Gnosis (novel)

Setting

The setting is heavily inspired by synesthesia and empathics. These empathics are aware of emotions of others around them, feeling them in different ways. They show high intelligence and other talents tightly bound to their abilities. Empathics don't only feel and amplify the emotions, they are able to manipulate them as well, which can be used for supporting or harming others. Trained and powerful empathics are able to manipulate other empathics like on regular people.

The emotions are carried as radio waves. Therefore, wearing a magnetized silver necklace renders the wearer resistant against manipulations. Wearing a silver necklace is a double-edged sword for an empathic: While he is protected against other empathics, they are prevented of using their powers as well. This prevention is not only limited to silver necklaces but to anything magnetized.

During the book, numerous real-life events are mentioned and explained which build the background of the entire plot, such as Nikola Tesla's biography, history of computer viruses as well as Gnosticism, partially Valentinianism.

Plot

The book is divided into three parts. The first part focuses on the daily life of two young people, Elijah Glass and Winter Zhi, both of them unaware of their past. Laszlo Kuehl, a blind man, and Darian, a black woman, discuss about a greater danger caused by a cult leader known as Valentinus and they need help of Elijah and Winter.

While Elijah earns his living by analyzing communication between people for various purposes, Winter has become a successful musician. Their lives change when the silver necklaces they were wearing for unexplained reasons are stolen by an unknown person and they both start becoming aware of their pasts.

Elijah gets a hunger crisis and meets his eccentric cousin Stevie, a former computer hacker. After partially reconstructing Elijah's lost memories together, Elijah remembers that he was a former student of a man named Laszlo Kuehl and he can see people's feelings and decides to do an experiment. For this, he goes to a movie theatre with Stevie and after disturbing the audience and severely beating cinema staff, he is locked in an insane asylum.

Winter, despite being a successful musician, struggles in her private life. Her parents are divorced and her mother doesn't want Winter to work as musician, without explaining the reason. Furthermore, Michael, one of his former boyfriends is stalking her and an unknown person is trying to contact her as well. After her mother learns that Winter's necklace is stolen, she dies from a heart attack, before Winter is about to give her biggest concert. That's when she lears about Laszlo Kuehl as well, which causes fear in her. Things get worse when Michael commits suicide at the end of Winter's concert and Winter is blamed for leading him to suicide. Eventually, Winter is found by Laszlo Kuehl, who briefly tells that he has been her teacher when she was young.

The second part focuses on the events in the past. It is revealed that Elijah, Winter and Stevie were students of Laszlo because of their high intelligence. After a test made by an organization, both Elijah and Winter show exceptionally good results which causes Darian to visit the school to "recruit" Elijah, Winter and Laszlo. Darian seduces Laszlo to achieve this after being promised 300.000 US$ for all three by a mysterious woman named Samantha Zinser. During this, both fall in love with each other.

Elijah and Winter are revealed as empathics, people who can be aware of others' emotions. While Elijah sees them as colors, Winter hears them as music.

A new character, Jill, is introduced. Jill is an orphan girl living in a monastery and she discovers her powers while pubertating. Like Elijah, she is able to see emotions of other people in colors. She unintentionally uses this to seduce a nun and after being caught by Father Sullivan, the head priest of the monastery, she is locked in the cellar because of "being possessed by a demon". While Jill's powers work on others, Father Sullivan is seemingly resistant. Jill is locked away until being "recruited" by Darian.

While Elijah, Winter and Jill are taught by Zinser, Darian and Laszlo get separated. Zinser lies Laszlo about Darian, telling him that Darian departed to India and died while trying to recruit another empathic. In reality, Darian is betrayed by Zinser after Zinser's true motives are revealed. Devastated by Darian's death, Laszlo decides to cut his ties with Zinser, only to start again after some time after persuaded by Zinser. During this time, he discovers Charlie, another empathic, who quickly becomes friends with others.

