3C

How can we explain the changes in Peter Andrews from the healthy marathon runner he had once been?

Not sure on this one but, if there is a supernatural element to the story, maybe they've had the lives sucked out of them in some Voodoo-type ritual that has left them on the verge of death but left them able to carry out a killing apiece?

drugs

Some type of hypnosis.

Drugs or hypnosis could be the blame but also so could any number of other illnesses.

I'm rather baffled. I see drugs putting somebody under influence, but not changing the body type so significantly. I would expect a healthy athlete that contracts an aggressive type of cancer to become emaciated, but not what is described here. Very weird. Same kind of weird as the seemingly too young organs of Smythe.

None of the explanations seem to cover everything. I'm completely bewildered.

Can't see this being drugs - how do drugs cause terminal cancer? Hmmmm.... This is very puzzling. Has the medical condition brought him into contact with someone who had then hypnotised him. These people were at university and some were doing medical degrees.

I'm toying with a more supernatural theory. If the original murder of the girl was some sort of ritual that perhaps bestowed a health benefit to each of the 6 murderers (a benefit to one specific organ for each of them) then I'm considering the surrogates that were hypnotized (or drugged, or voodoo'd) to murder and then commit suicide also took part in some sort of ritual that did the reverse--damaged the healthy organ. Not sure if this makes sense--it's late and it's a rather bizarre theory.

>9 bluebird_: It makes sense, Bb, and I'm thinking along Voodoo lines too.
My theory is that, after 60 years, the benefits of the original ritual/killing need 'topping up' - sucking the life-force out of the 'suicide killers' has not only left their innards depleted but their bodies as vessels to carry out the orders of the 6th man.

>10 Sergeirocks:. Ah, that's an interesting idea. I was looking more at a revenge angle, but I like the "topping up" idea. I will have to mull this over.

>10 Sergeirocks: An interesting idea.

>11 bluebird_: >12 Andrew-theQM: it's the best I can come up with, given the lack of info and hints at the supernatural - I'm waiting to see how far wide of the mark I actually am...