and hunches lower behind the laptop screen.
âHow am I supposed to talk to you when youâre acting like a stubborn baby? Hey, think of your baby. Think of all the strained peas a million dollars will buy.â She laughs. âOrganic artisanal local strained peas, right?â
He didnât reply.
âOne last thing, Z, then Iâll go. Think of all the new mind powers you can give Howard. Think of all the brain powers you havenât touched upon yet. There have to be a hundred story possibilities.â
âWell â¦â
âThink of the story possibilities. And then picture that million-dollar check. Okay?â
Zachary hears his reply as if itâs coming from some other body: âOkay, Eleanor. Iâll think about it.â
4
Zachary thinks about his first novel. The Cerebellum Syndrome is a science thriller. Part Michael Crichton, part Bourne Identity , with a hint of the sci-fi novels Zachary devoured as a teenager.
Howard Striver is a brilliant brain surgeon and neurological explorer. Fascinated by the fact that seventy-five percent of the human brain is dormant, he sets about finding a way to stimulate the unused parts of the cerebellum.
Unable to find volunteers, Dr. Striver experiments on his own brainâand succeeds in giving himself extraordinary mind powers. His expanded memory, his newly found kinetic abilities, his ability to retain encyclopedic amounts of knowledge make him a powerful superhero of the mind.
Three different governments, including our own, send agents to kidnap Striver. They are desperate to analyze his brain and learn how to use his newly discovered mind powers for military purposes. He escapes again and again, a thrilling chase scenario.
But even while he flees his pursuers, Howard Striver continues his experiments. He knows he is going too far, expanding his abilities too rapidly to analyze what he has accomplished.
To thwart his pursuers, he escapes into his own mind. He begins living entirely in the unexplored spaces of his brain. He transforms reality into an internal reality of his own making.
Thatâs the basis of the first book. Is it ripe for a sequel?
At home, thinking hard, Zachary paces back and forth in his study, holding Emily, the baby, in his arms. Emilyâs expression is serious, attentive, as if she can read the turmoil in his mind. She makes a gurgling sound. Zachary imagines she is trying to comfort him.
He raises her head to his face and gives it a long sniff. Nothing smells as good as baby skin. He runs a finger gently under her chin, a soft tickle.
âEmily, you are so precious to me,â he tells her. âShould I give up writing something new? Write the sequel? For you?â Her pink mouth crinkles up. She starts to cry, thrashing her arms out stiffly.
He hands her back to the nanny.
I have to get out of here. I have to start writing. I have to think.
He picks up his laptop and carries it outside, down the front steps of the brownstone. He decides to return to the reading room of the little library on Amsterdam. Quiet and nearly empty. He can sit in the back and start to outline a plot.
But before he can go half a block, he sees the heavyset man leaning on the blue mailbox on the corner. Cardoza. He steps up beside Zachary, matches his quick strides. âYou have to acknowledge me, Mr. Gold,â he says. He keeps his eyes straight ahead. His big hands swing gently at his sides as he dodges a boy on a silver scooter to keep up with Zachary.
âYou canât just walk away. You stole my book.â
Zachary tries to sound casual. But his voice is shrill, suddenly breathless. âYou have mental problems, Cardoza. Please donât make me call the police.â
âThat would be a very bad plan,â Cardoza replies, still facing forward, keeping pace with Zachary step for step. âYou donât want to be exposed. You have only one reputation to keep.â
âAs I explained,