There Is No Antimemetics Division

Quinn is at home when she hears an intruder enter through the front door. She pins the intruder down. The intruder identifies himself as her husband, Adam, and references “Sunshine,” their nickname for U-4987, to prove his identity. Quinn nevertheless has Adam detained to verify his claims.

Ives confirms that Adam is indeed who he claims to be: a concert violinist who met Quinn after being involved in an encounter with an Unknown designated U-8051. Ives wonders why Quinn can’t believe Adam’s claims, indicating that U-4987 likely consumed her memory of Adam to explain what happened. Quinn believes Ives only when he produces a Class Z mnestic autoinjector pen that Adam was carrying, proving that Quinn trusted him enough to carry such a lethal drug for emergencies. She reviews Adam’s file.

The novel flashes back to Adam’s encounter with U-8051, also known as the Digit Thief. Adam went to the hospital after scratching himself on a rusty nail during a concert. There, he noticed multiple people awaiting treatment for severed digits. The digits joined together into a large mass that spotted Adam looking at it. Adam then called emergency services to contain the mass.

The mass chased Adam through the hospital. UO Field Agent Marie Sheridan intercepted the mass and fought U-8051 back with a gun, though this failed to deter it. Just before it reached her and Adam, Sheridan located a riser cupboard for them to escape through. She then resolved to reach the roof to call for support.

Sheridan asked Adam about his work as a concert violinist since she enjoyed classical music. After calling for backup, she reassured Adam that he did well. Adam asked for clarity on their situation, so Sheridan explained the nature of U-8051 to him. Adam referenced the Illuminatus! Trilogy to signal his understanding, which Sheridan appreciated. Sheridan then explained the nature of her work to contain dangerous Unknowns. She contrasted her work to the series The X-Files, which she disliked. The conversation turned into a flirtation between them.

In the present, Quinn finishes reviewing Adam’s file. After several rounds of questioning, Adam asks to see his wife. They reunite after he’s placed in a containment unit. She admits her failure to remember him and her unwillingness to rebuild her relationship with him from scratch. When he tries to find out what Quinn can recall, she confesses that all her memories center on work. Adam reminds her of the care he extends to her every time she returns home and the trust he shows whenever she states that she can’t explain the nature of her work. Adam deduces that she’s working to resist a large-scale conflict. He reminds her of their common interests and the life they share. He expresses his faith that Quinn can remember him because they’ve been away from each other for extended periods before.

Quinn fixates on the detail Adam shared about the large-scale conflict. She realizes that she has large gaps in memory as a result of her participation in the war, which doesn’t affect Adam because he’s a nonparticipant. In addition, Adam reveals that he can see Sunshine because he’s immune to certain antimemetic effects. He theorizes that Sunshine erased Quinn’s memories of him so that it can prepare to kill him, which Quinn denies because it doesn’t fit Sunshine’s behavioral patterns. She suggests instead that Sunshine is trying to protect him, though she’s unsure why. She insists that they can’t be together, while Adam insists on keeping his marriage vow to protect her.

Quinn uses Sunshine to block Adam’s ability to perceive her. Adam cautions her that she’ll instinctively feel something missing from her life. Quinn promises that she’ll work to regain her memories after she wins the war. Adam wonders what she’ll do if she loses. Quinn considers using the autoinjector pen on Adam, but decides not to. She instructs her people to replace everyone’s memories so that no one can remember that she and Adam are married.

Nine months after the encounter with Gage, Quinn gives Lee the file on U-3125. The file has no information other than a protocol recommending that this Unknown be visited every 63 days. Though the lack of information makes Lee reluctant to help with the task, Quinn has him accompany her to the containment unit, which Ed Hix designed. She enters the containment unit, and Lee supervises from outside.

Inside the unit is a war room. Paperwork and scribbled notes cover the walls. A recording of Quinn plays from a laptop, informing her that U-3125 doesn’t inhabit the unit. Rather, the containment unit insulates Quinn from U-3125’s influence since it pervades every part of reality, manifesting in various forms that defy conventional reality. When someone understands the pattern behind U-3125’s manifestations, it identifies the beholder and kills them, along with anyone in mental proximity to them, to evade being known.

From this information, Quinn pieces together all the notes in the unit and understands the terrifying magnitude of U-3125. The video of Quinn displays a diagram of a hand with an opening in its center and suggests that the Division has already lost the war and that the present Division she works for is merely a remnant of survivors. The video of Quinn directs the present Quinn’s attention to a machine that Ed Hix designed, which will allow them to overturn U-3125’s dominion over reality. The only way to ensure the completion of the device is to build it with such discretion that no one can ever question the existence of any progress on the project. Quinn realizes that, over the last few months, she has been following through on this plan by preventing the Division from rediscovering U-3125.

The video of Quinn expresses discomfort and ends the recording once it starts distorting. The present Quinn wonders what made the Quinn on the video give up her recording, and who she was referring to when she mentioned a man named Adam. After reverse-engineering the containment unit’s construction, Quinn theorizes that a second insulated room contains Ed Hix’s device.

Quinn tries to figure out how to retain her memories of the device without eliciting U-3125’s attention. When she steps out of the unit’s airlock, a built-in purging system automatically erases her memories of the time she spent inside the unit. She tells Lee that she blacked out in the airlock and has retained memories of a plan, which Lee reminds her is impossible. Lee tries to examine something on Quinn’s neck, though the novel redacts the precise nature of this object. Quinn realizes that U-3125 has taken control of Lee in an attempt to kill her. She similarly resists its attempts to control her mind. Once she breaks away from Lee, Quinn flees from U-3125. An explosion breaks through the facility ceiling.