LaCost. Patrick Rizio

quite a bit. We continued the next day, the tests getting more and more difficult. We did this for three days, Jason. The University of Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology, Cal Tech, M.I.T, U.C.L.A, Harvard, Princeton...nobody has a test able to measure her abilities in this area. No one! She’s off the charts. We literally do not have tests to measure these abilities in her. They’re, they’re…”

      “Unquantifiable?”

      “Yes, unquantifiable. I mean, her math skills alone qualify her for genius status, but this…this is…this is…” Alison saw that half smile beginning to appear on Jason’s face, and remembered who she was talking to.

      She stopped, took a breath, and looking into his eyes said to him very softly, “This is something that comes along maybe once in a thousand generations.”

      He smiled. “You know, I think you might just score pretty highly on the memory section of those tests yourself.”

      Alison smiled back.

      “Tell me something,” Jason asked. “How much orange juice did she drink during the testing.” Alison’s eyebrows pulled together.

      “Orange juice?...orange juice. Uh, well, the first day of the testing we did verbal and reasoning skills. She drank about two or three glasses that day. The second day was memory testing and mathematics. She seemed pretty thirsty the second day. She drank about double that, or more, maybe seven glasses. The third day was when the spatial skills and pattern recognition part of the test started…but of course we had to stop early because, as I said, I didn’t have the proper tests.”

      “Well how long did it go?”

      “Only about an hour or so. She drank about two and a half glasses.”

      “Was there any adult testing the third day?”

      “Just a little.” Alison’s eyes suddenly opened up. “Jason, I guess I was so excited about the results, that I never noticed. That last day, the day she was going through the most difficult pattern recognition stuff...”

      “Yes.”

      “Well, we were only testing for about three hours, because she was going through the stuff so quickly. But by the end of the testing, Sarah must have gone through maybe a gallon of juice. She’d finish a paper, have a glass of juice, finish another, have another glass of juice. I kept handing her papers and pouring juice. She was finishing them as fast as I could grade them, and I just never noticed.”

      Alison flashed back to that day in the hospital.

      “Jason, you don’t think…”

      “Relax,” he said, putting his hand out, fingers up. “Sarah’s fine.”

      “You’re sure?”

      “I’m sure.”

      Alison took a deep breath, and promptly relaxed. She had come to completely trust Jason’s opinion where Sarah was concerned.

      Jason reached out and took Alison’s hand. “Would you like some more coffee or anything?”

      “Well, now that you mention it, I am a little hungry.”

      *******

      There were no polite preliminaries.

      “Jack, I’ve come into something that I need your help with.”

      “Must be pretty urgent to warrant a call this time of the morning.”

      “Well, it’s no emergency, but I could use your advice. I know you’re going to be in town next week.Why don’t I buy you a cup of coffee and we’ll talk?”

      “Sounds like a plan. I’ll give you a call when I get in. Bob, old buddy, I have three other messages waiting on this thing, so I’ll have to let you go for now.”

      “Three other messages. At this time of the morning? My, my, we must be taking it to the bank in wheelbarrows nowadays.”

      “Don’t be silly. Hefty lawn bags work just fine. Got to go. Bye.”

      Thompson hung up the phone and thought things over for a minute. Then he stuffed the whole hard-boiled egg into his mouth and grabbed a medium sized suitcase from the hall closet. He knew if he hurried, he could catch the 10:30 flight to O’Hare. He made a quick mental list of the things he would have to cancel for the next few days while filling the suitcase. He figured he could retrieve his messages and call his neighbor about picking up his mail. He also knew that if his longtime friend was using that antiquated code phrase that meant,“we need to talk in person,” it must be something pretty significant. That being the case, he decided to shift all other priorities down a notch. Why the hell not. I’m retired.

      He was in and out of the shower, shaved and dressed, and waiting for the cab in 15 minutes. As the driver pulled away from the curb, Thompson was curious, and concerned, as to what Schimmel would be needing him for. He felt an old anticipation begin to stir. It had been a while. He realized, he was starting to have fun.

      14

      Jason walked into the lab early, and tired. He had stayed even later than usual the last three nights. He was once again deep into the hunt, and like a bulldog whose jaws have snapped shut, there was no letting go until the job was done. Upon detecting him entering the room, his computer started the coffee machine, (new coffee machine, new programming). “Good morning my love.”

      “Good morning,” he answered, tossing the empty plastic orange juice glass in the trash. “Where exactly did we leave off last night?”

      “We left off on the third attempt at sequencing animal cell mutations, occurring after maturity in primates. Blue folder on your desk, second page, line seventeen, exactly.”

      Jason walked to his office and picked up the folder. His focus quickly snapped back to where it had been just six hours before. His fatigue dissipated. The right sequence was there. He just hadn’t found it. He knew he was close.

      Two hours passed. As the lab techs started to file in for work, Jason remained in the confines of his office. His staff was still busy helping to implement the last project and, more to the point, there was no one, (other than his “girl” of course), capable of helping him work at this level. He really didn’t want or need any distractions. The lab staff had long since learned this. Other than to warn him that the place was on fire, they knew better than to bother him. One person however, did not know better, and walked in on him without even thinking to knock.

      “Good morning, Mr. LaCost.”

      Jason looked up expressionless, and then answered with a smile.

      “Good morning, Ms. Riker. To what do I owe this delightful visit?”

      “You owe it to the fact that you seem incapable of reading, or should I say acknowledging, memos.”

      “Now that’s not true. My gir, uh, computer answers all memos, and notifies me accordingly.”

      “Oh sure,” Janet responded. “It answers them all right. Answers your office phone too, with instructions that you are not to be disturbed. I’ve even tried your cell, but of course, that can be ignored easily enough. Jason, you really have to start acting more…like an adult.”

      He smiled. He knew Janet wasn’t really mad, just tired of having to walk all the way here from the other side of the building only to inform him of meetings and such. The problem was, she was the only one who could effectively do it. He simply ignored anyone else.

      “I’ll try to do better,” he replied, bowing his head and looking at the floor. Janet rolled her eyes toward the ceiling.

      “You really are incorrigible, you know that!”

      “Actually, I do know that.”

      “Aaaaargh!”