Until one day he’d heard that Moore had several illegitimate children.It was a long shot but if he’d kept in touch with one or two, perhaps they had the volumes of data and experiments he needed to improve upon the formulation.
Most of Moore’s children were dead or missing.All except Judy, who proudly talked of her father’s accomplishments and that his genius had been underappreciated.
Their meeting was planned on his part, after an argument she had with Benjamin.It was perfect.He comforted her, made love sweet love to her, and then talked of his own ideas of creating genius.
She bought it all.Every last line.Within four years they were working day and night to perfect the formula.In the beginning, it had been a disaster.The formula never seemed reliable in powder form, which gave him the idea of recreating it in liquid form.
More research, more experiments, more children given the liquid and it seemed nothing was working as he hoped.Until he made one small tweak and discovered that the irony of it all was only giving it to children already born imperfect.
Yes, the formula worked and they’d created inexplicable deaf savants but what was truly fascinating was what was happening in their brains.Neither Benjamin nor Judy appreciated the beauty of watching a live brain perform under a microscope.Poke it, cut it, make it work for you.
There were men like himself who wanted to see the same thing.Men in Russia, China, North Korea, Africa, and almost every other country in the world.They were prepared to pay billions of dollars for just one small sample of the formulation.And he was prepared to give it to them.
But first, he needed one more child to demonstrate, live, what he was planning to do.He would show them how together, they would change the world.
After a long hot shower, he crawled into bed and checked his phone one more time.
Tell me where and I will be there tomorrow.
He smiled to himself and thought, I’ll make him wait and suffer.
“I’m now busy tomorrow.It will have to be the following morning.I’ll text you later tomorrow for a good location.”He set the phone down and laughed, turning off the bedside lamp.
“It’s not easy being a genius.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Sutton and the other children were allowed a field trip on their first week of school.Of course, the field trip was to the animal sanctuary and they were escorted by Luke, Ghost, Gaspar, Ian, Nine, Lucy, Sniff, and Mama Irene.
Immediately, it was as if the animals knew the children were special.They walked slowly toward them, gently nuzzling their legs or heads.The elephants lay in front of them on their sides and the children laid their bodies on top of them, feeling their deep breaths and low rumbles.
Their excited faces showed how they were absorbing the music of the animals.Gaspar asked Twiggy to give a trumpet and she excitedly replied with one of her best.
When Caraway and Poppy, the jaguars, came closer, their purring and rumbling excited Jagger so much he could hardly contain himself.
But it was Semu who stole the show.Using her own experience with sign language, she was able to communicate to the children, explaining the miracle and magic of the island.
She hugged the children, easily lifting them to a tree and showing them her home in the sky.Carefully, she lowered each one and then Bella, the boa slithered up.
Even the children were nervous at first, all except Pip.Pip sat down and allowed her to encircle him, giving a light, gentle squeeze.He touched her head, then ran his hand over her long, slithery body.
“Is that okay?” asked Sutton a little concerned.
“It’s okay,” smiled Gaspar.“She likes him.In a good way, not the snack kind of way.”
“I think she hears him,” said Sutton staring at them.“I mean, I think Bella understands him in some weird way.Is that possible?”
“Honey, I think anything is possible on this island,” said Gaspar.“I learned a long time ago not to question what these animals are capable of.Look over there.Melvin is riding Alvin’s back and looks as though he’s have a great time.”
Sutton laughed, nodding as the little boy held on while the huge alligator walked around in a circle.Oscar, Mabel, Penelope and Hank offered rides to the other children.The Komoda dragons were larger than even Alvin and the kids saw them just as strange looking dogs.
But it was Jagger that seemed to need to touch every animal, feel their breathing and their strange sounds.After each touch, each ride, each time his head lay on an animal, he ran to his notebook and scratched out musical notes that it seemed only his little brain understood.
Occasionally, the island would get animal visitors.Egrets, cranes, swans, hawks, and even an eagle on occasion.Today, they were all present as if they’d been called to attend Sunday services.
Charlie sat on the bench as the flock of strange birds landed on and around him.As if sensing his desire, each one sat on his shoulder or even on top of his head, careful not leave any unwanted waste.The boy would hold the bird, feeling it’s chest as it let out a loud cry or screech.
He would giggle in his own way, a smile spreading across his face and then would attempt to make the same sound with his magical voice.
