Double Helix by Nancy Werlin Read Free Book Online

about where I was going or what I was doing. I - wouldn’t call now, either. Let him stew. He’d walked out on my high school graduation . . . and even though I hadn’t been sure I really wanted him there, even though I was glad to sidestep his meeting Viv, it still wasn’t right of him to have walked out.
    No. Actually, I just didn’t want to tell him I was with Dr. Wyatt when I should have been with him. I was vaguely ashamed. But it wasn’t my fault.
    The waiter arrived with water and a bread basket. “Something to drink?”
    I was about to ask for a Coke, but Dr. Wyatt waved the wine list. “We’ll have this 1995 Brunello di Montalcino.” He turned to me. “It’s a nice Italian red.”
    â€œUh, sure,” I said after a second. I didn’t want to appear unsophisticated, and if the waiter didn’t notice that I was under the legal drinking age—and because of my size, people did tend to think me older than I was—I wouldn’t mention it. It was only wine. Still, I wasn’t sure I wanted to drink ever again in my lifetime. I hadn’t had any alcohol since the night I had fought with my father, polished off his dusty bottle of scotch, and then emailed Dr. Wyatt.
    Luckily the waiter had already provided big glasses of water.
    â€œAn appetizer?” asked the waiter.
    â€œLet’s try the coconut shrimp,” said Dr. Wyatt. “And a plate of the frogs’ legs. Oh, and maybe the blue cheese, pear, and walnut salad. Two plates and serving spoons so we can both try everything.”
    The waiter departed. I hoped I’d be allowed to choose my own dinner. I said to Dr. Wyatt, “Uh, I might not have any frogs’ legs.”
    â€œOf course you will. You should go through life seeking out new and different experiences, especially when you’re young. It broadens the mind. What? What’s that expression? What are you thinking?”
    I shrugged. “It’s just that, well, you hear that a lot. About the importance of a broad mind. We hear it all the time at school, for example.”
    â€œSo?”
    â€œSo—well, Viv and I—you met Viv today—had this conversation recently. Isn’t it possible that there are times when you’d want people not to have broad minds? When it would be an advantage to be, oh, narrow and provincial?”
    Dr. Wyatt leaned forward. “Such as?”
    â€œWell, suppose it’s wartime. If orders really need to be followed, then it would not be helpful for soldiers to have knowledge, say, of the enemy’s culture. That knowledge would just make you feel terrible about what you have to do. And in some cases, it might make you question your orders—might make you disobey.”
    â€œYes,” Dr. Wyatt said. “It’s one reason why military training de-emphasizes individuality and emphasizes the importance of the team, the group, and of the order of command. Following orders has to be made instinctual and automatic.”
    â€œRight,” I said. The wine arrived and Dr. Wyatt went through the tasting ceremony with the waiter, who then deftly poured a glass for each of us. The whole process took time, and I found myself thinking that I couldn’t remember how long it had been since I’d had an intellectual conversation with an adult.
    Once upon a time, I’d talked with my parents this way, of course, but no longer.
    Now I felt the words and ideas gather pressure inside me. Finally, the waiter left. Dr. Wyatt steepled his hands on the table and leaned toward me.
    â€œSo,” he said. “You interest me greatly, Eli. Soldiers—you were saying . . .”
    â€œThat soldiers are better off without too much broadening,” I said. “Or, at least that’s what we would think. But I’ve wondered—listen, do you like science fiction?”
    Dr. Wyatt nodded. “Most people in the sciences do.”
    â€œOkay,