Chapter 20

I sat with a newspaper in the University Club reading room forthe third day in succession. I wanted this to look accidental.
From my position, I could observe the queue at the counterwhere Rosie sometimes purchased her lunch, even though shewas not qualified¹ to be a member. Gene² had given me thisinformation, reluctantly.
‘Don, I think it’s time to leave this one alone. You’re going toget hurt.’
I disagreed. I am very good at dealing³ with emotions. I wasprepared for rejection⁵.
Rosie walked in and joined the queue. I got up and slipped inbehind her.
‘Don,’ she said. ‘What a coincidence.’
‘I have news on the project.’
‘There’s no project. I’m sorry about … last time you saw me.
Shit!
You embarrass me and I say sorry.’
‘Apology accepted,’ I said. ‘I need you to come to New Yorkwith me.’
167/290‘What? No. No, Don. Absolutely not.’
We had reached the cash register and failed to select any foodand had to return to the tail of the queue. By the time we satdown, I had explained the Asperger’s research project. ‘I hadto invent an entire proposal – three hundred and seventy-onepages – for this one professor. I’m now an expert on theSavant phenomenon.’
It was difficult to decode⁶ Rosie’s reaction but she appeared tobe more amazed than impressed.
‘An unemployed⁷ expert if you get caught,’ she said. ‘I gatherhe’s not my father.’
‘Correct.’ I had been relieved when Lefebvre’s sample hadtested negative, even after the considerable effort that had beenrequired to obtain it. I had already made plans, and a positivetest would have disrupted them.
‘There are now only three possibilities left. Two are in NewYork, and both refused to participate in the study. Hence, Ihave categorised them as difficult, and hence I need you tocome to New York with me.’
‘New York! Don, no. No, no, no, no. You’re not going to NewYork and neither am I.’
I had considered the possibility that Rosie would refuse. ButDaphne’s legacy⁸ had been sufficient to purchase two tickets.
‘If necessary I will go alone. But I’m not confident I canhandle the social aspects of the collection.’
Rosie shook her head. ‘This is seriously crazy.’
‘You don’t want to know who they are?’ I said. ‘Two of thethree men who may be your father?’
‘Go on.’
‘Isaac Esler. Psychiatrist⁹.’
I could see Rosie digging deep into her memory.
‘Maybe. Isaac. I think so. Maybe a friend of someone. Shit, it’sso long ago.’ She paused. ‘And?’
168/290‘Solomon Freyberg. Surgeon.’
‘No relation to Max Freyberg?’
‘Maxwell is his middle name.’
‘Shit. Max Freyberg. He’s gone to New York now? No way.
You’re saying I’ve got one chance in three of being hisdaughter. And two chances in three of being Jewish.’
‘Assuming your mother told the truth.’
‘My mother wouldn’t have lied.’
‘How old were you when she died?’
‘Ten. I know what you’re thinking. But I know I’m right.’
It was obviously not possible to discuss this issue rationally. Imoved to her other statement.
‘Is there a problem with being Jewish?’
‘Jewish is fine. Freyberg is not fine. But if it’s Freyberg itwould explain why my mother kept mum. No pun intended.
You’ve never heard of him?’
‘Only as a result of this project.’
‘If you followed football you would have.’
‘He was a footballer?’
‘A club president. And well-known jerk. What about the thirdperson?’
‘Geoffrey Case.’
‘Oh my God.’ Rosie went white. ‘He died.’
‘Correct.’
‘Mum talked about him a lot. He had an accident. Or someillness –maybe cancer. Something bad, obviously. But I didn’t think hewas in her year.’
It struck me now that we had been extremely careless in theway we had addressed the project, primarily because of themisunderstand-ings that had led to temporary abandonmentsfollowed by restarts. If169/290we had worked through the names at the outset, such obviouspossibilities would not have been overlooked.
‘Do you know any more about him?’
‘No. Mum was really sad about what happened to him. Shit. Itmakes total sense, doesn’t it? Why she wouldn’t tell me.’
It made no sense to me.
‘He was from the country,’ Rosie said. ‘I think his father had apractice out in the sticks.’
The website had provided the information that Geoffrey Casewas from Moree in northern New South Wales, but this hardlyexplained why Rosie’s mother would have hidden his identity ifhe was the father. His only other distinguishing feature wasthat he was dead, so perhaps it was this to which Rosie wasreferring – her mother not wanting to tell her that her fatherhad died. But surely Phil could have been given thisinformation to pass on when Rosie was old enough to dealwith it.
While we were talking, Gene entered. With Bianca! They wavedto us then went upstairs to the private dining section.
Incredible.
‘Gross,’ said Rosie.
‘He’s researching attraction to different nationalities.’
‘Right. I just pity his wife.’
I told Rosie that Gene and Claudia had an open marriage.
‘Lucky her,’ said Rosie. ‘Are you planning to offer the samedeal to the winner of the Wife Project?’
‘Of course,’ I said.
‘Of course,’ said Rosie.
‘If that was what she wanted,’ I added in case Rosie hadmisinterpreted.
‘You think that’s likely?’
170/290‘If I find a partner, which seems increasingly unlikely, Iwouldn’t want a sexual relationship with anyone else. But I’mnot good at understanding what other people want.’
‘Tell me something I don’t know,’ said Rosie for no obviousreason.
I quickly searched my mind for an interesting fact. ‘Ahhh …The testicles of drone bees and wasp⁴ spiders explode duringsex.’
It was annoying that the first thing that occurred to me wasrelated to sex. As a psychology¹⁰ graduate, Rosie may havemade some sort of Freudian interpretation¹¹. But she looked atme and shook her head.
