Specimen Days is Michael Cunningham’s first novel. The book is divided into three parts, In the machine, The Children’s Crusade, and Like Beauty. Each part tells a different story.
In the Machine
This is the story of a young disabled boy named Lucas. Lucas suffers from frequent spasms. He lives with his parents and his brother Simon. The older brother does most of the work and provides for his family. Unfortunately, Simon dies from an accident at the factory he works in and dies instantly. Young Lucas takes over his brother’s role both at home and at work to help support himself and his parents. Before his demise, Simon was engaged to Catherine Fitzhugh. Catherine was fond of Lucas and the two maintain their friendship.
A few weeks after Simon’s death, his old mother claims she can hear his voice coming from a music box she owns. A few days after, Lucas also hears his brother’s voice in the factory. He is convinced that his brother’s soul is trapped in the world of machines. Lucas is however worried that his brother’s spirit intends to kill Catherine so the two could be reunited. Lucas tries to warn Catherine, but she does not listen, forcing him to take extreme measures to protect her. Lucas intentionally breaks his arm at the factory and insists that Catherine accompanies him to the hospital. Catherine spends the day with Lucas in the hospital.
The next day, the garment factory where Catherine works burns down killing dozens of employees. Catherine’s life is however spared since she went with Lucas to the hospital.
The Children’s Crusade
This story is set In New York, a few years after a major terrorist attack in the city. Cat Martin is a profiler working for the FBI’s counterterrorism division. Whenever someone makes a call threatening to commit a terrorist attack, the call is directly transferred to Cat who extracts all the information she can from the caller.
On one occasion, she received a call from a boy threatening to kill himself with a bomb in public. The next day, the boy detonates a bomb killing himself and one civilian. The police are not able to identify the connection between the boy and the civilian. Another boy calls in and claims he is the younger brother of the first bomber. He also wants to commit suicide, the same as his brother. This boy, however, makes a strange remark before going offline, he quotes a threatening line of Walt Whitman’s poetry.
In the evening, Cat heads over to her house only to find her apartment door written the exact words used by the boy quoting Whitman’s poetry. Cat goes to her boyfriend’s house where she spends the night. The next day, a woman marches into the police station claiming she is Walt Whitman and is responsible for the bombings. When Cat goes over to her house, she meets a boy at her doorstep who is carrying a bomb. She convinces the boy not to activate the explosive. She takes the bomb but does not share this information with the police.
Cat takes the boy out of the city with the intention of protecting him. After a few days in hiding, the boy reveals he is carrying another explosive and intends to kill both of them once Cat admits she cares about him.
Like Beauty
This story is set in an unspecified time in a futuristic New York. Simon, the main character, is a simulo (an artificial form of human beings). New York is ruled by a council that has outlawed simulos in the city. On his way out of the city, Simon meets an alien, Catareen, who joins him on his quest to find his creator. Simon’s only desire is to experience true emotions like humans.
Along the way, Simon and Catareen get closer and Simon starts feeling true emotions. When they finally meet Simon’s maker, Emory Lowell, Simon has already fallen in love with Catareen. Lowell who has built a spaceship invites them on his journey to another planet. Before they leave, Catareen gets sick which prompts Simon to stay on earth. The spaceship leaves and Simon is left holding Catareen as she dies.
