposed trilogy, "The Passage" begins in the near future and details a post-apocalyptic world that is overrun by vampire-like beings that are infected by a highly contagious virus. What begins as a project to develop a new immunity-boosting drug based on a virus carried by an unnamed species of bat in South America eventually becomes the virus that transforms the world. The novel begins in 2018 and spans one hundred years as colonies of humans attempt to live in a world filled with superhuman creatures who are continually on the hunt for fresh blood. It debuted at #3 on the New York Times hardcover fiction best seller list.

Plot

The novel is broken into 11 parts of varying lengths, with continuous chapters running throughout. The story itself can be broken into two sections: The first is about the origins of the virus and its outbreak, while the second is set 100 years after the infections, primarily following a colony of survivors living in California. Several narrative devices are used, including email, journal entries, newspaper reports, and other documents.

Part I. The Worst Dream in the World:

The book begins with an introduction and brief history of a central character, Amy Harper Bellafonte. Born in 2012 to a teenage Jeanette, Amy's early years are beset with change. Her father, who was a married traveling salesman at the time of her conception, briefly returns when she is 4, but is eventually kicked out by Jeanette after several instances of physical abuse. Jeanette and Amy flee Iowa a short time later after several misfortunes, and end up in Memphis, Tennessee, where, out of desperation, Jeanette turns to prostitution to support them. This all comes to an end when a john tries to force Jeanette into his fraternity house for certain gang rape, and she shoots and kills him to get away. Knowing her daughter is no longer safe with her, Jeanette drops Amy off at a convent in good faith and disappears. Amy is then sheltered by the nuns; one nun in particular, named Sister Lacy Antoinette Kudoto, taking a special interest in as well as forming a mysterious and instantaneous attachment to her.

Elsewhere, the U.S. government is conducting a top secret experiment referred to as "Project Noah," which involves acquiring and transporting death row inmates to a secret military compound in Colorado for the purposes of modifying them into super-soldiers for the U.S. Army. These genetic experiments originate from bats in the deep jungles of Bolivia, which when they attack humans, can cause hemorrhagic fever in some, a super-human cure in others.

To recruit test subjects, FBI agents Brad Wolgast and Phil Doyle meet with pre-selected death row inmates and convince them to sign a lifelong contract in exchange for their death sentences. They successfully recruit several inmates including Anthony Carter, and a man named Babcock who murdered his mother. Usually proficient and eager in their occupation, however, they find themselves in a moral conflict when they are ordered to apprehend 6-year-old Amy Harper Bellafonte.

At the time of the order, Amy is accepted into the convent by all but the head sister, Arnette. Lacey lies that Amy was the daughter of a friend in order to delay the inevitable: turning Amy over to the state. Amy has spent a great deal of time on her own, thus leaving her a rather quiet, observant child. As Wolgast and Doyle drive from Houston to Memphis, Lacey takes Amy to the nearby Memphis Zoo for the day. But tragedy strikes when the pair enter the polar bear exhibit and the bears seem unusually interested in Amy. All four of the bears come up to the glass and Amy kneels before them, her hand on the glass, crying. She tearfully admits to Lacey that they know "what I am." Suddenly, all the animals in the zoo go berserk, and the zoo's visitors start scrambling for the exit, as does Lacey and Amy. Another visitor who was standing next to Amy at the polar bear exhibit, points the pair out to zoo guards, but Lacey just manages to escape a guard before exiting the zoo.

Just as this happens, Wolgast and Doyle arrive and take Amy away, even though Lacey panics, fighting to keep Amy with her. The two take off in their vehicles as the animals stampede through the parking lots and into the town.

Meanwhile, at the military facility in Colorado, a janitorial employee named Grey has long been assigned to Subject Zero. The prisoners enlisted by Wolgast were given a experimental form of the virus and were evolving into hairless, bat-like creatures—"virals"—with incredible strength and the ability to leap and move so fast they can barely be seen at times. Over time, Grey begins hallucinating, as Zero begins talking to him in his mind, becoming his "friend."

