The Tree of Knowledge, Daniel Miller [unputdownable books txt] 📗

general’s big, yellow-toothed grin through the phone. She could almost smell his stale breath. “Superb. And his assistant?”

Eva sighed and thought of Albert’s perky little partner in crime, whom she couldn’t help thinking of as a doll, a petite, pink-cheeked, far-too-cute interloper. “I don’t think she’ll be an issue.”

“This was an excellent learning opportunity, don’t you think?” the general asked her with his usual whiff of superiority, sounding like the headmaster of a reform school speaking to a student in detention.

“Yes,” Eva said, unable to summon the energy to feign sincerity.

“Good. We will see you back at headquarters tomorrow.”

Eva hung up. She had joined the Society for the freedom and power that it offered, but bit by bit, the Society’s leadership had encroached on that freedom. She was no longer a little girl. She controlled a Red Army of over five hundred thousand men. Something needed to change.

Chapter 2

As Turner’s Buick sped along I-95, Albert and Ying attempted to get a grip on the rupture in their life.

After providing the details on his experience and history with Eva, Albert turned his attention to Turner. “OK, Angus, now that we seem to be at least temporarily out of harm’s way, can you please explain what is going on?”

Turner took a long breath, apparently wondering where to begin. The leather from the steering wheel creaked as it slid through the old man’s hands. “Let me answer your question with a question. What did Eva steal from the bank?”

Ying and Albert glanced at each other.

“A safe-deposit box.”

“Ah yes, but what was in it?”

“Some guy’s stuff?” asked Ying.

“Wrong. It wasn’t just some guy’s. It was mine. And it wasn’t stuff; it was the very Tree of Knowledge that I’ve been telling you about. That book holds every thought I’ve ever had about the Tree. Every experiment. How it can be used. How it can be taught. Everything. In the wrong hands, the book holds nearly limitless power.”

“Eva told me that it was a security code,” said Albert incredulously.

Turner smiled. “Given that her family business is a security and defense company that makes everything from bombs to fighter jets, that’s technically true. But the Tree of Knowledge is capable of much more than security.”

“Poor Albert,” teased Ying in her singsong voice. “The first girl he falls in love with turns out to be a thief and murderer.”

As Ying chortled at his misfortune, Albert fought to control his flush. He realized how naïve he’d been. In the logical recesses of his mind, he knew that Eva’s story was unlikely, if not absurd, but for some reason, her presence dulled his reasoning. He had wanted to believe her. He shuddered at the realization of how easily his critical faculties had succumbed.

“But isn’t this something for the police?” asked Ying.

At the word “police,” Albert perked up. “Yes, it is, but considering the fact that I’m probably their chief suspect for the murder of the security guard, I’m not sure contacting the police is the right answer at this moment.”

“Touché,” said Turner. “We have almost no evidence to show the police, and even if we did, they tend not to look kindly on conspiracy theories offered up by suspected criminals. I think our best bet at this point is to hunker down on the Travis Farm and make a plan.”

“Hunker down?” asked Albert. “Angus, I have to teach. I can’t just hunker down.”

“And I have homework to do and classes to attend . . . and a couple of dates to go on,” added Ying.

Albert looked sideways toward Ying at this new piece of information.

Turner looked into the rearview mirror, searching for everything they were leaving behind.

“I’m afraid you both are going to have to put your lives on hold for a bit. I’ll cover for you with the school, tell them you’re working with me on something top secret for the Defense Department and need to take a sabbatical or something of that nature. What you tell your friends and family is your business. But tell them now, because I need those cell phones out the window in fifteen minutes.”

Albert imagined what he would tell his friends and family. Truth was, he hadn’t talked to his mom and dad for years. He had a few colleagues on the Princeton faculty, but were they friends? Would they even notice he was gone?

“That was my next question, Angus,” said Albert. “Who are these ‘friends’ of yours that you’re taking us to? You’re not getting us involved with criminals, are you?”

Turner laughed. “Heavens no. This is a group I affectionately call the Book Club. They are the few people in the world that I have taken into my confidence in developing the Tree. With each of them, I have shared one aspect of the Tree, so together they represent the full potential of what it can do.”

“Exactly what can the Tree do, Professor? I have to admit, I’m a little skeptical of this theory,” said Ying.

“I understand,” replied Turner calmly. “I was skeptical at first as well, and it was my theory. The most important thing for you to understand is that life is nothing but a series of goals and actions, and so if you can understand those goals and anticipate the actions of individuals, then you can manipulate them. Unfortunately, in the case of Eva, we’ve seen how this concept can be applied with hand-to-hand combat.”

“What do you mean?” asked Albert.

“Well, if a person does not have a weapon, they have a finite set of possible options for harming you. Punching, kicking, headbutting, biting, grabbing, and tackling.”

“Just like chess,” exclaimed Ying, seeing where Turner was going with this.

“Yes, similar to chess, in which you are limited to twenty possible opening moves. Also, like chess, the likelihood of each of these methods of attack can be calculated and predicted. In chess, eighty-nine percent of the time, a competent player will use one of three moves to begin the game. So it is with hand-to-hand combat. Predicting human