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93-489: The Junction Chronicles is a trilogy of Canadian speculative thrillers by David Rotenberg , whose protagonist , acting coach Decker Roberts, a synaesthete with a special talent for determining the truth in statements, lives in the neighbourhood of The Junction in Toronto , supplementing his income with his unique talent and becoming involved with American intelligence agents after his life begins to fall apart. The series

186-448: A neurological condition called synaesthesia , which, in his case, has led to the innate ability to "see if people are telling the truth". Roberts is a synesthete; he "sees" language and can tell when people are not telling the truth, but only just. He sees designs and lines that define absolute truth and an absolute lie, but the nuances evade him. If the speaker tells a lie he truly believes to be truth, Decker sees "truth." When he hears

279-490: A " great imitator ". People may become anxious or depressed post-diagnosis. The risk of suicide in people with cancer is approximately double. Local symptoms may occur due to the mass of the tumor or its ulceration. For example, mass effects from lung cancer can block the bronchus resulting in cough or pneumonia ; esophageal cancer can cause narrowing of the esophagus , making it difficult or painful to swallow; and colorectal cancer may lead to narrowing or blockages in

372-474: A concern. This includes that studies have not found a consistent link between mobile phone radiation and cancer risk. The vast majority of cancers are non-hereditary (sporadic). Hereditary cancers are primarily caused by an inherited genetic defect. Less than 0.3% of the population are carriers of a genetic mutation that has a large effect on cancer risk and these cause less than 3–10% of cancer. Some of these syndromes include: certain inherited mutations in

465-551: A convenient opportunity to destroy evidence of a crime by "wealthy people". These ideas are explored in some depth in The Placebo Effect . While the initial setting for the series is The Junction, a lot of the action in the first novel actually takes place in New York City , and its landmarks figure prominently. Rotenberg lived there for about a dozen years, and he still knew the city better than he did Greater Toronto. Much of

558-455: A guy be hit on the back of the head and get back up on his feet and continue?" Agreeing with the reasoning behind Rotenberg's decision, Selnes later wrote: "It is tiring to read of fictional heroes being battered about and then swiftly rising again to smite the bad guy. At times I think there is evolving a new rule for thrillers that it cannot be a thriller without a massive body count." By the early 2010s, David Rotenberg had become established as

651-474: A janitor at Ancaster with a scatalogical obsession who stalks female students and comes to display psychopathic tendencies. Jones resents the students and faculty alike for their "sense of superiority", believing himself to be "the equal or better of anyone at the university." Introduced in The Glass House , WJ is a highly talented mathematician who has used his skills with numbers to become wealthy, but

744-459: A message to his father: "This is what happens when you get close to people Dad. Stay away from me." The young man has inherited the same neurological condition, and his talents "may be even greater than his father's." Like his father, he is being tracked by the NSA, among others. A close friend of Decker Roberts and "fellow synaesthete", their relationship "goes back a very long time and they obviously have

837-566: A persistent fever . Shortness of breath, called dyspnea , is a common symptom of cancer and its treatment. The causes of cancer-related dyspnea can include tumors in or around the lung, blocked airways, fluid in the lungs, pneumonia, or treatment reactions including an allergic response . Treatment for dyspnea in patients with advanced cancer can include fans , bilevel ventilation, acupressure / reflexology and multicomponent nonpharmacological interventions . Some systemic symptoms of cancer are caused by hormones or other molecules produced by

930-574: A prescription as a cost saving measure without affecting the drug's efficaciousness. Yolles Pharmaceuticals is now interested in Roberts. A resentful Shedloski publicly protests his dismissal by Yolles and tries to warn Roberts, but is killed. Yolles now needs to eliminate Roberts because he might discover the truth about its new product. Meanwhile, in Washington D.C. , the National Security Agency

1023-539: A role. Oncoviruses (viruses that can cause human cancer) include: Bacterial infection may also increase the risk of cancer, as seen in Parasitic infections associated with cancer include: Radiation exposure such as ultraviolet radiation and radioactive material is a risk factor for cancer. Many non-melanoma skin cancers are due to ultraviolet radiation, mostly from sunlight. Sources of ionizing radiation include medical imaging and radon gas. Ionizing radiation

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1116-457: A special understanding between one another, often not needing to ask for explanations or give details." Eddie is described by critics variously as a "technology whiz", computer "nerd", or "genius". He is not entirely reliable or trustworthy, motivated primarily by a desire to get his daughter back, berating Roberts for not tracking his son down. Shedloski has a gift for sensing balance, creating unique sculptures from ordinary items; he can determine