Then she laughed. ‘I can’t afford to go to New York. Butyou’re not safe by yourself.’
There was a phone number listed for an M. Case in Moree.
The woman who answered told me that Dr Case, Sr, whosename was confusingly also Geoffrey, had passed away someyears ago and that his widow Margaret had been in the localnursing home with Alzheimer’s disease for the past two years.
This was good news. Better that the mother was alive than thefather – there is seldom any doubt about the identity of thebiological mother.
I could have asked Rosie to come with me, but she hadalready agreed to the New York visit and I did not want tocreate an opportunity for a social error that might jeopardisethe trip. I knew from my experience with Daphne that it wouldbe easy to collect a DNA¹² sample from a person withAlzheimer’s disease. I hired a car and packed swabs,cheek-scraper, zip-lock bags and tweezers¹³. I also took auniversity business card from before I was promoted toassociate professor. Doctor Don Tillman receives superiorservice in medical facilities.
Moree is one thousand two hundred and thirty kilometres fromMelbourne. I collected the hire car at 3.43 p.m. after my lastlecture on the Friday. The internet route-planner estimatedfourteen hours and thirty-four minutes of driving each way.
171/290When I was a university student, I had regularly driven to andfrom my parents’ home in Shepparton, and found that thelong journeys had a similar effect to my market jogs. Researchhas shown that creativity is enhanced when performingstraightforward mechanical tasks such as jogging, cooking anddriving. Unobstructed thinking time is always useful.
I took the Hume Highway north, and used the precise speedindication on the GPS to set the cruise control to the exactspeed limit, rather than relying on the artificially inflated¹⁴ figureprovided by the speedometer. This would save me someminutes without the risk of law-breaking. Alone in the car, Ihad the feeling that my whole life had been transformed intoan adventure, which would culminate¹⁵ in the trip to New York.
I had decided¹⁶ not to play podcasts on the journey in order toreduce cognitive¹⁷ load and encourage my subconscious¹⁸ toprocess its recent inputs¹⁹. But after three hours I found myselfbecoming bored. I take little notice of my surroundings beyondthe need to avoid accidents, and in any case the freeway waslargely devoid²⁰ of interest. The radio would be as distracting aspodcasts, so I decided to purchase my first CD since the Bachexperiment. The service station just short of the New SouthWales border had a limited selection but I recognised a fewalbums from my father’s collection. I settled on JacksonBrowne’s Running on Empty. With the repeat button on, itbecame the soundtrack to my driving and reflections over threedays. Unlike many people, I am very comfortable withrepetition. It was probably fortunate that I was driving alone.
With my unconscious failing to deliver anything, I attempted anobjective analysis of the state of the Father Project.
What did I know?
172/2901. I had tested forty-one of forty-four candidates. (And alsoseveral of those of incompatible²¹ ethnic²² appearance.) None hadmatched. There was the possibility that one of the sevenAsperger’s survey respondents who had returned samples hadsent someone else’s cheek scraping.
I considered it unlikely. It would be easier simply not toparticipate, as Isaac Esler and Max Freyberg had done.
2. Rosie had identified four candidates as being known to hermother – Eamonn Hughes, Peter Enticott, Alan McPhee and,recently, Geoffrey Case. She had considered the first three ashigh probability, and this would also apply to Geoffrey Case. Hewas now clearly the most likely candidate.
3. The entire project was reliant on Rosie’s mother’s testi-monythat she had performed the critical sexual act at the graduationparty. It was possible that she had lied because the biologicalfather was someone less prestigious²³. This would explain herfailure to reveal his identity.
4. Rosie’s mother had chosen to remain with Phil. This was myfirst new thought. It supported the idea that the biologicalfather was less appealing or perhaps unavailable for marriage. Itwould be interesting to know whether Esler or Freyberg werealready married or with partners at that time.
5. Geoffrey Case’s death occurred within months of Rosie’sbirth and presumably the realisation that Phil was not thefather. It might have taken some time for Rosie’s mother toorganise a confirmatory DNA test, by which time Geoffrey Casemight have been dead and hence unavailable as an alternativepartner.
173/290This was a useful exercise. The project status was clearer inmy mind, I had added some minor²⁴ insights and I was certainthat my journey was justified²⁵ by the probability that GeoffreyCase was Rosie’s father.
I decided to drive until I was tired – a radical²⁶ decision, as Iwould normally have scheduled my driving time according topublished studies on fatigue²⁷ and booked accommodationaccordingly. But I had been too busy to plan. Nevertheless, Istopped for rest breaks every two hours and found myself ableto maintain concentration. At 11.43 p.m., I detected tiredness,but rather than sleep I stopped at a service station, refuelledand ordered four double espressos. I opened the sun-roof andturned up the CD player volume to combat fatigue, and at 7.19a.m. on Saturday, with the caffeine still running all around mybrain, Jackson Browne and I pulled into Moree.

