Half Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery - Part 1
This section centers around Luisa Rey, a journalist for the Spyglass Magazine in the 1960’s. She is the daughter of Lester Rey, a police officer who became a reporter in the Vietnam War.
As this section starts, Luisa finds herself trapped in an elevator with Rufus Sixsmith, previously mentioned in The Letters from Zedelghem. Sixsmith is a scientist that works on Swannekke Island, the home of Seaboard Corporation’s nuclear power plant. Sixsmith hints at a big secret being withheld by his employers. The two converse until the power comes back on. When Luisa returned home she discovered her neighbor, the young Javier, in her apartment. She allowed him to stay since his mom was working late.
At work the next day, Luisa suggested running Sixsmith's story in the magazine but her boss told her that she would need evidence of its authenticity in order to be published. Luisa drove to Swannekke Island to interview a worker at Seaboard. She is met by Fay Li, a publicist, and Joe Napier, head of security. She sits in on a speech made by CEO Alberto Grimaldi and sneaks away to explore the site. Luisa eventually meets Isaac Sacchs, a scientist at Seaboard who asks her where Sixsmith is, mistaking her for Rufus’s niece, Megan.
The story revisits Sixsmith, who is awaiting an escape flight to England. He fears that he will be killed because he wrote a report that could shut down the reactors. After reading through Frobisher's letters and reminiscing about his love, his hunch came true and he was murdered by Bill Smoke, an assassin hired by Seaboard Corporation. Smoke placed the gun in Sixsmith’s hand and left a suicide note beside him. In disbelief of his suicide, Luisa, pretending to be Megan, visited the crime scene and took Frobisher's letters. As she does, Smoke observes and stalks her.
The stolen letters perplexed Luisa. “It is not the unflattering light they shed on a pliable young Rufus Sixsmith that bothers Luisa but the dizzying vividness of the images of places and people that the letters have unlocked. Images so vivid she can only call them memories.” Within one of his letters, Frobisher described his comet shaped birthmark. This concerned Luisa because she has a birthmark with the same appearance and in the same location.
She then decided to go back to Swannekke and interview protesters, specifically, Hester Van Zandt. Hester told her that the protesters stood atop the land of Margo Roker, a woman who refused to sell her land to Seaboard. She was allegedly attacked by burglars, although Hester believed the culprits to be Seaboard assassins. Also on Swannekke, Alberto Grimaldi, the CEO of Seaboard, met with Fay Li and Bill Smoke to discuss Luisa Rey. Alberto praised Smoke for his role in murdering Sixsmith, and told him the same fate will come of Luisa and Lloyd Hooks. Staying at Seaboard, Luisa met again with Isaac Sachs who hinted at possibly giving Luisa a copy of Sixsmith's report on the faulty nuclear reactors. After planning on meeting again in the morning and before any more conversation could take place, Joe Napier told Isaac that he was needed elsewhere and continued to give Luisa a tour. It is revealed that Joe knew Lester Rey, Luisa’s father.
During her tour with Napier, Fay Li searched Luisa’s hotel room for the report. Afterwards, she took Luisa to dinner and attempted to bond with her in hopes of getting information on the whereabouts of the Sixsmith report. When she gets back to her room, Luisa receives a call from Isaac telling her, through code, that he has put the Sixsmith report in her car. She rushed to the car and found it in the trunk. Hearing Napier calling out, she drives as fast as she can away from the corrupt Swannakke Island. Unfortunately Bill Smoke, awaiting her leave, drove behind her and rammed her car into the sea.
As this section starts, Luisa finds herself trapped in an elevator with Rufus Sixsmith, previously mentioned in The Letters from Zedelghem. Sixsmith is a scientist that works on Swannekke Island, the home of Seaboard Corporation’s nuclear power plant. Sixsmith hints at a big secret being withheld by his employers. The two converse until the power comes back on. When Luisa returned home she discovered her neighbor, the young Javier, in her apartment. She allowed him to stay since his mom was working late.
At work the next day, Luisa suggested running Sixsmith's story in the magazine but her boss told her that she would need evidence of its authenticity in order to be published. Luisa drove to Swannekke Island to interview a worker at Seaboard. She is met by Fay Li, a publicist, and Joe Napier, head of security. She sits in on a speech made by CEO Alberto Grimaldi and sneaks away to explore the site. Luisa eventually meets Isaac Sacchs, a scientist at Seaboard who asks her where Sixsmith is, mistaking her for Rufus’s niece, Megan.
