Hunt for Jade Dragon by Richard Paul Evans Read Free Book Online Page B

ancient science. More than two thousand years ago the Greek philosopher Socrates noticed that standing in a pool with some types of fish could produce numbing sensations. The Elgen’s first patent was for an electric nerve implant to stop back pain.
    â€œAs they experimented with electricity, a brilliant scientist named Dr. Steven R. Coonradt discovered the original science that the MEI technology is based on. Recognizing its potential, the Elgen Corporation brought on some significant investors to pursue the technology, which took nearly three years longer to develop than they had planned. The investors—former chairman Schema was one of them—became impatient, and the CEO of Elgen, Dr. Hatch, was pressured for results. Against Dr. Coonradt’s advice, the MEI was tested before it was ready. You know the results of that test as you are the results of that test. Seventeen surviving babies were born electric. The rest of the children born during that period died at birth or within days.
    â€œIt took only a few days for the Elgen to realize the connection between their experiments and the infant deaths and shut down the MEI. But there were others outside the Elgen Corporation who also made the connection. Not so coincidentally, these people mysteriously disappeared. Most of them died of electricity-related deaths.” He looked at me. “Carl Vey, Michael’s father, was one of those people.
    â€œAt this time, there was another important death. Dr. Coonradt, the only man who understood the science on which the MEI machine was built, also ‘disappeared.’ It was a grave mistake on theElgen’s part but a blessing for the world. Had Dr. Coonradt lived he likely would have solved the problem with the MEI, and the Elgen would already be producing their new species.
    â€œFaced with the possibility of lawsuits, the Elgen Corporation shut down the MEI project. The company was taken over by the investors and Schema became the new CEO. Dr. Hatch, who should have been thrown out, was demoted to executive director. We don’t know why he wasn’t fired, but knowing how Dr. Hatch works, I would wager that he threatened to go public with the Elgen deaths, which would have no doubt resulted in massive lawsuits and destroyed the company.
    â€œAt any rate, Hatch remained involved with the Elgen. He was ordered to find and follow the remaining seventeen children just in case they began dying later as well.
    â€œIt was about five years after the MEI experiment that the first electric child was discovered. That was Nichelle. She was in foster care and had been sent from home to home. Her record showed that wherever she went the home suffered damage to its electrical system. A few of them burned down.
    â€œBecause she had no permanent home and a history of running away, she was easily taken in by the Elgen. They began running tests on her and discovered her power. That’s when they began, without the board’s consent, kidnapping the other electric children. As you know, the last to be found were Michael and Taylor.
    â€œIt was likely during this time that Dr. Hatch came up with the idea that the MEI could be used to create a super-race of humans. This is nothing new. Throughout history, others have tried to create a super-race. Unfortunately for Hatch, with Dr. Coonradt gone, their ongoing experiments with the MEI were largely unsuccessful, with one big exception—they accidentally discovered how to electrify rats.
    â€œThe timing of this ‘accident’ was fortunate for Hatch. The board had just become aware of Dr. Hatch’s crimes and had resolved to terminate him. Instead, Hatch won them over with a small machine he had created called the Elecage—a prototype to the Starxource plants.Hatch demonstrated to the board how this dishwasher-size box was able to produce enough energy to power the entire Elgen building without pollution or fossil fuels and at a fraction