1 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

2 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 wasp   

n.黄蜂，蚂蜂

参考例句：

• A wasp stung me on the arm.黄蜂蜇了我的手臂。
• Through the glass we can see the wasp.透过玻璃我们可以看到黄蜂。

5 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

6 decode   

vt.译（码），解（码）

参考例句：

• All he had to do was decode it and pass it over.他需要做的就是将它破译然后转给他人。
• The secret documents were intercepted and decoded.机密文件遭截获并被破译。

7 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

8 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。

9 psychiatrist   

n.精神病专家；精神病医师

参考例句：

• He went to a psychiatrist about his compulsive gambling.他去看精神科医生治疗不能自拔的赌瘾。
• The psychiatrist corrected him gently.精神病医师彬彬有礼地纠正他。

10 psychology   

n.心理，心理学，心理状态

参考例句：

• She has a background in child psychology.她受过儿童心理学的教育。
• He studied philosophy and psychology at Cambridge.他在剑桥大学学习哲学和心理学。

11 interpretation   

n.解释，说明，描述；艺术处理

参考例句：

• His statement admits of one interpretation only.他的话只有一种解释。
• Analysis and interpretation is a very personal thing.分析与说明是个很主观的事情。

12 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

13 tweezers   

n.镊子

参考例句：

• We simply removed from the cracked endocarp with sterile tweezers.我们简单地用消过毒的镊子从裂开的内果皮中取出种子。
• Bee stings should be removed with tweezers.蜜蜂的螫刺应该用小镊子拔出来。

14 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 culminate   

v.到绝顶，达于极点，达到高潮

参考例句：

• The celebration of the centenary will culminate with a dinner.百年庆典活动将以宴会作为高潮。
• Everyone feared that the boundary dispute between these two countries would culminate in a war.人人都担心,这两国间的边境争端将以一场战争到达顶点。

16 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

17 cognitive   

adj.认知的，认识的，有感知的

参考例句：

• As children grow older,their cognitive processes become sharper.孩子们越长越大，他们的认知过程变得更为敏锐。
• The cognitive psychologist is like the tinker who wants to know how a clock works.认知心理学者倒很像一个需要通晓钟表如何运转的钟表修理匠。

18 subconscious   

n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的)

参考例句：

• Nail biting is often a subconscious reaction to tension.咬指甲通常是紧张时的下意识反映。
• My answer seemed to come from the subconscious.我的回答似乎出自下意识。

19 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网

20 devoid   

adj.全无的，缺乏的

参考例句：

• He is completely devoid of humour.他十分缺乏幽默。
• The house is totally devoid of furniture.这所房子里什么家具都没有。

21 incompatible   

adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的

参考例句：

• His plan is incompatible with my intent.他的计划与我的意图不相符。
• Speed and safety are not necessarily incompatible.速度和安全未必不相容。

22 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

23 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

24 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

25 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

26 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

27 fatigue   

n.疲劳，劳累

参考例句：

• The old lady can't bear the fatigue of a long journey.这位老妇人不能忍受长途旅行的疲劳。
• I have got over my weakness and fatigue.我已从虚弱和疲劳中恢复过来了。