The story revisits Sixsmith, who is awaiting an escape flight to England. He fears that he will be killed because he wrote a report that could shut down the reactors. After reading through Frobisher's letters and reminiscing about his love, his hunch came true and he was murdered by Bill Smoke, an assassin hired by Seaboard Corporation. Smoke placed the gun in Sixsmith’s hand and left a suicide note beside him. In disbelief of his suicide, Luisa, pretending to be Megan, visited the crime scene and took Frobisher's letters. As she does, Smoke observes and stalks her.
The stolen letters perplexed Luisa. “It is not the unflattering light they shed on a pliable young Rufus Sixsmith that bothers Luisa but the dizzying vividness of the images of places and people that the letters have unlocked. Images so vivid she can only call them memories.” Within one of his letters, Frobisher described his comet shaped birthmark. This concerned Luisa because she has a birthmark with the same appearance and in the same location.
She then decided to go back to Swannekke and interview protesters, specifically, Hester Van Zandt. Hester told her that the protesters stood atop the land of Margo Roker, a woman who refused to sell her land to Seaboard. She was allegedly attacked by burglars, although Hester believed the culprits to be Seaboard assassins. Also on Swannekke, Alberto Grimaldi, the CEO of Seaboard, met with Fay Li and Bill Smoke to discuss Luisa Rey. Alberto praised Smoke for his role in murdering Sixsmith, and told him the same fate will come of Luisa and Lloyd Hooks. Staying at Seaboard, Luisa met again with Isaac Sachs who hinted at possibly giving Luisa a copy of Sixsmith's report on the faulty nuclear reactors. After planning on meeting again in the morning and before any more conversation could take place, Joe Napier told Isaac that he was needed elsewhere and continued to give Luisa a tour. It is revealed that Joe knew Lester Rey, Luisa’s father.
During her tour with Napier, Fay Li searched Luisa’s hotel room for the report. Afterwards, she took Luisa to dinner and attempted to bond with her in hopes of getting information on the whereabouts of the Sixsmith report. When she gets back to her room, Luisa receives a call from Isaac telling her, through code, that he has put the Sixsmith report in her car. She rushed to the car and found it in the trunk. Hearing Napier calling out, she drives as fast as she can away from the corrupt Swannakke Island. Unfortunately Bill Smoke, awaiting her leave, drove behind her and rammed her car into the sea.
Half Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery - Part 2
Luisa, plummeting to the bottom of the sea, manages to escape her car. She then realized that the pages of the Sixsmith report were pervading the frigid water around her, completely ruined. Luisa then says that she “paid for the Sixsmith Report with her life.” The point of view changes to that of Isaac Sachs who sits on an airplane with CEO Alberto Grimaldi. He contemplates life and comes to the realization that he is in love with Luisa Rey. Then the airplane explodes. This is the work of Bill Smoke.
Luisa manages to make it to shore and is aided by Hester Van Zandt and his friend Milton. Milton calls Joe Napier and tells him of Luisa's whereabouts. When she gets back to her apartment she finds Napier with Javier, pretending to be Luisa's uncle. Joe tells her that he was a police officer with her father and that Lester had saved his life. Repaying his debt by saving Luisa's life, the two of them leave to escape Smoke's wrath. Luisa goes to stay at her mother's house in Buenas Yerbas. Bill Smoke made his way to the house as well, pretending to be a suitor for Luisa and trying to woo her. She ignores his advances and watches television instead, where she sees a news report on the plane crash that mortifies her.
Later she visits a music store where she buys a copy of the Cloud Atlas Sextet and claims that she knows it, despite it having less than 500 copies ever made and being very uncommon. She is surprised when she returns to work to find that Spyglass magazine was bought out by another company and she was the only employee that was fired. She could tell that the company was owned by Seaboard.
Back on Swannekke, Joe Napier was given an early retirement by the Vice CEO. Understanding the true intentions of this act, he flees to his cabin in the woods, far from the actions of Seaboard. Fearing that Luisa's fate will mirror that of Margo Roker, he goes back to find her. Meanwhile, Lloyd Hooks had become the CEO of Seaboard because of Grimaldi's death. Luisa's boss confessed to her that he was blackmailed by Seaboard into firing her.
