Peeps (novel)

Peeps

Peeps first edition cover.
Author	Scott Westerfeld
Cover artist	Jason Ralls
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre	Young adult Science Fiction
Publisher	Penguin Group
Publication date	February 8, 2005
Media type	Print (Paperback)
Pages	304
ISBN
OCLC	71337973
Followed by	The Last Days

Peeps (also Parasite Positive) is a 2005 novel by Scott Westerfeld revolving around a parasite which causes people to become cannibalistic and repelled by that which they once loved. It follows the protagonist, Cal Thompson, as he lives with this parasite and tries to uncover a possible threat to the whole population of the world. The apocalyptic threat to the world that begins in Peeps continues in The Last Days, which featured some of the same characters.

Two days after arriving in New York for college, Cal loses his virginity to a girl who picks him up. From this encounter Cal picks up an STD, but this is an unusual one: it turns its victims into "peeps"—parasite positives—raving cannibalistic monsters with unusual strength, night vision, heightened senses, and an affinity with rats. Cal himself turns out to be immune, but he's a carrier—he gets the strength and senses without the nasty side effects. But before he knows it he has infected others.

Cal is recruited by the Night Watch, a secret government organization that has existed for centuries to contain the disease and its victims. His first assignment is to capture all the girls he's infected. But soon Cal realizes that there is more going on than he has been told: the disease is changing in response to mysterious forces from under the earth that are waking up after centuries of slumber.

The protagonist of the novel, Cal is a "carrier" of the parasite. Essentially, his body contains the parasite that in most people causes dementia, cannibalism, and other vampiric symptoms. Cal gains the advantages of the parasite without suffering from the dementia, suffering only minor side effects. Because the parasite is transferred through almost any bodily fluid, it causes Cal to feel sexually aroused at all times. Due to its effects on people who are not carriers, however, he must resist these urges, which prevents him from having any natural relationships.

Cal is nineteen years of age, and has been a carrier of the parasite for a year when the novel begins. He is a hunter for the Night Watch, hunting down out of control Peeps (or Parasite Positives) beginning with his ex-girlfriends, whom he infected. The Night Watch dates back to colonial times in America, but has never revealed itself to society for fear of causing widespread panic. The novel focuses primarily on his hunt for Morgan, the mysterious woman who infected him with the parasite. Along the way, he forms a relationship with Lace and discovers that the Night Watch has not told him all that they should have.