The Lab (novel)
Encyclopedia
The Lab is Australian writer Jack Heath's first novel, released in 2006.
Jack Heath started writing The Lab when he was 13 and attending Lyneham High School. Jack started writing The Lab to impress a girl at school who liked reading. He finished the first draft at the age of 17. He kept his age a secret from the publishers until he knew they were definitely interested. Jack was told to expand the first draft from 40,000 words to 90,000, but when the project was moved to another department he was told to then shorten it to 70,000.
Only a few people Heath knows (one being his brother Tom) have a copy of the 90,000 word edition.
The Lab was published as a young adult fiction action story. It was released on 1 April 2006, and was published by Pan Macmillan Australia.
Two sequels to The Lab, Remote Control and Third Transmission, were released in 2007 and 2009 respectively.
said "Heath balances the flashy fight scenes with enough introspection to please both lovers of action and fans of character development" and Booklist
magazine praised the plot as having "surprisingly well-oiled wheels within wheels."
io9 critic Charlie Jane Anders disagreed. "There's almost no character development in The Lab," he said. But he conceded that the book was "a really fun read, and ideal for kids who aren't particularly interested in introspective coming-of-age stories . . . It's basically an action movie on paper, but it could be a nice gateway drug to reading more serious science fiction."
In this futuristic setting there is only one known city left in the world, and it is run by ChaoSonic. ChaoSonic took over the city and has obliterated all their competitors and enemies. Six is an agent of a vigilante organization called "The Deck" which survives by attacking ChaoSonic subsidiaries that are acting unethically, arresting the people involved and then selling off their assets.
Only the King of Hearts, who saved Six from the Lab as a child, and is now his boss, is aware of the fact that Six is a superhuman developed by ChaoSonic. Six and King keeps this a secret, as the Spades, another division of the Deck, would imprison Six if they knew he was a ChaoSonic creation, in case he was a threat. Six is the best agent in the Deck, having a 100% mission success rate.
Six is sent to rescue some computer programmers that were kidnapped. He is disguised as a potential business partner of the woman imprisoning them, Earle Shuji, who is using them to write software for combat robots. When he meets with Shuji, he discovers that she has already started producing the robots in vast quantities, and the Deck decides to invade immediately. Six is given shared ownership of a demo bot, and with its help, he manages to rescue the programmers and escape. Shuji is caught and imprisoned, and the Deck takes her money and assets. Six keeps the robot in case it is useful in the future.
The Deck then begins to investigate "The Lab" and King gives Six the assignment to stop anyone from discovering his true identity. On his mission he meets Kyntak. Kyntak is genetically identical to Six, designed in the Lab's 'Project Falcon' alongside him. In a twisted way, they are brothers. This discovery prompts Six to re-examine his own sense of humanity.
Kyntak is locked up when he and Six arrive at the Deck, but is soon released on the orders of one of the Jokers, the shadowy leaders of the Deck. One of the Jokers is Grysat, who usually poses as the Deck's receptionist, but the identity of the other Joker is unknown, and he is the Joker that released Kyntak. Six and King are worried that the Joker and Kyntak might be working for ChaoSonic, but they keep quiet in case the Spades find out the truth about Six when investigating Kyntak.
The Deck then spies on a meeting between the Lab and a potential customer, but one of the guards recognizes Six. Six chases the man, but he escapes, using superhuman abilities. Six returns to the Deck with his first ever mission failure.
When he arrives, he discovers that Lab soldiers have invaded the Deck and captured the agents. Six sets off on a mission to infiltrate the Lab and rescue the agents. The agents manage to get out, but Six is killed in the attempt. However, the Lab brings Six back to life, using parts from a clone of him to repair his body. Their leader, Methryn Crexe, then offer Six a job working for them, as they believe he has the perfect personality for a soldier, which they want to replicate with the next soldiers they grow. They then plan to use those soldiers to crush all resistance in the city. Six refuses the offer, and tries to escape, but is almost killed. Kyntak then arrives and rescues him. Before they leave, they find a new baby superhuman, a girl, which they take with them.