It is revealed that Jill's powers are developing beyond control and she is developing a crush to Zinser. Realizing that Jill is becoming dangerous, Zinser tries to keep her under control by pretending to love her back. Eventually, Laszlo regains her consciousness in a bar when he smokes a cigarette again and starts revealing Zinser's secrets. The power of feeling and manipulating others' feelings consists of sending and receiving electromagnetic waves and only empathics are able to use them at their will. Furthermore, magnetized silver necklaces are worn by Zinser's personnel so they are protected against empathics.

Laszlo eventually finds and saves Darian and the children. After convincing Jill that Zinser has lied to her about her love to Jill, she decides to kill Zinser and destroy the whole building. During the chaos, Laszlo and Darian manage to escape with Elijah and Winter, unfortunately, they fail to save Charlie.

After the building is destroyed, Jill tracks down Father Sullivan and Laszlo, knowing that Jill survived, tracks her down as well. During the fight, Laszlo is irreversibly blinded by Jill moments before Darian arrives. Jill is eventually captured by Darian and her life is spared, but she is stripped off her powers. Laszlo conditions Elijah and Winter so they don't remember anything about their past and gives them silver necklaces so they can't be found by the organization Zinser worked for. Afterwards, they part their ways.

The third part continues where the first part ends. Darian finds Elijah in an insane asylum and saves him, bringing him to Laszlo. Laszlo helps Elijah and Winter to fully regain their lost memories, but he is assassinated by two assassins sent by Valentinus. Elijah and Winter manage to kill one of them and capture the other, as well as to call Darian for help. Darian suggests Elijah and Winter to leave the city because Valentinus is too powerful to stop and they are not experienced for this situation. While Darian leaves, Elijah and Winter stay behind and try to find out more about Valentinus.

Fortunately, Stevie is ready to help. He mentions SpyGurl, a blogger, who is blogging regularly about Valentinus and trying to join his cult as well. With Stevie's help, they eventually find SpyGurl and capture one of the cultists, who reveals that the cultists will commit mass suicide with cyanide at the New Year's Eve of 2008 on Times Square. SpyGurl blogs this and Valentinus is arrested.

After hearing Valentinus' arrest on the radio, Darian returns to New York to prevent Valentinus causing further harm. She enters the police station acting as Valentinus' lawyer. During the outbreak, Darian struggles against being possessed by Valentinus. When the possession fails, Valentinus manipulates the police officer to wound Darian severely. Darian warns the officer about Valentinus' immense power and dies after succumbing to her wounds. Despite the best efforts, Valentinus escapes while being transported to an island prison and makes it to Times Square.

Elijah and his friends investigate the situation further and their tracks lead to Elliot Dietrich, a former employee of Zinser. Dietrich reveals that the emotional waves can be carried the same way as cell phone waves and Valentinus plans to use this for a worldwide message. It is revealed that the cultists have never received cyanide from Valentinus, but a drug that enhances sensitivity to emotions. Valentinus will amplify these emotions by his cultists, creating a powerful emotion wave to send worldwide, while his ultimate motive is still unknown.

To prevent the carriage of these waves, Stevie develops a cell phone virus to overload cell phone base stations. The virus works and indeed prevents the carriage because of overloading, but this alone is not enough to prevent the upcoming disaster. Elijah and Winter eventually make to Times Square where they find Valentinus. Valentinus successfully manipulates Winter into following him, but is eventually saved by Elijah. Valentinus' ultimate motive is revealed: He sends this wave to his chosen assassins to kill the high members of Catholic Church which will end its existence. After a long fight between Elijah, Winter and Valentinus, Valentinus lands at the crowd where he is severely injured, presumably killed. Elijah and Winter combine their powers together to create a wave shield around Times Square which ultimately prevents the carriage of emotions, saving the Catholic Church.

In the epilogue, it's revealed that Valentinus is none other than Jill and decided to wipe out the Catholic Church after learning that Father Sullivan has become the new Pope. She had regained her powers after a metal plate, implanted by Darian, has been removed after a car accident she had and she changed her gender. Furthermore, it is revealed that both Charlie and Zinser had survived the incident, with Charlie still working for Zinser.