and he needed to make them quickly. The current tactical situation could not be more ideal. But if Miller and the others entered the tunnel to their warehouse the situation would grow more complex and uncertainties would make the op more difficult.
He vowed that whatever it took, he would see to it that Miller and Desh would not slip the noose again.
6
Van Hutten and his four escorts arrived at the conference room, which was large and bright and packed with life. Kira loved plants, believing they were both good for the human soul as well as the quality of indoor air, and there were more plants within the facility than could be found in many outdoor gardens. The conference room itself was home to three Chinese fan palms, each of which reached the ceiling, and two amstel-king-braid ficus trees, all potted in round, one-hundred-gallon brushed silver containers that fit with the conference room’s theme of contemporary simplicity.
They took seats around an elegant glass conference table that was shaped like a giant’s surfboard, pointed at a fifty inch monitor on the wall.
Kira studied van Hutten with barely concealed enthusiasm. A physicist of his caliber who had made it through all of their screens was potentially huge for the project. They had told Seth Rosenblatt that van Hutten wasn’t acceptable, but this was part of their security plan to compartmentalize information, especially personnel information, whenever possible. What Rosenblatt didn’t know couldn’t hurt him—or others.
“Anton,” she began. “We really are honored that you could join us. But I’d like to get right to the point. And once again, I’ll ask for your patience and open mindedness. I promise you everything we tell you is completely accurate. And we’ll prove it to you before we’re through.”
Van Hutten’s face tightened, and he looked understandably uneasy, but he just nodded and said nothing.
Kira had always been the type who liked to tear band-aids off swiftly. “I’m a molecular biologist,” she said. “Several years ago I developed a gene therapy. For about an hour at a time, this therapy can boost human intelligence to . . . well, there’s no other way to say it: to immeasurable levels.”
Van Hutten blinked several times as if he had no idea what these words meant. A quizzical expression came over his face. “Immeasurable levels?” he repeated, as if his ears hadn’t been working properly.
Kira nodded. “That’s right.”
She could tell van Hutten was trying hard to remain expressionless, but even so the slightest sneer of disbelief flashed over his face. He glanced at the three men at the table, as if looking for an expression that would confirm that this was an elaborate joke, that he was being put on. She could only imagine what must be going through his head. Was he wondering if this was an initiation rite? If he was being tested to see how he would react? More likely, Kira knew, he probably thought he was in the company of a group of dangerous, delusional zealots.
“The human brain has nearly unlimited potential,” she continued. “But it’s wired for survival rather than pure intelligence. Autistic savants give us a small window into the possibilities. There are autistic savants who can memorize entire phone books in one reading and can multiply ten digit numbers faster than a calculator. What if you could unleash capabilities even greater than these across all areas of thought and creativity?”
Van Hutten’s eyes narrowed as he considered this argument. He tilted his head and his expression became slightly less skeptical; slightly more thoughtful. “Go on,” he said.
Connelly and Desh excused themselves from the room as Kira forged ahead. She described how she had experimented on animals before eventually turning herself into a human guinea pig. She described the enormous plasticity of the human brain, which allowed for a ten-fold range of human intelligence, from an IQ of twenty-five to
He vowed that whatever it took, he would see to it that Miller and Desh would not slip the noose again.
6
Van Hutten and his four escorts arrived at the conference room, which was large and bright and packed with life. Kira loved plants, believing they were both good for the human soul as well as the quality of indoor air, and there were more plants within the facility than could be found in many outdoor gardens. The conference room itself was home to three Chinese fan palms, each of which reached the ceiling, and two amstel-king-braid ficus trees, all potted in round, one-hundred-gallon brushed silver containers that fit with the conference room’s theme of contemporary simplicity.
They took seats around an elegant glass conference table that was shaped like a giant’s surfboard, pointed at a fifty inch monitor on the wall.
Kira studied van Hutten with barely concealed enthusiasm. A physicist of his caliber who had made it through all of their screens was potentially huge for the project. They had told Seth Rosenblatt that van Hutten wasn’t acceptable, but this was part of their security plan to compartmentalize information, especially personnel information, whenever possible. What Rosenblatt didn’t know couldn’t hurt him—or others.
“Anton,” she began. “We really are honored that you could join us. But I’d like to get right to the point. And once again, I’ll ask for your patience and open mindedness. I promise you everything we tell you is completely accurate. And we’ll prove it to you before we’re through.”
Van Hutten’s face tightened, and he looked understandably uneasy, but he just nodded and said nothing.
Kira had always been the type who liked to tear band-aids off swiftly. “I’m a molecular biologist,” she said. “Several years ago I developed a gene therapy. For about an hour at a time, this therapy can boost human intelligence to . . . well, there’s no other way to say it: to immeasurable levels.”
Van Hutten blinked several times as if he had no idea what these words meant. A quizzical expression came over his face. “Immeasurable levels?” he repeated, as if his ears hadn’t been working properly.
Kira nodded. “That’s right.”
She could tell van Hutten was trying hard to remain expressionless, but even so the slightest sneer of disbelief flashed over his face. He glanced at the three men at the table, as if looking for an expression that would confirm that this was an elaborate joke, that he was being put on. She could only imagine what must be going through his head. Was he wondering if this was an initiation rite? If he was being tested to see how he would react? More likely, Kira knew, he probably thought he was in the company of a group of dangerous, delusional zealots.
“The human brain has nearly unlimited potential,” she continued. “But it’s wired for survival rather than pure intelligence. Autistic savants give us a small window into the possibilities. There are autistic savants who can memorize entire phone books in one reading and can multiply ten digit numbers faster than a calculator. What if you could unleash capabilities even greater than these across all areas of thought and creativity?”
Van Hutten’s eyes narrowed as he considered this argument. He tilted his head and his expression became slightly less skeptical; slightly more thoughtful. “Go on,” he said.
Connelly and Desh excused themselves from the room as Kira forged ahead. She described how she had experimented on animals before eventually turning herself into a human guinea pig. She described the enormous plasticity of the human brain, which allowed for a ten-fold range of human intelligence, from an IQ of twenty-five to
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