. Six is the protagonist in the Six of Hearts series published by Pan Macmillan (in Australian and New Zealand) and by Scholastic in the US and Canada. Six is also featured in the short story 404 published on Jack Heath's website.
and 'born' in The Lab, a division of Chaosonic, along with his two clones Kyntak and Sevadonn. During a fire which destroyed The Lab, Six escaped and was found by King who subsequently
raised him. At the age of thirteen Six began working for The Deck; a law enforcement organisation founded by King of Hearts.
from two magnetic bolts and a taser
. He has also proved to be a good mechanic; creating his own motorcycle
from the best parts available and being able to hotwire
a car within 18 seconds. Six is so skilled that he is able to incapacitate his enemies without killing them and still complete the mission; as a result the other agents admire him.
After falling from a great height onto concrete
in the events of The Lab, Six is said to have died, or most of him. However, a clone of him is grown and used as an organ donor to save him.
In Third Transmission, Six dies as part of the process to send him back in time
. However, he will have no memory of it. Also, in the final chapter of Third Transmission titled Transmission Ends, Six dies after being shot, though critics speculate that this may not have actually happened due to a grammatical tense
change.
Jack Heath started writing The Lab when he was 13 and attending Lyneham High School. Jack started writing The Lab to impress a girl at school who liked reading. He finished the first draft at the age of 17. He kept his age a secret from the publishers until he knew they were definitely interested. Jack was told to expand the first draft from 40,000 words to 90,000, but when the project was moved to another department he was told to then shorten it to 70,000.
Only a few people Heath knows (one being his brother Tom) have a copy of the 90,000 word edition.
The Lab was published as a young adult fiction action story. It was released on 1 April 2006, and was published by Pan Macmillan Australia.
Two sequels to The Lab, Remote Control and Third Transmission, were released in 2007 and 2009 respectively.
Critical reception
The Lab received mostly favourable reviews at the time of its release. The BulletinThe Bulletin
The Bulletin was an Australian weekly magazine that was published in Sydney from 1880 until January 2008. It was influential in Australian culture and politics from about 1890 until World War I, the period when it was identified with the "Bulletin school" of Australian literature. Its influence...
said "Heath balances the flashy fight scenes with enough introspection to please both lovers of action and fans of character development" and Booklist
Booklist
Booklist is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. It is geared toward libraries and booksellers and is available in print or online...
magazine praised the plot as having "surprisingly well-oiled wheels within wheels."
io9 critic Charlie Jane Anders disagreed. "There's almost no character development in The Lab," he said. But he conceded that the book was "a really fun read, and ideal for kids who aren't particularly interested in introspective coming-of-age stories . . . It's basically an action movie on paper, but it could be a nice gateway drug to reading more serious science fiction."
Plot summary
The Lab is an action book, whose protagonist is a 16 year old superhuman, named Agent "Six of Hearts". Six was created to be the ultimate soldier by a group called The Lab which is a ruthless division of the company ChaoSonic.In this futuristic setting there is only one known city left in the world, and it is run by ChaoSonic. ChaoSonic took over the city and has obliterated all their competitors and enemies. Six is an agent of a vigilante organization called "The Deck" which survives by attacking ChaoSonic subsidiaries that are acting unethically, arresting the people involved and then selling off their assets.
Only the King of Hearts, who saved Six from the Lab as a child, and is now his boss, is aware of the fact that Six is a superhuman developed by ChaoSonic. Six and King keeps this a secret, as the Spades, another division of the Deck, would imprison Six if they knew he was a ChaoSonic creation, in case he was a threat. Six is the best agent in the Deck, having a 100% mission success rate.
Six is sent to rescue some computer programmers that were kidnapped. He is disguised as a potential business partner of the woman imprisoning them, Earle Shuji, who is using them to write software for combat robots. When he meets with Shuji, he discovers that she has already started producing the robots in vast quantities, and the Deck decides to invade immediately. Six is given shared ownership of a demo bot, and with its help, he manages to rescue the programmers and escape. Shuji is caught and imprisoned, and the Deck takes her money and assets. Six keeps the robot in case it is useful in the future.
The Deck then begins to investigate "The Lab" and King gives Six the assignment to stop anyone from discovering his true identity. On his mission he meets Kyntak. Kyntak is genetically identical to Six, designed in the Lab's 'Project Falcon' alongside him. In a twisted way, they are brothers. This discovery prompts Six to re-examine his own sense of humanity.
Kyntak is locked up when he and Six arrive at the Deck, but is soon released on the orders of one of the Jokers, the shadowy leaders of the Deck. One of the Jokers is Grysat, who usually poses as the Deck's receptionist, but the identity of the other Joker is unknown, and he is the Joker that released Kyntak. Six and King are worried that the Joker and Kyntak might be working for ChaoSonic, but they keep quiet in case the Spades find out the truth about Six when investigating Kyntak.