1209-420: A statement he can close his eyes and the patterns he sees tell him if the statement is true. When the ability manifests, Roberts senses "a stream of cool, clear air above him ... something heavy in his right hand and a coldness." He sees "a series of squiggly lines that appear in his line of vision when someone is talking". Despite his unique insight, or perhaps somehow because of it, Roberts is repeatedly told he

1302-476: A successful double life , carefully compartmentalized with a myriad of alter egos . His inner life, however, is one of sorrow, having lost his wife to ALS and missing his estranged son, Seth. He is also disturbed by the excessive number of churches in the area. He believes they are there to prevent an evil from re-appearing. He senses its existence when he walks the streets and feels the Junction "hunch around him in

1395-460: A tiny childlike woman named Viola Tripping who can reveal the final thoughts of a deceased person just before death. Agent Yslan Hicks takes the two of them to the crime scene at Ancaster so that Tripping can read the victims' final thoughts and Roberts can tell if those statements were truthful. Roberts privately pieces together what happened, but withholds this information from the NSA. In the course of their work, Tripping also provides Roberts with

1488-667: A vision of his estranged son Seth's whereabouts — in Namibia . In Namibia, Roberts struggles to find his way in isolation. Seth, whose cancer is advancing swiftly, is kidnapped by WJ, a musical prodigy who is unable to feel and who desperately wants to learn from Seth's special abilities. The kidnapping sets a mysterious chain of events in motion. Seth, it seems, is the key to everyone's plans: his inherited "gifts" are more powerful than his father's, and there are many who will do anything to control them. Yslan Hicks desperately needs to find both father and son to deal with an urgent threat faced by

1581-678: A week. Rotenberg also referenced autistic savant Stephen Wiltshire ("the human camera"), and Ken Peek, the inspiration for the film Rain Man . Doubt as to the accuracy of the term in-universe is introduced at the beginning of A Murder of Crows , when NSA Special Agent Yslan Hicks questions the agency's use of "synaesthetes" for describing the people she monitors; Leonard Harrison retorts: "But we had to call them something." She would rather call them "the Gifted". Some of them effectively display "superpowers", some of which potentially qualify as "supernatural";

1674-456: A word about the city." He said "it was finally time to look around and try to write about home." As the Zhong Fong novels are police procedurals , Rotenberg purposefully had his writing space cluttered with images and books when he wrote it: "two large modern desks at right angles to each other — the whole thing dominated by a large computer monitor. It felt that the job was to produce order from

1767-554: Is Canadian "allows a perspective on America that often Americans don't have." Rotenberg lived in the U.S. for a dozen years, his wife is a Puerto Rican American, both children dual citizens. "One lives in the States; the other has the knee jerk hatred of America that is pretty common here." Our relationship with the elephant down there is pretty darned important for us to understand past the knee jerk stuff. Hence, start in Toronto and work south. I

1860-408: Is a remastered and remixed collection of his 2011 mixtapes House of Balloons , Thursday , and Echoes of Silence . Creators of trilogies may later add more works. In such a case, the original three works may or may not keep the title "trilogy". Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of

1953-481: Is a "documented condition" which occurs naturally but may also be linked to head injuries. Rotenberg's own conception of synaesthesia elaborates on this as a condition bestowing the person "access to the 'other'", referring to documentaries he had seen on the synaesthete Daniel Tammet , who is also an autistic savant , as an example, a man with "special gifts in mathematics and languages", who sees numbers in colours, shapes and sizes and learned conversational Icelandic in

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2046-417: Is a "terrible liar." Rotenberg said of the character that he is an "outsider" and a "loner", and, "as in all my previous novels wants desperately to be part of his society but also fights to keep intact those things that make him special and apart." He dislikes police officers and the National Security Agency he grudgingly works for, as he "distrusts authority of any sort" He has "used his head to keep ahead of

2139-416: Is about 2. The corresponding relative risk is 1.5 for lung cancer, and 1.9 for prostate cancer . For breast cancer, the relative risk is 1.8 with a first-degree relative having developed it at 50 years of age or older, and 3.3 when the relative developed it when being younger than 50 years of age. Taller people have an increased risk of cancer because they have more cells than shorter people. Since height

2232-496: Is also interested in Roberts as a means of evaluating statements by terrorists. Yslan Hicks, who studies synasethetes, has been observing him. The NSA becomes more involved as it perceives its potential asset is threatened. Narrowly escaping death when his house burns down, it does not occur to Roberts that it was no accident. Next, his finances are crippled, and his studio condemned. He realizes that he must have heard something in one of his sessions that he should not have, and goes on

