“Stevens’s symptoms were consistent with inhalation anthrax, which is caused when a person breathes in the spores. The disease is extremely rare”

Preston’s narrative relies on gradually feeding information to the reader in order to create suspense. Here, instead of giving the full diagnosis for Robert Stevens, Preston references Stevens’ “symptoms” to preface an increasingly intense discussion of Stevens’s case and the anthrax letters.

“When he was younger, some of his colleagues at the Institute called him ‘The Golden Boy of USAMRIID’ because of his blond hair and his apparent luck in making interesting discoveries about viruses. He has an angular way of moving his arms and legs, a gawky posture, and it gives him the look of a science geek” 

This early depiction of Peter Jahrling calls attention to Jahrling’s exceptional work as a researcher. However, Preston also uses physical description to present Jahrling on a human level; within Preston’s account, Jahrling indeed can feel more like a character in a novel than a name attached to a research résumé.

“There is probably a piece of paper sitting in a classified safe at USAMRIID—I have no idea of knowing this for certain—containing a list of nations and groups that the CIA believes either have clandestine stocks of smallpox or are trying actively to get the virus”

Although he often relies on personal anecdote and first-person commentary, Preston—for all his involvement—is not completely in command of the facts. He is not by any means a lax researcher; he is simply dealing with areas of government and research activity that rely on information that is kept clandestine or unclear for strategic purposes.