The Fury by John Farris
"The Fury" is a blend of horror and science fiction that intricately weaves elements of suspense-thriller narratives. The story centers around Gillian Bellaver, a fourteen-year-old girl from a wealthy family who discovers her psychic abilities after a traumatic event. Following a fainting episode during ice skating, she begins to experience heightened powers, allowing her to glimpse the past and future of those she touches, although this comes with dangerous, often fatal side effects for others nearby.
Gillian's psychic twin, Robin Sandza, possesses even greater powers and becomes embroiled in a sinister government plot by a secret agency known as MORG. As Robin is captured and subjected to experimentation, Gillian's father, Peter Sandza, embarks on a desperate mission to rescue him, navigating a web of betrayal and violence. The narrative escalates as Gillian learns to harness her abilities, ultimately leading to a climactic confrontation that results in tragic losses and the downfall of the organization behind the cruel experiments.
The story explores themes of power, control, and the moral dilemmas faced by individuals with extraordinary abilities, illustrating the profound impact such gifts can have on their lives and the lives of those around them. As tensions rise, the characters must grapple with their identities and the implications of their powers in a chaotic world.
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Subject Terms
The Fury
First published: 1976
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—extrasensory powers
Time of work: 1972-1976
Locale: New York, New Jersey, Virginia, and Maryland
The Plot
The Fury combines horror and science fiction with the conventions of the suspense-thriller genre. Teenagers with psychic powers become pawns in power struggles carried out at the highest levels of government, meanwhile causing rampant destruction to those around them.
Fourteen-year-old Gillian Bellaver, daughter of an incredibly wealthy and socially prominent family, has a vision of a murdered man while ice skating, and she faints. A virulent case of flu causes her to be hospitalized, and high fever brings her latent psychic abilities to the surface. By touching someone, Gillian becomes able to see events in that persons past and future. An unpredictable and uncontrollable side effect is that people exposed to her psychic energy may bleed, as Gillian discovers when two women, one a surgical patient, the other a hypertension case, suddenly bleed to death while in her presence.
Gillian has a psychic twin, a boy named Robin Sandza, whose psychic powers are even more advanced than hers. Although they are not related, they are supernaturally connected, having “visited” each other in the astral plane during childhood, before Gillian lost touch with her paranormal gifts. Having been told that his father, Peter, is dead, Robin is essentially kidnapped by the secret agents of MORG, a shadowy and dangerous government agency. First taken to the Paragon Institute, a psychic testing facility, and then to MORGs heavily guarded Psi Faculty, Robin becomes a guinea pig in the governments research, potentially the next great “secret weapon” in the governments arsenal.
As Peter Sandza, a former MORG agent, searches for his son, he eludes assassins who are tracking him on orders from his former boss, Childermass, the head of MORG. With the help of Hester Moore, a Paragon Institute employee, Peter learns of Gillian. Hoping that she can help him locate Robin, he reaches her in the hospital, but an attack by MORG forces separates them and apparently ends Peter’s life.
Peter survives, however, and seeks help from his friend Nick OHanna, a government agent operating in competition with MORG. OHanna and his associates secretly program Peter to kill Robin, whom they see as a threat. Robin, meanwhile, becomes involved with Dr. Gwyneth Charles, Childermass’s niece, at Psi Faculty. As his powers grow, he becomes increasingly uncontrollable, sadistic, and paranoid. He also resumes his astral visits to Gillian, though now he is abusive instead of tender.
After Gillian accidentally causes her friend Larue to bleed to death, Gillian’s distraught family places her in the Paragon Institute, where Childermass intends to fake her death and secretly transfer her to Psi Faculty. Hester helps Gillian escape, but Hester is later murdered by MORG agents, who are in turn killed by Peter. Peter and Gillian are kidnapped and brought to Psi Faculty, where a deranged Robin has destroyed Gwyneth and has retreated to the buildings roof. Peter initially saves Robin from falling, but when OHannas programming takes over, he drops Robin, who falls to his death. Childermass, enraged, shoots Peter to death. Gillian, convinced of Childermass’s evil, finally learns to control her psychic power. She causes Childermass to bleed to death in his bathtub, effectively destroying MORG in the process.