2325-446: Is an environmental factor causing approximately 16–18% of cancers worldwide. These infectious agents include Helicobacter pylori , hepatitis B , hepatitis C , human papillomavirus infection , Epstein–Barr virus , Human T-lymphotropic virus 1 , Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus and Merkel cell polyomavirus . Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) does not directly cause cancer but it causes immune deficiency that can magnify

2418-407: Is frustrated by his incapacity to enjoy it for lack of feelings: he cannot appreciate relationships, and concepts like beauty or ugliness "are but words." Music is at the centre of the man's life: he is a technically skilled cellist but to him the notes are "merely sounds". Outside the speculative fictional world of the novel, a synaesthete is "someone whose awareness mixes two or more senses"; it

2511-537: Is generally not a transmissible disease . Exceptions include rare transmissions that occur with pregnancies and occasional organ donors . However, transmissible infectious diseases such as hepatitis B , Epstein-Barr virus , Human Papilloma Virus and HIV , can contribute to the development of cancer. Exposure to particular substances have been linked to specific types of cancer. These substances are called carcinogens . Tobacco smoke , for example, causes 90% of lung cancer. Tobacco use can cause cancer throughout

2604-413: Is genetically determined to a large extent, taller people have a heritable increase of cancer risk. Some substances cause cancer primarily through their physical, rather than chemical, effects. A prominent example of this is prolonged exposure to asbestos , naturally occurring mineral fibers that are a major cause of mesothelioma (cancer of the serous membrane ) usually the serous membrane surrounding

2697-558: Is less often applied to music. One example is the Berlin Trilogy of David Bowie , which is linked together by musical sound and lyrical themes, all having been recorded at least partly in Berlin, Germany. Another example can be found in the Guns N' Roses songs " November Rain ", " Don't Cry " and " Estranged ", whose videos are considered a trilogy. The Weeknd 's 2012 compilation album Trilogy

2790-637: Is more common in Japan due to its high-salt diet while colon cancer is more common in the United States. Immigrant cancer profiles mirror those of their new country, often within one generation. Worldwide, approximately 18% of cancer deaths are related to infectious diseases . This proportion ranges from a high of 25% in Africa to less than 10% in the developed world. Viruses are the usual infectious agents that cause cancer but bacteria and parasites may also play

2883-403: Is not inherited , such as lifestyle, economic, and behavioral factors and not merely pollution. Common environmental factors that contribute to cancer death include tobacco use (25–30%), diet and obesity (30–35%), infections (15–20%), radiation (both ionizing and non-ionizing, up to 10%), lack of physical activity , and pollution. Psychological stress does not appear to be a risk factor for

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2976-474: Is not a particularly strong mutagen . Residential exposure to radon gas, for example, has similar cancer risks as passive smoking . Radiation is a more potent source of cancer when combined with other cancer-causing agents, such as radon plus tobacco smoke. Radiation can cause cancer in most parts of the body, in all animals and at any age. Children are twice as likely to develop radiation-induced leukemia as adults; radiation exposure before birth has ten times

3069-427: Is predominantly used in the production of Teflon , is known to cause two kinds of cancer. Chemotherapy drugs such as platinum-based compounds are carcinogens that increase the risk of secondary cancers Azathioprine , an immunosuppressive medication , is a carcinogen that can cause primary tumors to develop. Diet, physical inactivity , and obesity are related to up to 30–35% of cancer deaths. In

3162-422: Is so uncommon I do not think I have read another mystery with a comparable hero." Roberts is an atypical literary action hero in that he displays no excessive strength, nor skill with weapons. Asked by Selnes why the character was created "with his mind his primary resource", Rotenberg said: "Partially because he's an outsider. Partially because I've got pretty sick of cops and sleuths altogether. How many times can

3255-457: Is then typically further investigated by medical imaging and confirmed by biopsy . The risk of developing certain cancers can be reduced by not smoking, maintaining a healthy weight, limiting alcohol intake, eating plenty of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains , vaccination against certain infectious diseases, limiting consumption of processed meat and red meat , and limiting exposure to direct sunlight. Early detection through screening

3348-409: Is useful for cervical and colorectal cancer . The benefits of screening for breast cancer are controversial. Cancer is often treated with some combination of radiation therapy , surgery, chemotherapy and targeted therapy . Pain and symptom management are an important part of care. Palliative care is particularly important in people with advanced disease. The chance of survival depends on

