Vitals was published by Ballantine/Del Rey in 2002, and it represents Bear’s foray into the techno-thriller — a novel that combines his strengths in biological hard science fiction with a conspiracy plot that draws on Cold War history and real microbiological research.
Hal Cousins is a scientist working on longevity research — specifically, on the role of bacterial communities in aging. His research leads him to a disturbing discovery: the human microbiome — the trillions of bacteria that live in and on our bodies — can be manipulated to control behavior. More disturbingly, someone has already done it. A secret Soviet program during the Cold War developed bacterial agents capable of altering human decision-making at a fundamental level, and the program did not end with the Soviet Union’s collapse.
Bear’s treatment of the microbiome is prescient — the novel was written before the explosion of microbiome research that has made gut bacteria a subject of mainstream scientific interest — and his extrapolation from known biology to speculative manipulation is characteristic of his method: start with real science and push it just far enough to become terrifying. The conspiracy elements are less convincing than the biology (conspiracy thrillers require a level of paranoia that sits uneasily with Bear’s rationalist temperament), but the central idea — that our behavior is shaped by organisms we cannot see and may not control — is genuinely unsettling.
Collecting Vitals
First edition (Ballantine/Del Rey, New York, 2002): Cloth binding, dust jacket.
Market values:
- First edition in dust jacket: $8–$20
- Paperback editions: $5–$8