Meanwhile, Wolgast, Amy, and Doyle are picked up by the military, and are transported back to the compound in Colorado. They are separated upon their arrival, with Wolgast and Doyle locked away and Amy taken down to be dosed with the virus. After a few weeks, Richards comes to Wolgast—Amy is in a coma, and they're hoping Wolgast can be with her to help improve her condition. During this visit, Wolgast finally details his life before, the daughter he lost, and the dissolution of his marriage as a result.

Lacey suddenly arrives at the compound, having traveled miles, mostly on foot, to get to the base. Lacey manages to bypass the guards and gets inside the compound. As this happens, Grey is manipulated by Zero into opening his pen, where Zero takes a bite out of Grey's throat, and then leaves to let the other virals loose. The subjects begin to battle with the military. As all this is happening, Amy wakes up from her coma, and she and Wolgast meet back up with Doyle and Lacey. While attempting to get to a car to escape from the compound, the four end up separated; Wolgast gets Amy into the car and starts to speed out of the compound before nearly killing Lacey. She climbs into the car and Wolgast starts to drive again when Carter jumps on the car. Doyle starts running towards them, waving his arms to get Carter's attention, and ends up sacrificing himself in order to aid their escape. Before they leave the compound, however, Lacey tells Wolgast to stop the car, and she gets out. Wolgast turns as she is attacked and drives out of the compound.

Part II. The Year of Zero

Agent Wolgast takes Amy to a remote summer camp in Oregon while the rest of the nation is ravaged by the virus. The United States is torn apart by the virals and those they've infected. In 18 days, the military begins evacuating cities, while other countries rattle their sabers at each other, seeing America cannot protect their allies. In months, the virals have permeated both Canada and Mexico, and the whole world deals with the threat of extermination by the virals.

For a while, Wolgast and Amy live happily with each other, seemingly free of the virals in the mountains. Then, nearly a year after their arrival on the mountain, a nuclear bomb drops, and soon Wolgast is suffering severe radiation sickness. He had previously told Amy, pointing to the ridge of mountains to the south of them, to run if anything should happen to him, run to the mountains. She does, and Wolgast eventually succumbs to the radiation sickness.

Part III. The Last City

A journal entry by Ida Jaxon ("The Book of Auntie") in which she details the evacuation of children from Philadelphia to First Colony, a defensive community created and run by FEMA in California.

Part IV. All Eyes

Ninety-two years after the outbreak the setting moves to First Colony. Beginning with a map and the Document of One Law that governs the settlement the daily routine of life is laid out. There is no contact with the outside world. Virus infected vampires, or virals, continue to attack, held off by lights that have been running off of wind turbines for 92 years and members of the Watch that guard the walls of the colony.

Part V: The Girl From Nowhere

Amy—only in her early teens due to the virus's effects of Very Slow Aging—arrives mysteriously at the gate. Having been given the virus she has many of the life healing properties but does not hunger as the others do and can travel in light. Her arrival coincides with the breakdown of the batteries that keep the lights going and the increased intensity of the dreams one of the original infected inmates, Babcock, places into the minds of the weaker members of the colony. The breakdown of the routine that has kept them safe their entire life begins to fray nerves and violence begins to surface. Realizing that the batteries are decaying, Michael, the technical expert, constructs an illegal radio and discovers an automated transmission that, after being decoded, instructs anyone who finds Amy to return her to the lab in Colorado.

Part VI: The Night of Blades and Stars

Over three days the colony suffers turmoil as Babcock instructs weaker minds to kill other colony members. Sensing the breakdown of order and hoping to link with someone who can help the colony, Peter, Michael, Amy, Alicia, Caleb, Hollis, Sara, and Mausami leave for Colorado and the source of the transmission.

Part VII: The Darklands

Venturing north and west they find an U.S. Army depot well stocked in weapons and supplies. Salvaging two Humvees they drive to Las Vegas, where they are attacked by virals. Sara is taken.

Part VIII: The Haven

Having been rescued from Las Vegas the band is brought to a former prison, now a colony known as the Haven. Lacking walls and weapons, and noticing that most of its members are pregnant women, the First Colony people feel unease but have no choice as Michael heals in their infirmary. Sara is found by a patrol. Finally they discover that the Haven has cut a deal with Babcock to provide four animal and two human sacrifices every new moon in exchange for safety. Meanwhile, Babcock is instructing the rest of the Virals to bring humans to the Haven alive. A few members of the Haven attempt to get away by a reconstructed train, which Michael gets to run. Theo, Peter's lost brother, is one of the sacrifices; they save him while the attempt serves as a diversion for the escape. The First Colony members escape, while losing Caleb.