3441-478: The French Republic ( liberty, equality, fraternity ). Trilogies can also be connected in less obvious ways, such as The Nova Trilogy of novels by William S. Burroughs , each written using cut-up technique . The term is seldom applied outside media. One example is the " Marshall Trilogy ", a common term for three rulings written by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Marshall from 1823 to 1832 concerning

3534-559: The Wayfarers trilogy by Knut Hamsun , the Cairo Trilogy by Naguib Mahfouz , The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy , and His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman . A pivotal example is J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings (1954–1955), which was written as a three-volume novel but published (for economic reasons) as a trilogy, thus helping to popularize the trilogy format. The term

3627-402: The bowel , affecting bowel habits. Masses in breasts or testicles may produce observable lumps. Ulceration can cause bleeding that can lead to symptoms such as coughing up blood (lung cancer), anemia or rectal bleeding (colon cancer), blood in the urine (bladder cancer), or abnormal vaginal bleeding (endometrial or cervical cancer). Although localized pain may occur in advanced cancer,

3720-584: The immune system and endocrine system . More than half of the effect from the diet is due to overnutrition (eating too much), rather than from eating too few vegetables or other healthful foods. Some specific foods are linked to specific cancers. A high-salt diet is linked to gastric cancer . Aflatoxin B1 , a frequent food contaminant, causes liver cancer. Betel nut chewing can cause oral cancer. National differences in dietary practices may partly explain differences in cancer incidence. For example, gastric cancer

3813-452: The lungs , liver , brain, and the bones . While some cancers can be cured if detected early, metastatic cancer is more difficult to treat and control. Nevertheless, some recent treatments are demonstrating encouraging results. The majority of cancers, some 90–95% of cases, are due to genetic mutations from environmental and lifestyle factors. The remaining 5–10% are due to inherited genetics . Environmental refers to any cause that

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3906-532: The ratios that provide balance in many other circumstances. He is homeless . Introduced in A Murder of Crows , Viola Tripping is presented as "simultaneously a woman and a little girl in both appearance and mannerisms" who can "recite the last thoughts of dead people." The Cincinnati CEO of Yolles Pharmaceuticals and the principal antagonist of The Placebo Effect , he is unscrupulous. A lawyer representing parties interested in, or involved with cases against, both Decker Roberts and Crazy Eddie, he manipulates

3999-576: The six hallmarks of cancer . These characteristics are required to produce a malignant tumor. They include: The progression from normal cells to cells that can form a detectable mass to cancer involves multiple steps known as malignant progression. When cancer begins, it produces no symptoms. Signs and symptoms appear as the mass grows or ulcerates . The findings that result depend on cancer's type and location. Few symptoms are specific . Many frequently occur in individuals who have other conditions. Cancer can be difficult to diagnose and can be considered

4092-460: The tumor microenvironment . Oncogenes build up an inflammatory pro-tumorigenic microenvironment. Hormones also play a role in the development of cancer by promoting cell proliferation . Insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins play a key role in cancer cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis , suggesting possible involvement in carcinogenesis. Hormones are important agents in sex-related cancers, such as cancer of

4185-487: The Junction. Then he realizes that its name does not really refer to a railroad depot as most of its residents believe, but rather to a point of connection, a connection between this world and another, and the hanged boy marks the access. Henry-Clay Yolles, the CEO of a pharmaceutical company, exploits Sedloski's unique talent for determining perfect ratios , allowing the company to know how many placebo pills can be included in

4278-428: The NSA. When the trails run cold, Hicks turns to Roberts' old friends for help, but they quickly find themselves confronting an ancient conspiracy, one that draws the synaesthetes, via "waking dreams" of a "glass house", back to The Junction, the place where a young boy was killed by hanging shortly after 1900. Roberts, his friends, and the NSA are inexorably drawn towards a conclusion that will change both themselves and

4371-559: The Pro Actors Lab, the institute founded by Rotenberg and where he was still teaching at the time the novels were written. Roberts even directed a couple of plays on Broadway , the same as Rotenberg. It is not the first time Rotenberg makes use of "autobiographical details": in the Zhong Fong novels there is a Canadian director, Geoffrey Hyland, who teaches "precisely" what Rotenberg did and directs "exactly" what he directed, and who in turn

