I knew Michael Crichton dipped his toe into a lot of genres and ideas, but until I read “Binary” (1972), the last of his eight John Lange books, I didn’t realize he was a major influence on TV’s “24.” Well, not for sure; I can’t find any documentation that the creators of “24” drew from this novel when launching the series in 2001. But if they didn’t, it’s a helluva coincidence.
Reluctant agent
“Binary” follows intelligence agent John Graves, who is hounded by his boss to investigate and arrest terrorist John Wright. The latter plans to release a nerve gas in downtown San Diego that kills people in less than 2 minutes. The 1972 Republican convention is in town, with Nixon in attendance.
(The real convention was slated for San Diego but was moved to Miami Beach, and Crichton “preferred not to follow it.”)
“Binary” (1972)
Author: Michael Crichton, as John Lange
Genre: Spy thriller
Series: John Lange No. 8
Setting: San Diego, 1972
As each chapter counts down from 12 hours out to the zero hour, Graves makes progress in his cat-and-mouse game with Wright.
In addition to previewing “24’s” format and themes, “Binary” is ultra-relevant today. Graves, who fell into government work, enjoyed the spying games against other countries. That seemed clean, black-and-white, to him.
He’s uncomfortable spying on American citizens and keeping files on them in this early day of computers. Crichton, too, is no fan of big government. He notes that this whole thing is possible because the Army created the nerve gas and then (for an unexplained reason) moved it via train, allowing for its theft.
Making America great again
Wright leads a faction that – as the back-cover description of my “Jurassic Park”-era edition says – aims to “make America great again.” (That phrase was popularized by Reagan in 1980 before Trump brought it back.)
Wright’s team’s hacking technique is primitive – as is the computer storage in Washington. He dials into it by telephone, has the right code, and gets the information he wants.
Update the technology specifics and “Binary” could unfold much the same way today. One slight difference from “24” is that there aren’t many all-out action scenes. Rather, this is a true battle of intelligence. Wright buys a lot of unique supplies and Graves tries to figure out what he’s putting together.
Intriguingly, Graves believes Wright intends to use Graves’ counter-moves as part of the scheme. So Graves acquires his own psych profile after wading through the bureaucracy. I felt Crichton could’ve done more with this part, but it’s a good notion.
The last Lange experiment
“Binary” came out three years after Crichton became a household name with “The Andromeda Strain,” but I’m guessing he chose to use the Lange name one last time because he’s still experimenting here. While it is the best Lange book (edging out “Drug of Choice” and “The Venom Business”), it’s still more cranked-out than a “Crichton” book.
But not by much. “The Terminal Man” came out this same year, and that’s Crichton’s pulpiest work under his own name. Its science fiction theme of mind control gives it more cachet.
“Binary” lacks the detailed asides Crichton would later be known for. When he mulls the rise of the spy state, it’s through Graves’ quick thoughts. We don’t get background on the formation of the FBI or anything like that.
Indeed, “Binary” is only 169 pages. That keeps the story propulsive. That’s something most of the “24” tie-in novels – and some TV seasons – struggle with. Crichton was no doubt thinking cinematically when writing the book, as he adapted it into the TV movie “Pursuit” in his directorial debut that same year.
In Season 9 and in “24: Legacy,” it switched to a 12-hour format, precisely conforming to the formula Crichton used all those decades ago.