The Genius Experiment by James Patterson & Beverly Johnson

Author:James Patterson & Beverly Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Published: 2018-10-07T16:00:00+00:00

36

Around ten p.m., as the group was discussing their ideas for eradicating poverty around the world, Isabl came into the commons room.

Yahav, the Shabak security officer, was with her.

“The judges will consult with the benefactor and announce their decision tomorrow morning. Before breakfast.”

“Good,” said Keeto, who’d rejoined the other contestants after learning that he had scored a 77 on his written examination. “If it was after breakfast, I’d be too nervous to eat. And I’m already hungry. That kibbutz-style breakfast buffet you guys have here is amazing! Salad and waffles? Incredible and kosher.”

“Will the test scores be the only determining factor?” asked Annika.

“No,” said Isabl. “They will also consider your first test, your interviews, and all observed behavior.”

Great, thought Max.

She’d totally tanked on her first exam.

She’d more or less blown off her interview.

And she’d been observed straying from the herd and being chased out of the Einstein Archives by evil minions working for the Corp.

She didn’t have a snowball’s chance in a microwave oven of being the “chosen one.”

Still, her brief time at the Change Makers Institute had been some of the happiest days of her life.

She was with kindred spirits. She’d actually made friends. With kids her own age. Her intellect had been challenged on a regular basis. She’d seen an exotic foreign land. She’d spent time looking at Albert Einstein’s actual writings. She’d eaten strange snack food items.

She’d even enjoyed the rush of adrenaline that came with escaping the Corp thugs with her new friend Annika.

“Will the chosen one operate out of Jerusalem?” asked Klaus. “Or will I get to go home to Poland?”

“You, or whoever is selected, will be immediately sent out into the field,” said Isabl. “Exactly where you might go is TBD, depending on the mission. But the winner can’t stay here. We must assume the Corp knows about our operational base in Israel.”

“What, exactly, is the Corp?” asked Tisa.

“The bad guys,” said Annika.

“They are,” explained Isabl, “the exact opposite of the CMI. They are against any and all changes we might want to see in this world.”

“Why?” asked Toma.

“Well, if I might quote Albert Einstein—”

“Nope,” joked Klaus. “That’s Max’s job.”

Isabl grinned.

“It’s okay,” said Max. “You can quote him, too.”

“And so I shall. ‘Fear or stupidity has always been the basis of most human actions.’ And to that I must add greed. The Corp isn’t stupid. But they prey on fear so they can feed their greed.”

The room was silent as everyone thought about what Isabl just said.

“Get some rest,” said Isabl. “Tomorrow will prove to be a very exciting and important day. Especially for one of you.”

The group broke up and retired to their rooms.

Max was too nervous to sleep. So, lying in her bed, she had another conversation with Albert Einstein. The imaginary one who lived inside her head.

“Your archives were amazing,” she thought. “Eighty thousand items. All those documents. I need to start writing things down like you did.”

“It is one way to outwit the constraints imposed by time,” replied her internal Einstein.

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