4464-745: The United States have mirrored smoking patterns, with increases in smoking followed by dramatic increases in lung cancer death rates and, more recently, decreases in smoking rates since the 1950s followed by decreases in lung cancer death rates in men since 1990. In Western Europe, 10% of cancers in males and 3% of cancers in females are attributed to alcohol exposure, especially liver and digestive tract cancers. Cancer from work-related substance exposures may cause between 2 and 20% of cases, causing at least 200,000 deaths. Cancers such as lung cancer and mesothelioma can come from inhaling tobacco smoke or asbestos fibers, or leukemia from exposure to benzene . Exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), which

4557-479: The United States, excess body weight is associated with the development of many types of cancer and is a factor in 14–20% of cancer deaths. A UK study including data on over 5 million people showed higher body mass index to be related to at least 10 types of cancer and responsible for around 12,000 cases each year in that country. Physical inactivity is believed to contribute to cancer risk, not only through its effect on body weight but also through negative effects on

4650-471: The action and understand the characters, readers must read the three novels in order, starting with The Placebo Effect . It is written in "short, snappy chapters" sometimes less than a page in length. At the time Rotenberg had finished writing the draft of A Murder of Crows in early 2012, he described it as open-ended, anticipating that he would write as many as five or more novels in the series. Trilogy Most trilogies are works of fiction involving

4743-476: The action in the second novel also takes place in other parts of Canada and the United States, in the wake of a terrorist attack at a college in Upper New York State . As well, the plot of the second and third novels takes the protagonist to South Africa and Namibia . Series protagonist Decker Roberts is a middle aged acting coach and a widower, with a "strained" relationship with his son Seth. He has

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4836-548: The author of the Zhong Fong series of mystery novels about a Chinese detective based primarily in the city of Shanghai , and then Shanghai , an epic historical novel also set in Shanghai. Rotenberg was approached by Simon & Schuster to write something else: "After what amounts to eight novels about and around China I was ready for a change. I've been back in Toronto since 1987 after an absence of about 18 years. And yet in all that time — and all those novels — I hadn't written

4929-414: The body (such as through inhalation) and require years of exposure to produce cancer. Physical trauma resulting in cancer is relatively rare. Claims that breaking bones resulted in bone cancer, for example, have not been proven. Similarly, physical trauma is not accepted as a cause for cervical cancer, breast cancer or brain cancer. One accepted source is frequent, long-term application of hot objects to

5022-404: The body including in the mouth and throat, larynx , esophagus , stomach, bladder, kidney, cervix, colon/rectum, liver and pancreas . Tobacco smoke contains over fifty known carcinogens, including nitrosamines and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons . Tobacco is responsible for about one in five cancer deaths worldwide and about one in three in the developed world. Lung cancer death rates in

5115-673: The body. These contrast with benign tumors , which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bleeding, prolonged cough, unexplained weight loss, and a change in bowel movements . While these symptoms may indicate cancer, they can also have other causes. Over 100 types of cancers affect humans. Tobacco use is the cause of about 22% of cancer deaths. Another 10% are due to obesity , poor diet , lack of physical activity or excessive alcohol consumption . Other factors include certain infections, exposure to ionizing radiation , and environmental pollutants. Infection with specific viruses, bacteria and parasites

5208-401: The body. It is possible that repeated burns on the same part of the body, such as those produced by kanger and kairo heaters (charcoal hand warmers ), may produce skin cancer, especially if carcinogenic chemicals are also present. Frequent consumption of scalding hot tea may produce esophageal cancer. Generally, it is believed that cancer arises, or a pre-existing cancer is encouraged, during

5301-527: The breast, endometrium , prostate, ovary and testis and also of thyroid cancer and bone cancer . For example, the daughters of women who have breast cancer have significantly higher levels of estrogen and progesterone than the daughters of women without breast cancer. These higher hormone levels may explain their higher risk of breast cancer, even in the absence of a breast-cancer gene. Similarly, men of African ancestry have significantly higher levels of testosterone than men of European ancestry and have

5394-424: The chaos — just as police officers must." For The Junction Chronicles , he felt he needed a different kind of workspace for a different kind of literary work, "spare — filled with leaps in time and space, often defying normal rules of storytelling", pushing the boundaries: "Here the job has to do with entering blank spaces — creating from whole cloth." It took him seven weeks and three days of "intense looking" to find

5487-405: The cold." When homeless synaesthete Michael Shedloski arrives in the Junction, he has a vision of a boy dangling from a lamp post across from the public library on Annette Street, grasping a rope at his neck, trying in vain to get his last breath. The event is real, but took place a century earlier. Hearing of this, Roberts knows that the hanged boy is a "marker" – that there must be a portal in

