IA: Initiate (24 page)
Authors: John Darryl Winston
Cory is visibly rattled. “Maybe!” says Cory, brusquely. “But I’ll tell you what is junk science: creating useless models based on the work of geniuses like Einstein, Curie, Freud, Pavlov, Watson and Crick. It’s derivative drivel without an ounce of innovation.”
The president stands up and begins to make his way out of the auditorium, and this fires up Cory even more.
“We pat ourselves on the back and pass out awards every year, for what?” asks Cory angrily as he looks over to see Camille peeking out from the stage wing, biting her fingernails nervously. “People are starving because we’re not smart enough to feed the planet. People are dying by the millions from sickness and disease that we’re not intelligent enough to eradicate. The solution lies within us, but we have to make ourselves smarter. And that’s where it starts,” Cory finishes passionately as he points to the stage where Darla is still sitting on the bicycle.
A student yells from the back of the auditorium, “You tell ’em, Dr. Andersen.”
A few more students chime in, “Yeah ... Yeah ... Yeah!”
A fringe group of protesters calling themselves Apocalgreen sees this as an opportunity to forward their cause and starts chanting, “No more experiments! No more experiments! No more experiments!”
University security converges on the situation as a shoving match begins. Pandemonium ensues. People begin to throw things onto the stage. Darla screams and runs. Camille snatches her up and ducks back into the wing of the stage.
In the cab ride home, Cory and Camille are silent. Cory looks straight ahead, but in his peripheral vision he can see Camille staring out of the window and angrily shredding a tissue the master of ceremonies had given her. In his hand, he then notices the card the suspicious-looking gentleman had given him. He reads it now for the first time.
I’ll fund your research. Give me a call!
Cory turns the card over to read:
Wintersal Neurological Institute
Avander Pauling
312.838.1931
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Darryl Winston is the author of IA: Initiate: the first book in the IA series. He is a graduate of the Motion Picture Institute of Michigan, the Recording Institute of Detroit, and Wayne State University. He also holds a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. He is an educator, coach, musician, and songwriter, but considers himself an author first—mainly because he believes that miracles and dreams live in the written word. He lives in Michigan with his daughter Marquette and intends to acquire an African Grey parrot one day when he conquers his irrational fear of birds.
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