Part IX: The Last Expeditionary

In the mountains of Utah and Colorado they encounter few Virals. Finding a farmstead, Theo and a very pregnant Mausami remain behind in preparation for the baby. The rest continue, captured by soldiers of the Second Expeditionary Forces from the Army of the Republic of Texas. Texas had broken from the United States in the chaos surrounding the outbreak. It is revealed that the man Alicia was raised by at First Colony, a mysterious man known only as the Colonel, was from Texas and had secretly raised her to be a member, including having her take an oath. She joins the Texans, while most of the First Colony leaves with the forces to return to Texas. While watching the original movie "Dracula" the post is attacked, but the soldiers repel it. Peter and Amy head towards the beacon in Colorado.

Part X: The Angel of the Mountain

Finding the transmitter Peter and Amy encounter Lacey, the nun who had taken Amy in the beginning. When the virus broke out, Dr. Lear had saved her life by giving her his perfected version of the virus. Lacey and Lear had lived alone together in the mountains, until Lear succumbed to old age. Lacey gives Peter files on the original inmates and 12 vials of the virus. Babcock and a number of virals attack, but Lacey triggers a bomb that destroys the original military facility and destroys Babcock. The original infected gone, the others he had infected die. Alicia is wounded, and Peter, who loves her, gives her a vial of the virus, thus saving her life. At the farmstead, Mausami has her baby, which she names Caleb. Shortly after, she and Theo are attacked.

Part XI: The New Thing

Peter, Amy, Alicia, and Michael return to First Colony. They stop by Theo and Mausami's farmstead, finding them and their child alive and unable to explain their escape. When they reach First Colony they find it abandoned, with evidence that they were not killed by virals, but by each other. Greer theorizes that like a bee colony, when a head viral is killed, those he infected will die: kill the leaders and win the war. Peter theorizes that the leaders return home, as Babcock did to Vegas, and with Lear's files he now knows where they would go. Meanwhile, Theo, Mausami, Caleb, a pregnant Sara and now husband Hollis leave to rejoin the Second Expeditionary with the files.

Postscript: Roswell Road

Written as a journal entry by Sara, she details the trip south from Colorado to Roswell, New Mexico, which serves as a staging area for the military's return to Texas. The end of document reveals it was recovered at Roswell, site of the "Roswell Massacre."

Characters

Main Character

Amy Harper Bellafonte – Abandoned by her mother at age 6, she is given the final version of the virus. When she comes to First Colony she still looks like a teenager and has amazing healing properties. Amy only talks through her mind for a period, telepathically. She can also communicate with animals and the virals. It is also known that the Twelve and Zero know of her, and seem to be searching for her. Babcock even seems to be somewhat afraid of her. It is possible she has a love for Peter, as she kisses him on the cheek at one point. Amy also only chooses to speak with him when she arrives at First Colony.

Before Virus Characters

Brad Wolgast – FBI agent whose job is to procure people, mostly death row inmates, to be used as experimental subjects by the Government and/or Military agents experimenting with the virus (possibly United States Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID), the Homeland Security Agency, or the National Security Agency (NSA)). Eventually rescues Amy and flees to an abandoned summer camp in Oregon, where they wait out the end of the world. When a nuclear bomb explodes within range of Wolgast and Amy, Wolgast is believed to have died from the fallout. He is, however, shown to be a viral at the end of the book.

Doyle – Wolgast's partner, who objects to Wolgast's attempts to escape with Amy initially, but eventually joins Wolgast in attempting to turn themselves in to civilian police. Doyle also helps Wolgast and Amy escape the Colorado compound. Doyle is killed in the escape.

Lacey – Sister Lacey Antoinette Kudoto, a Sierra Leone-born nun who ends up in a convent in Memphis, Tennessee. Cares for Amy during her brief stay at the convent, and then makes a pilgrimage to the Colorado compound. Waits at the Colorado compound until Amy and Peter arrive 92 years later.