5580-407: The desk for his new office. Made from reclaimed wood, and only a foot and a half deep and about four and half feet long, it is "a piece of art in and of itself." The desk has no drawers or file cabinets nor in and out trays, just a small laptop. "Even the hard copies of what I've written ... kept in a book shelf out of the room." The Junction Chronicles is an episodic series: in order to follow

5673-457: The developing world. The global total economic costs of cancer were estimated at US$ 1.16 trillion (equivalent to $ 1.62 trillion in 2023) per year as of 2010 . The word comes from the ancient Greek [καρκίνος] Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script ( help ) , meaning 'crab' and 'tumor'. Greek physicians Hippocrates and Galen , among others, noted the similarity of crabs to some tumors with swollen veins. The word

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5766-455: The effect. Medical use of ionizing radiation is a small but growing source of radiation-induced cancers. Ionizing radiation may be used to treat other cancers, but this may, in some cases, induce a second form of cancer. It is also used in some kinds of medical imaging . Prolonged exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun can lead to melanoma and other skin malignancies. Clear evidence establishes ultraviolet radiation, especially

5859-465: The faculty and students. Bombs explode at the graduation ceremony killing over 200 people, the worst terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11 . Led by the NSA, America's security forces descend upon Ancaster, and track down Roberts in South Africa, using Seth's whereabouts to persuade him to return to the United States and determine the veracity of hundreds of video statements. Over the course of

5952-582: The festival in Athens in 458 BC. The three Theban plays , or Oedipus cycle, by Sophocles , originating in 5th century BC, is not a true example of a trilogy because the plays were written at separate times and with different themes/purposes. Technical changes in printing and film in the mid-to-late 20th century made the creation of trilogies more feasible, while the development of mass media and modern global distribution networks has made them more likely to be lucrative. Examples of trilogies in modern fiction include

6045-445: The genes BRCA1 and BRCA2 with a more than 75% risk of breast cancer and ovarian cancer , and hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC or Lynch syndrome), which is present in about 3% of people with colorectal cancer , among others. Statistically for cancers causing most mortality, the relative risk of developing colorectal cancer when a first-degree relative (parent, sibling or child) has been diagnosed with it

6138-459: The incident with Yolles Pharmaceuticals. Roberts has spent some time applying his talent in Las Vegas , simultaneously seeking information about Seth, who is suffering from am aggressive form of cancer of the bladder. Crazy Eddie is still trying to win back his daughter, and to do so he intends to incriminate Ira Charendoff, the lawyer to whom he betrayed Roberts over a year earlier. In order to clear

6231-492: The inherent violence all around him", not because he is "a weakling or a coward"; rather, he "sees and understands the diminishing returns of violence." Only his "closest friends" know about his ability, which he has used for years to supplement his income through a sideline working for companies as a "human lie detector" screening potential new employees. He keeps his identity a secret from these employers through "a myriad of alter egos." As for Decker and myself — Decker does teach

6324-479: The initial tumor is usually painless. Some cancers can cause a buildup of fluid within the chest or abdomen . Systemic symptoms may occur due to the body's response to the cancer. This may include fatigue, unintentional weight loss, or skin changes. Some cancers can cause a systemic inflammatory state that leads to ongoing muscle loss and weakness, known as cachexia . Some cancers, such as Hodgkin's disease , leukemias , and liver or kidney cancers , can cause

6417-411: The latter against the former in The Placebo Effect , and remains Eddie's antagonist in A Murder of Crows . Professor Neil Frost harbours a grudge against his colleagues at Ancaster College, "aggravated by a university system that pays him modestly and ever more frustrated at being denied a full professorship." In A Murder of Crows , he conspires to commit heinous crime of mass murder with Walter Jones,

6510-504: The legal status of Native Americans under U.S. law. Trilogies—and series in general—are common in speculative fiction . Trilogies ( Ancient Greek : τριλογία trilogia ) date back to ancient times. In the Dionysia festivals of ancient Greece , for example, trilogies of plays were performed followed by a fourth satyr play . The Oresteia is the only surviving trilogy of these ancient Greek plays, originally performed at

6603-441: The lungs. Other substances in this category, including both naturally occurring and synthetic asbestos-like fibers, such as wollastonite , attapulgite , glass wool and rock wool , are believed to have similar effects. Non-fibrous particulate materials that cause cancer include powdered metallic cobalt and nickel and crystalline silica ( quartz , cristobalite and tridymite ). Usually, physical carcinogens must get inside

