Read Online Red Queen by Christopher Pike - Free Book Online Page B

might discover your M5H2 gene is defective. Then I’ll probably feel compelled to tell you to start having regular colonoscopies for the rest of your life.”
    â€œIs that where they stick a rubber tube up your butt?”
    â€œThat’s a sound scientific explanation of the process.”
    I found myself fidgeting. “It’s weird—I want you to look and I’m afraid for you to look.”
    â€œYour reaction is normal. Most people feel the same way. They say knowledge is power but too much knowledge can be a curse. Especially if it falls into the wrong hands. Besides learning about your physical health, I can study your mental health as well by studying this hologram. I can even estimateyour IQ. I can do all this in a few seconds, without asking your permission.”
    â€œBut you did ask my permission,” I said.
    â€œTrue. I told you, it was an official reading.”
    â€œAs opposed to an unofficial one.” I paused. “Does West World have the resources to scan everyone in the world without their knowledge?”
    â€œThey act like they do. But in the developing world, it’s hard. Too many people and not enough roads to reach them all. But West World might go for it.”
    â€œThat seems to scare you.”
    â€œA lot of things about this technology scare me.”
    â€œRuss, if you don’t like this company, if you don’t trust them, why do you work for them?”
    He reached over and turned off the picture of my DNA. He took his time answering. “Because by working for them, I remain in a position where I might be able to stop them from abusing the scanner.”
    â€œAre you high up in the company?”
    He glanced out the window. “You think I’m too young, I can’t be very high up. Unless I happen to be related to the founder.”
    He had read my mind exactly. “Are you?” I asked.
    He shrugged. “Let’s just say I’m deeply involved in the firm. But I don’t want you sharing that info with your friends from school.”
    â€œWhy tell me if you don’t want me to share it? How do you know you can trust me?”
    â€œBecause I know they won’t give a damn who I work for. Not when they see your bag of money. All they’ll care about is how I win at twenty-two.”
    â€œTwenty-one.”
    â€œHuh?”
    â€œYou said twenty-two. The game is twenty-one.”
    He stopped smiling and stood in front of me, placing his hands on my shoulders. For a moment I was sure he was going to kiss me. I had already decided I would let him. He was cute enough and I owed Jimmy nothing.
    Nothing except months of pain.
    â€œHow would you like to learn to play twenty-two?” he asked.
    â€œDon’t be silly—there’s no such game.”
    â€œMy friends and I play it all the time. It’s the same game, really, it just has a few extra rules.” He added, “It might help you understand how I win at twenty-one.”
    â€œYou’re joking.”
    â€œI’m not.”
    â€œAren’t you tired of playing cards?”
    He checked his watch. “It’s just after one. I have an early meeting. I have to be in bed by two. But we could play for a little while.” He added, “I’d enjoy it.”
    Once again, who was I to argue with a man who wanted to pay for my college education?
    Russ, to my surprise, had six decks of cards handy. They were new decks, still wrapped in plastic. He opened them and spread them out on the dining-room table. He shuffled them as quickly and smoothly as any dealer; he was a regular pro.
    He took twelve packets of cash from the bag. Each one contained fifty one hundred dollar bills—five grand. Looking at the money, touching it, made my heart pound. It was mine, I kept thinking, all mine.
    Unless I lost it playing twenty-two. Russ wanted to use the cash to play. He told me so in a serious tone. He kept thirty grand and gave me