Grey – A sweeper who works in the Colorado compound, he is urged by Subject Zero to open the viral's cells to set them loose. Grey is a convicted pedophile, made docile with regular Depo-Provera hormone injections as part of his probation condition, and whom Zero convinces telepathically to get close enough to Zero. Zero bites Grey on the shoulder, and he is seen by Wolgast and Amy when they escape the facility stumbling through the hallways, blood pouring out of the wound. It is assumed (although not explained) that he has become a viral due to bite.

First Colony Characters

Peter Jaxon – Theo's younger brother, who leaves with the other First Colony members for Colorado. After living in his brother's shadow his entire life, he realizes that his mother viewed him as the stronger of the two. Amy initially communicates with him telepathically until she remembers how to speak. Over the course of the book his personality darkens, his mounting responsibilities weighing heavy on his mind. He has a love for Alicia Donadio, who trusts him implicitly. In the end, he tries to infect himself with the virus in an attempt to more effectively fight off the other main virals but is stopped by Amy.

Theo Jaxon – Peter's older brother, the one whom Michael initially confides in about the colony's failing power source. Trying to live up to his father's image, he comes to realize he does not want to be a hero but instead settle down. For a time he is unaware that Mausami is carrying his child. When he, Alicia, Peter, and Caleb flee from chasing Virals, he is taken in the mall but later found alive at the Haven compound. He escapes with the First Colony apostles and stays at a house with Mausami to raise their child.

Alicia Donadio – Nicknamed "Lish," Alicia is a tough and sometimes reckless woman who was raised by the Colonel after the events of Dark Night made her an orphan. She has an incredible aptitude for combat with a history of taking out 3 virals at once. When Amy arrives at the colony, Alicia jumps over the wall to retrieve her and bring her to safety amidst a group of bloodthirsty virals; she is later persecuted for this seeming act of bravery, as her actions result in the death of a revered member of the colony. After this, she travels with the Apostles. Alicia is in love with Peter; his feelings are mutual. When she is fatally wounded in the battle with Babcock's Many, Peter infects her with the virus, which makes her abnormally strong and fast, although she is unable to communicate with the virals as Amy can.

Michael Fisher – Sara's brother, a talented technician nicknamed "Circuit" and later, "Lugnut," who often finds himself butting heads with Alicia. He decodes a radio signal sending a continuous message to bring Amy back to Colorado if anyone finds her, spurring an expedition there; Peter accompanies him. Over the course of their journey, Michael becomes noticeably braver and ends up aiding Peter in a deadly mission to kill the other virals.

Sara Fisher – Michael's sister, and a nurse. She is in love with Peter, but it is an unrequited love. She tends to Amy when she is first brought to the colony and later joins the Apostles. When they are in Las Vegas, she is taken by the virals. She eventually marries Hollis and bears his child. She goes to the Colorado compound with the rest of the Apostles, but ends up heading to Roswell. Her fate is unknown, but her journal is found at the site of the Roswell Massacre.

Hollis Wilson – Twin brother of Arlo, he rode with Theo and Peter's father on long expeditions years before and has experience beyond First Colony. When Arlo was turned, Hollis was forced to kill him in order to protect the Sanctuary. After this, he goes with the Apostles. He eventually marries Sara.

Mausami Patal – The daughter of household Sanjay Patal and Gloria Patal. She loves Theo and carries his child but marries Galen Strauss in an attempt to make him jealous. After Theo's death, she decides to leave First Colony and ends up traveling with the Apostles.

Sanjay Patal – The head of the household in First Colony, he is one of the weaker-minded inhabitants and is the first to foreshadow Babcock's plans. As a child, Sanjay had thoughts of Babcock as well as a recurring dream. During the events of The Night of Blades and Stars, he kills Old Chou under Babcock's influence. He hates the Jaxon family and is relieved when his daughter chooses not to marry Theo. He is presumed killed or infected when the lights of First Colony were turned off.

Caleb Jones – First found being chased by virals, Caleb travels back to First Colony, and is the one who opens the gate for Amy and Alicia. He is often called "Hightop" due to his shoes. He and Alicia have a special bond, as both of them were orphaned by the events of Dark Night. He is a talented mechanic who travels with the apostles until he meets an untimely end at the hands of Jude in Caliente, NV.