6696-507: The most outstanding example is Viola Tripping, whom Andrew Wilmot characterizes as really "a medium for speaking to the dead". Rotenberg stated more than once that Roberts is a "loner" but also an "outsider", and in more than one sense. When asked by Bill Selnes why the Canadian hero of a Canadian novel criss-crosses the American border so many times, Rotenberg pointed out that a lead character who

6789-496: The non-ionizing medium wave UVB , as the cause of most non-melanoma skin cancers , which are the most common forms of cancer in the world. Non-ionizing radio frequency radiation from mobile phones, electric power transmission and other similar sources has been described as a possible carcinogen by the World Health Organization 's International Agency for Research on Cancer . Evidence, however, has not supported

6882-508: The older Roberts knows now, that the monk spoke the truth, as he always knows when anyone speaks the truth, a unique benefit of his particular form of synaesthesia , a neurological condition. For years, this talent has proven to be a lucrative sideline to his regular work as a theatre director and acting coach based in The Junction , Toronto . Roberts is hired by companies because he can tell them if their potential recruits are lying. He leads

6975-462: The onset of cancer, though it may worsen outcomes in those who already have cancer. Environmental or lifestyle factors that caused cancer to develop in an individual can be identified by analyzing mutational signatures from genomic sequencing of tumor DNA. For example, this can reveal if lung cancer was caused by tobacco smoke, if skin cancer was caused by UV radiation, or if secondary cancers were caused by previous chemotherapy treatment. Cancer

7068-425: The original is called the primary tumor. Almost all cancers can metastasize. Most cancer deaths are due to cancer that has metastasized. Metastasis is common in the late stages of cancer and it can occur via the blood or the lymphatic system or both. The typical steps in metastasis are: Different types of cancers tend to metastasize to particular organs. Overall, the most common places for metastases to occur are

7161-449: The playing field and keep the NSA off his best friend's back at the same time, Eddie sends Roberts to South Africa . A close eye is being kept on both men and others like them by the NSA with a view to using them for combating terrorism. In upper New York State, the elite science-focused Ancaster College prepares for spring graduation. Aggrieved professor Neil Frost and resentful janitor Walter Jones conspire to exact violent revenge against

7254-869: The previous decade increases of 26% and 21%, respectively. The most common types of cancer in males are lung cancer , prostate cancer , colorectal cancer , and stomach cancer . In females, the most common types are breast cancer , colorectal cancer, lung cancer, and cervical cancer . If skin cancer other than melanoma were included in total new cancer cases each year, it would account for around 40% of cases. In children, acute lymphoblastic leukemia and brain tumors are most common, except in Africa, where non-Hodgkin lymphoma occurs more often. In 2012, about 165,000 children under 15 years of age were diagnosed with cancer. The risk of cancer increases significantly with age, and many cancers occur more commonly in developed countries. Rates are increasing as more people live to an old age and as lifestyle changes occur in

7347-403: The process of healing, rather than directly by the trauma. However, repeated injuries to the same tissues might promote excessive cell proliferation, which could then increase the odds of a cancerous mutation. Chronic inflammation has been hypothesized to directly cause mutation. Inflammation can contribute to proliferation, survival, angiogenesis and migration of cancer cells by influencing

7440-618: The risk due to other infections, sometimes up to several thousand fold (in the case of Kaposi's sarcoma ). Importantly, vaccination against hepatitis B and human papillomavirus have been shown to nearly eliminate risk of cancers caused by these viruses in persons successfully vaccinated prior to infection. These environmental factors act, at least partly, by changing the genes of a cell. Typically, many genetic changes are required before cancer develops. Approximately 5–10% of cancers are due to inherited genetic defects. Cancer can be detected by certain signs and symptoms or screening tests. It

7533-540: The rules "when the NSA essentially operates without them," and when the phenomenon exhibited by Roberts "can't be explained by logic." Head of the NSA Leonard Harrison is described as a Tommy Lee Jones "without the snark". Seth Roberts is the protagonist's son. His mother died of ALS . Nineteen years old in The Placebo Effect , the younger Roberts resents his father, apparently blaming him for his mother's death; he refers to his mother's last words when he writes

7626-437: The run trying to work out why he has been targeted and by whom. His escape route takes him from coast to coast, north to south, through small towns and big cities across North America, as both pursuer and pursued. As Roberts draws closer to his quarry, he grudgingly agrees to work with and for the NSA. Agent Yslan Hicks tells him his friend Crazy Eddie betrayed him, but he refuses to believe it. Fourteen months have passed since

