Read Online Witch World by Christopher Pike - Free Book Online

doesn’t hurt.”
    “All right.” It was hard to say no to a guy who wanted to give me a hundred grand.
    Russ reappeared a minute later with what appeared to be a narrow flashlight. Six inches long, it had a black metal exterior and a red tinted lens at one end. But the lens looked more like crystal than glass, and the thing hummed when he sat beside me and flipped on a side switch.
    “We are now being recorded,” he said.
    “Really?”
    “This is an official reading.” He paused and continued in a businesslike tone. “Jessica Ralle, do I have your permission to scan your genetic code into the data banks of West World?”
    I hesitated. “I guess so.”
    “You need to say yes or no.”
    “Yes.”
    “Hold out your arm, please, and roll up your sleeve.” I did as I was told. He continued, “Rest your elbow on the arm of the chair. It will make it easier to keep still.”
    “Okay.” I discovered I was shaking a bit.
    He flipped another switch and a red beam emanated from the top of the scanner. The beam was narrow. There was no question in my mind it was a laser beam. I felt its warmth as itstruck my arm. The sensation was pleasant but short-lived. The laser was on a total of three seconds. The device beeped faintly, the humming stopped, and the laser vanished.
    “Got it,” Russ said, as he stood and walked toward his laptop. I rubbed the spot he had zapped. It felt warm.
    “How does this device work?” I asked.
    “It uses a laser to create a holographic image of your genes. Once your information is downloaded into the company’s database, it’s used to create a picture of your DNA.”
    I stood and walked over to where he was using a cable to connect the scanner and laptop. The screen flashed a wave of binary code, at incredible speed, before it settled on a picture of what I knew from basic biology to be an image of a double helix.
    It was so rich in color and detail, it literally took my breath away.
    “God,” I whispered.
    “Not quite. It’s you.”
    “Me?”
    “Your essence. Because the image is recorded in holographic form, I can rotate it in any direction I wish, focus on any gene I want to.”
    “Was I already in your database or not?”
    He hesitated. “No.”
    “Do you see any problems with my genes?”
    “I’m not looking.” He glanced up. “I know you hear the reluctance in my voice when I talk about West World’s project. There’s a reason for that. What I just did to you isn’t like taking your fingerprints or even your blood. It’s much more intimate. I now have the ability to know a tremendous amount about you—more than you would probably want me to know. For example, say I saw that you have a fault in your M5H2 gene. That would mean your chances of developing colon cancer are ten times greater than normal.”
    I put my hand to my mouth. “Is that gene damaged?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “But you just said—”
    “I told you, I don’t know anything about you because I chose not to look. However, if I change my mind and do look, I 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.”
    “Is that where they stick a rubber tube up your butt?”
    “That’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.”
    “Your 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.”
    “But you did ask my permission,” I said.
    “True. I told you, it was an official reading.”
    “As opposed to an unofficial one.” I paused. “Does West World have the resources to