The Deck then spies on a meeting between the Lab and a potential customer, but one of the guards recognizes Six. Six chases the man, but he escapes, using superhuman abilities. Six returns to the Deck with his first ever mission failure.
When he arrives, he discovers that Lab soldiers have invaded the Deck and captured the agents. Six sets off on a mission to infiltrate the Lab and rescue the agents. The agents manage to get out, but Six is killed in the attempt. However, the Lab brings Six back to life, using parts from a clone of him to repair his body. Their leader, Methryn Crexe, then offer Six a job working for them, as they believe he has the perfect personality for a soldier, which they want to replicate with the next soldiers they grow. They then plan to use those soldiers to crush all resistance in the city. Six refuses the offer, and tries to escape, but is almost killed. Kyntak then arrives and rescues him. Before they leave, they find a new baby superhuman, a girl, which they take with them.
Agent Six of Hearts
Six of Hearts is a fictional character created by Australian author Jack Heath (writer)Jack Heath (writer)
Jack Heath, , is a writer of young adult fiction. He has resided in Canberra since age 9. Heath is best known for the Six of Hearts series, for being one of Australia's youngest bestselling authors, and for the high action content in his novels Jack Heath, (born 23 August 1986 in Sydney,...
. Six is the protagonist in the Six of Hearts series published by Pan Macmillan (in Australian and New Zealand) and by Scholastic in the US and Canada. Six is also featured in the short story 404 published on Jack Heath's website.
Life
Agent Six of Hearts was created by designer DNADNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
and 'born' in The Lab, a division of Chaosonic, along with his two clones Kyntak and Sevadonn. During a fire which destroyed The Lab, Six escaped and was found by King who subsequently
raised him. At the age of thirteen Six began working for The Deck; a law enforcement organisation founded by King of Hearts.
Talents
Being created from designer DNA and hence 'superhuman'; Six is able to run faster (up to 50 kilometres per hour), jump higher and is stronger than any of the other agents at The Deck. Six is also resourceful; being able to make a electromagnetElectromagnet
An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by the flow of electric current. The magnetic field disappears when the current is turned off...
from two magnetic bolts and a taser
Taser
A Taser is an electroshock weapon that uses electrical current to disrupt voluntary control of muscles. Its manufacturer, Taser International, calls the effects "neuromuscular incapacitation" and the devices' mechanism "Electro-Muscular Disruption technology"...
. He has also proved to be a good mechanic; creating his own motorcycle
Motorcycle
A motorcycle is a single-track, two-wheeled motor vehicle. Motorcycles vary considerably depending on the task for which they are designed, such as long distance travel, navigating congested urban traffic, cruising, sport and racing, or off-road conditions.Motorcycles are one of the most...
from the best parts available and being able to hotwire
Hotwire
Hotwire or hot wire can mean one of several things:* Hotwiring, a method of starting a car without a key* Hotwire.com, an Internet-based travel agency* Hotwire * Hot Wire * Hot Wire...
a car within 18 seconds. Six is so skilled that he is able to incapacitate his enemies without killing them and still complete the mission; as a result the other agents admire him.
Physical appearance
Six is described as having black hair, blue eyes, sharp profile, white teeth, thin fingers and pale skin. At 178 centimeters he is said to be the shortest agent in the Hearts department; however, Queen of Hearts is in fact shorter at just over 170 centimeters. Six wears a black coat and is 16 years old at the beginning of The Lab and throughout the series so far. Six also wears a pair of dogtags, a reminder of his vow to never take a human life again.Deaths
Six, throughout the series, has 'died' on three separate occasions; once in The Lab and twice in Third Transmission.After falling from a great height onto concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
in the events of The Lab, Six is said to have died, or most of him. However, a clone of him is grown and used as an organ donor to save him.
In Third Transmission, Six dies as part of the process to send him back in time
Time
Time is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
. However, he will have no memory of it. Also, in the final chapter of Third Transmission titled Transmission Ends, Six dies after being shot, though critics speculate that this may not have actually happened due to a grammatical tense
Grammatical tense
A tense is a grammatical category that locates a situation in time, to indicate when the situation takes place.Bernard Comrie, Aspect, 1976:6:...
change.