The Boy Who Glowed in the Dark Read Online Free PDF Page B

said.
    “Who is Genesis II?” Johnny didn’t expect Nakamura to answer the question or unintentionally reveal a clue, but he knew Nadia would be disappointed if he didn’t ask.
    Nakamura looked away. “I expected more from you. But you are such an American, aren’t you?”
    “Yes, and proud of it. Does Genesis II know Adam?”
    Johnny studied Nakamura’s reaction for a tell of some kind. He got nothing. Instead, Nakamura continued looking stone-faced at the stage.
    “How did you and Genesis II meet?”
    Nakamura sipped his whiskey. “I’ve given you enough information for you to answer that question yourself.”
    Johnny remembered their earlier conversation. “You’re a doctor. You’re working in Fukushima. You must have met Genesis II in Fukushima. Genesis II is a survivor of the earthquake, tsunami, or the nuclear disaster.”
    Nakamura’s eyebrows furrowed a smidge. It was just enough of a physical reaction to tell Johnny he was wrong.
    “No,” Johnny said. “He’s not a victim. He’s a volunteer.”
    Nakamura lifted his chin.
    “Hot dog. Score one for the boy from Jersey.”
    They sipped their drinks some more. A moment of silence passed between them. Johnny’s victory proved momentary. He still needed proof the locket existed and contained a formula, and he was no closer to that than when he arrived.
    “So you know who I am,” Johnny said. “I know who you are. I travelled here to meet you. You’re calling the shots, but I may or may not play along. What do you suggest we do now?”
    Nakamura slid a flash drive memory stick across the table to Johnny.
    “What’s this?” Johnny said.
    “A token of good faith. When you see it on a computer monitor, you’ll understand.”
    “Understand what?”
    “That the second half of the formula exists.”
    Johnny’s heart thumped. “After I take a look at it, I’d like to meet with Genesis II.”
    Nakamura straightened the lapels of his jacket. “I’m sure you would. But that’s not going to happen. He will only meet with the boy. He will only meet with Adam. Adam must come to Fukushima. He must come immediately. And he must bring the locket.”
    Nakamura stood up, knocked back the rest of his whiskey, and left.
    Johnny went to the business center to use one of the computers. He slipped the flash drive into the USB port. It contained a single file. The file was called “Genesis II.”
    The file consisted of two strings of chemical symbols. Each string contained four hexagons and a chemical formula. It could have been gibberish or proof the second half of the formula existed. There was only one way to find out.
    Johnny rushed to his room to call Nadia.

CHAPTER 6

    N ADIA SAT OPPOSITE Dr. Eric Sandstrom in his office at Columbia University on Monday afternoon. He was a professor emeritus, a respected radiobiologist who taught one class a week to keep his mind active at age eighty-five.
    “This is interesting,” he said, after studying the symbols Johnny had e-mailed from Tokyo.
    “What is?” Nadia said.
    “It’s a modified version of Five-Androstenediol, just like the one you showed me three weeks ago. Except it contains an additional enhancement. The formula you showed me before had a partial description of two new proteins. This one further describes those two proteins but doesn’t fully define them.”
    “Meaning some symbols are still missing.”
    “Yes.”
    “Can you draw any conclusions from what you do see, Professor?”
    He removed his glasses, sprayed a lens cleaner on them, and began wiping them with a soft tissue. “Five-Androstenediol is a direct metabolite of a steroid produced by the human adrenal cortex. That steroid is called DHEA. The Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute discovered Five-AED, as it’s called, in 2007. They performed clinical trials using primates with the pharmaceutical company Hollis-Eden. Their initial results were excellent. Close to 70 percent more monkeys treated with Five-AED survived acute