When she went to pick up her things from the office, she discovered a letter from Sixsmith enclosed with a key that told her the location of a safety deposit box that contained another copy of his report. When she neared the bank where the box was located, she was ambushed by Fay Li and her men who took the key from her. When Fay Li, who planned to sell the report to another corporation for personal benefit, opened the safety deposit box it exploded and killed her. Again, the work of Bill Smoke. Luisa is rescued by Joe Napier and the pair seek refuge in a warehouse. Bill Smoke follows them and kills the dog of one of the workers. He then chases Napier and Luisa through a sweatshop until he is rendered unconscious by the furious pet owner, allowing their escape.
They then meet with Sixsmith's niece, Megan, who tells them the location of another copy of the report, aboard Sixsmith's yacht. When they visit the harbor, the Prophetess makes a reappearance. Luisa feels a strange gravity towards the vessel and claims that her birthmark throbed. Joe and Luisa find not only the report inside the yacht, but also Bill Smoke. Smoke and Napier shoot each other and both diem, while Margo Roker simultaneously awakes in a hospital.
With Sixsmith's report in hand, Luisa was able to publish a story that revealed everything. This resulted in Lloyd Hooks fleeing the country, various directors being arrested. Some even committed suicide. Swannekke was shut down and the world was safe from nuclear harm. Megan sent Luisa the rest of Frobisher's letters and she began to read them.
Luisa manages to make it to shore and is aided by Hester Van Zandt and his friend Milton. Milton calls Joe Napier and tells him of Luisa's whereabouts. When she gets back to her apartment she finds Napier with Javier, pretending to be Luisa's uncle. Joe tells her that he was a police officer with her father and that Lester had saved his life. Repaying his debt by saving Luisa's life, the two of them leave to escape Smoke's wrath. Luisa goes to stay at her mother's house in Buenas Yerbas. Bill Smoke made his way to the house as well, pretending to be a suitor for Luisa and trying to woo her. She ignores his advances and watches television instead, where she sees a news report on the plane crash that mortifies her.
Later she visits a music store where she buys a copy of the Cloud Atlas Sextet and claims that she knows it, despite it having less than 500 copies ever made and being very uncommon. She is surprised when she returns to work to find that Spyglass magazine was bought out by another company and she was the only employee that was fired. She could tell that the company was owned by Seaboard.
Back on Swannekke, Joe Napier was given an early retirement by the Vice CEO. Understanding the true intentions of this act, he flees to his cabin in the woods, far from the actions of Seaboard. Fearing that Luisa's fate will mirror that of Margo Roker, he goes back to find her. Meanwhile, Lloyd Hooks had become the CEO of Seaboard because of Grimaldi's death. Luisa's boss confessed to her that he was blackmailed by Seaboard into firing her.
When she went to pick up her things from the office, she discovered a letter from Sixsmith enclosed with a key that told her the location of a safety deposit box that contained another copy of his report. When she neared the bank where the box was located, she was ambushed by Fay Li and her men who took the key from her. When Fay Li, who planned to sell the report to another corporation for personal benefit, opened the safety deposit box it exploded and killed her. Again, the work of Bill Smoke. Luisa is rescued by Joe Napier and the pair seek refuge in a warehouse. Bill Smoke follows them and kills the dog of one of the workers. He then chases Napier and Luisa through a sweatshop until he is rendered unconscious by the furious pet owner, allowing their escape.
They then meet with Sixsmith's niece, Megan, who tells them the location of another copy of the report, aboard Sixsmith's yacht. When they visit the harbor, the Prophetess makes a reappearance. Luisa feels a strange gravity towards the vessel and claims that her birthmark throbed. Joe and Luisa find not only the report inside the yacht, but also Bill Smoke. Smoke and Napier shoot each other and both diem, while Margo Roker simultaneously awakes in a hospital.
With Sixsmith's report in hand, Luisa was able to publish a story that revealed everything. This resulted in Lloyd Hooks fleeing the country, various directors being arrested. Some even committed suicide. Swannekke was shut down and the world was safe from nuclear harm. Megan sent Luisa the rest of Frobisher's letters and she began to read them.