7719-401: The same characters or setting, such as The Deptford Trilogy of novels by Robertson Davies , The Apu Trilogy of films by Satyajit Ray , The Kingdom Trilogy of television miniseries from 1994 to 2022 by Lars von Trier . Other fiction trilogies are connected only by theme: for example, each film of Krzysztof Kieślowski 's Three Colours trilogy explores one of the political ideals of

7812-519: The stockyards just around the corner, hot dog Tuesday was unbelievable... all those churches—so many churches in such a small area." referring to Annette Street. Rotenberg wondered if something happened in the neighbourhood that led to the building of so many churches, and did some research, discovering that some police records disappeared when the area was ammalgamated with Toronto: "I thought, 'What awful thing happened here that some police records were lost?'" and grew suspicious that ammalgamation provided

7905-400: The tumor, known as paraneoplastic syndromes . Common paraneoplastic syndromes include hypercalcemia , which can cause altered mental state , constipation and dehydration, or hyponatremia , which can also cause altered mental status, vomiting, headaches, or seizures. Metastasis is the spread of cancer to other locations in the body. The dispersed tumors are called metastatic tumors, while

7998-461: The type of cancer and extent of disease at the start of treatment. In children under 15 at diagnosis, the five-year survival rate in the developed world is on average 80%. For cancer in the United States, the average five-year survival rate is 66% for all ages. In 2015, about 90.5 million people worldwide had cancer. In 2019, annual cancer cases grew by 23.6 million people, and there were 10 million deaths worldwide, representing over

8091-1286: The unique approach to acting that I developed — even works at the studio of which I am the Artistic Director. He knows the parts of the world that I know — Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, New York City, Pittsburgh, New Orleans, North Carolina, Cape Town, Namibia — I think you write what you know. In some way most authors write versions of themselves — themselves as fools, themselves as heroes, themselves as children, themselves out of control etc. David Rotenberg The notion that there may be others of "his kind" only dawns on him slowly, and "that he needs to find them to understand who and what he is." Steven Patrick Clare observes: "By day he seems sociable, liked and respected by his peers and pupils. After hours, however, he seeks solace with select company, often through synesthesia social-media sites." On more than one occasion Roberts says to himself: "You are from them, but not of them", as though he thinks of himself as other than, or perhaps better than, "his kind", other synaesthetes. Roberts also comes to believe that each time he uses his gift "someone close to him gets hurt." His wife's last words to him were, "What have you done, Decker: What have you done?" Roberts teaches acting at

8184-417: The work, Roberts shows that his gift has limitations: while he can tell that someone is not telling the truth , he cannot say whether that person is lying , that is, if an untruth is deliberate. Worse, since almost everyone in the videos is not telling the truth about something , it is hard to determine who may have been involved. Roberts learns that the NSA has been tracking other people like him, including

8277-533: The world around them. The Placebo Effect features such Junction landmarks as Squirly's and the Swan Diner (both on Queen West ). There's something hunched about The Junction. There's something... there's something hidden. There are secrets. As a writer, secrets interest me. David Rotenberg Rotenberg spoke of the Junction area as "a different world" than the Greater Toronto Area : "For years we had

8370-400: Was born and raised in Toronto, although I left for 15 years I've been back for 22... and there are times that publishers want to push for American Heroes. Decker's an outsider, we as Canadians are outsiders to the world's most powerful entity, crumbling as it may be. Bill Selnes later remarked: "Making the hero a Canadian rather than an American when part of the story is set in the United States

8463-501: Was first published by Simon & Schuster between 2012 and 2014. In a prologue set in 1988, Decker Roberts, aged 22, stands in Chartres Cathedral , where he meets a monk who asks whether he has decided to stay. Brother Malcolm offers to teach him everything he knows and in return, the cathedral and ministry will become his home, and he will avoid "the room with no windows – and the hanging man". The young Roberts knew then, as

8556-477: Was introduced in English in the modern medical sense around 1600. Cancers comprise a large family of diseases that involve abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. They form a subset of neoplasms . A neoplasm or tumor is a group of cells that have undergone unregulated growth and will often form a mass or lump, but may be distributed diffusely. All tumor cells show

8649-512: Was taught by Toronto-based Charles Roeg, who can always tell when people are telling the truth. Special Agent Yslan Hicks, "a young blond woman with almost translucent eyes," responsible for monitoring Roberts and other synaeesthetes like him. She often makes reference to her resemblance to the fictional character Clarice Starling . When introduced, she "plays by the rules" of the NSA, but her time spent with Roberts influences her: she can no longer lie, and turns introspective, wondering she played by

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