Galen Strauss – A member of the First Colony watch, Galen experiences progressive loss of vision--he suffers from severe glaucoma, which renders him almost entirely blind. He marries Mausami, believing the child she carries is his. He is eventually revealed to have been turned into a viral and kills Theo and Mausami's dog before being killed himself.

The Twelve

Zero – Though he is not counted among the Twelve, Zero is responsible for the original outbreak, manipulating Grey into releasing him and the other captive virals. Formerly known as Fanning, he was one of the scientists on the original expedition to research the virus in Bolivia and the first to turn into a "viral." While influencing Grey, he shares his personal memories with him, many of which are sexual escapades with women. Following the outbreak, his presence is felt but never seen.

Babcock – The main viral of the novel, Babcock was a death row inmate convicted of murdering his own abusive mother before becoming infected. He is described as being much larger than the other virals and possesses the unique ability to influence weak-willed people, an ability foreshadowed in Part I of the novel. While on death row, it was widely whispered that he was dangerously insane and could never stop talking; as a viral he retains this unnerving quirk, never ceasing to make clicking and gurgling noises. Babcock manipulates the weaker-minded First Colony members to kill each other over a three-night span dubbed "The Night of Blades and Stars." Some of those members had been experiencing Babcock's influence since they were children but did not know it. He controls a large group of virals known as The Many as well as controlling some of the citizens of the Haven, and takes human and cattle sacrifices from them every New Moon.

Carter – Taken by Wolgast at the beginning of the novel, Carter is the only death row inmate convicted of drowning his employer, but who is innocent of his crime. While human, he performed yardwork for a young suburban mother who one day became mentally unstable; while verbally and physically attacking him with no premeditation, they both fell into her pool, the woman drowning as a result. Unbeknownst to the jury who decided his case, the woman was suicidal and used Carter to help her take her own life. After his transfer from a maximum security prison to the military compound, Carter becomes infected by the virus and kills one of the scientists as well as Richards. He tries killing Kudoto as well but Lear finds her and gives her some of the perfected virus. Following Part I, he becomes one of the Twelve and his whereabouts remain unknown. Carter is set apart from other virals in that he feels remorse for the lives he takes and does not want to harm others, though the virus makes it impossible for him to fight the ultimate urge to kill.

The remaining 10 virals that comprise The Twelve are Morrison, Chávez, Baffes, Turrell, Winston, Sosa, Echols, Lambright, Martínez, and Reinhardt.

The Haven Characters

Jude – A familiar under the control of Babcock; he is presumed to be the one who interrogated Theo. He is the real leader of Babcock's followers. He has exceptional resilience, and survived having half of his face taken off. He manages to escape in the train, and when they stop at Caliente, Nevada, he surprises the group by popping out of a compartment under the engine. He ends up shooting Caleb before he is killed by Peter and Hollis.

Olson Hand – A resident of the Haven, he is not under the control of Babcock. He recruits the Apostles for his rebellion against Babcock, which goes awry. When his daughter, Mira, dies during the escape from the Haven, he is left unconsolable, and by the next morning, he has wandered off, seemingly in the direction of the Haven.

Mira – Olson's daughter; at one point, she tries to seduce Michael. While trying to get from the first car to the engine of the train, she is taken by a viral.

Army of the Republic of Texas Characters

Greer – Major in the Army of the Republic of Texas. Obtains command of the Second Battalion of the Second Expeditionary Forces after the death of General Vorhees. Gives up command to follow Alicia, Michael, Sara, and Hollis when they leave the Second Battalion to reinforce Peter and Amy against the Many. Subsequently becomes part of the First Colony Apostles by continuing to travel with them after the battle on the mountain.

Film adaption

Fox 2000 and Ridley Scott's Scott Free Productions purchased the movie rights to this novel for $1.75 million USD in 2007, long before the book was completed.

External links

• "Apocalypse Wow", National post article with details on movie rights for "The Passage"
• "Literary Novelist Turns to Vampires and Finds Pot of Gold", New York Times, Julie Bosman, June 1, 2010
• "A Journal of the Plague Century: Civilization Goes Viral. Stuff Ensues.", New York Times, Janet Maslin, June 6, 2010
• The Passage at Open Library