The prison guard tossed the envelope threw the bars. “There you go, Dr. Loony Tunes. A letter for you.”
Harvey scrambled for the envelope. His heart lifted when he saw the return address was from Washington. His hand quickly tore the seal.
Dear Dr. Riker,
Our staff at the National Institutes of Health has examined the files and evidence that you sent me. While we appreciate hearing from anyone who might expedite our search for an AIDS vaccine, we must confess that we no longer consider you a reputable scientist.
Moreover, I must take exception to the absurd and unsubstantiated accusations you level in your confidential letter to me. I categorically deny any and all such claims of a “conspiracy,” but it seems to me that the government and AIDS movement would be best served by discouraging you from making false charges. For this reason, I believe we can reach an arrangement that we will both find satisfactory.
For my part I will be delighted to update you on the NIH’s progress and pass on your suggestions to the board. I will do all I can to see that you are given information on the progress of AIDS research during your incarceration.
For your part you will never again make mention of your absurd and unsubstantiated accusations. The men you mentioned in your letter and I no longer converse. We no longer work together toward the common goal you described as “vile,” and what they might do separately is of no concern to me. I have paid my debt to the man you call “pious scum” and hence will no longer be communicating with him.
Thank you for your time. It is encouraging to see that some prisoners wish to make productive use of their time while paying their debt to society.
With best wishes, I remain
Sincerely,
Raymond Markey, M.D.
Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services
Harvey put down the letter, tucked it away neatly, and sat back.
That was when he spotted the back page of yesterday’s
He had been so caught up yesterday in working out new calculations that he had not even glanced at the paper. Now he saw the gigantic back page headline.
DOUBLE VICTORY FOR SILVERMAN
Triumphs in Comeback Performance and Becomes a Dad in One Night!
Harvey read down the page.
(New York) — For the first time all season, the sound of classical music could be heard in the New York Knicks’ locker room. It was a sweet sound for all.
“Did you see what he did out there?” close friend and teammate Reece Porter exclaimed after the game. “Mike is most definitely back!”
After a lengthy illness, Michael Silverman, the New York Knicks’ veteran cocaptain, made a triumphant return last night in front of a Madison Square Garden capacity crowd, leading the Knicks to a 123–107 trouncing of the Chicago Bulls.
“Now that we’re heading into the play-offs, we really need him,” said Coach Richie Crenshaw. “He gives our team that extra lift.”
“No one believed he’d make it back,” added Jerome Holloway, the odds-on favorite to win this year’s Rookie of the Year honors. “But he showed them tonight.”
Basketball was only part of the story for Michael Silverman last night. Right after the game, Silverman got word that his wife, popular
“We all paced around the waiting room like a group of nervous, expectant fathers,” Porter later joked.
At 11:08 p.m., the suspense was over. A teary Michael Silverman came out to announce that Sara had given birth to their first child, a healthy baby boy named Sam—7 pounds, 6 ounces.
Harvey put down the paper and smiled.
It was wonderful news.
Then he went back to figuring out why the T cell receptor was not reacting the way he had predicted.
Perhaps if he changed the compound…
