Free The Arcturus Man by John Strauchs Page B

biotechnological engineering. The staff simply called it the Krebs Institute. As a mark of achievement, the Institute was awarded the
Order of the Red Flag in 1967.
    As a reward, Professor Krebs was given a large apartment in Vilnius so that he
could travel weekly between Vilnius and Leningrad to personally supervise the special
children’s program. The most gifted children were plucked from their families throughout
the Soviet Union and brought to the Institute. They were studied, cultivated and shaped.
Part of the program was an extension of similar research conducted during the war by the
Third Reich in Germany. Now in his sixties, Professor Krebs was said to have managed
the German program until the end of the war. Krebs was a closet Anglophile and borrowed from British public school programs as well. In truth, some very remarkable children came out of his program. Many hold prominent positions in Russian government and
industry today. The most remarkable of all the children was, of course, Jorens Ziemelis.
    The boy obviously spoke Latvian and Russian.
That was compulsory, or at least
the Russian was. In less than four months after being admitted to the Institute, he became
fluent in English and German. He had also advanced far beyond his years in mathematics,
music, and literature.
By six, he was started on college level physics and higher mathematics. He was a brilliant student. He had the gift of absolute eidetic imagery, but by no
means was he an idiot savant. It didn’t just remember. He understood. He could connect
information. Most importantly, he could create. The faculty at the Institute was amazed
by the speed of his progress.
The boy remembered everything he read and every lesson
he was taught. He forgot nothing.
    His physical training was much harsher than his academic regimen.
It was clear
to the staff that he could be a future Soviet Olympian. But for the time being, this was to
be kept a secret for fear that the boy would be taken by a better funded program. Krebs
frequently warned the staff what would happen if they ever spoke of the boy outside the
Institute.
Barely six, he could have set a world record for running the mile. Krebs knew
that the world had never before seen a child like Jared.
He was made to run the track
several times a week, but it was always late in the evening when no one else could witness the tests. Krebs wouldn’t believe it until he had seen it for himself. The boy’s stride
was so much shorter than an adult’s. How was it possible? Slowly, Krebs began to accept
the unbelievable no matter what it was. He had special plans for the boy. He lost interest
in all of the other children and their well-being deteriorated as time went on.
    In the British tradition, or at least as it was perceived by Professor Krebs, it was
vital that the children be inured to pain and discomfort. This would aid in focusing their
minds and strengthening their self-discipline.
The children were taken out into the Russian winter to stand at attention in the nude in the courtyard. Their small bodies were
rubbed with snow, and if there wasn’t the proper response, they were drenched with water. Doctors would stand close by to ensure that they didn’t suffer frost bite or hypothermia.
Their core body temperatures were never permitted to fall below critical threshholds. They were beaten with birch switches if they couldn’t accurately recite many pages from the Large Encyclopedia of the U.S.S.R., or even if they failed to stand at attention.
    Professor Krebs was convinced that superior beings didn’t need to sleep.
Although he learned through his research in Germany during the war that they still lacked
the science to manage complete sleep deprivation, the children at the Institute must not
under any circumstances be allowed to sleep more than four hours and once a week they
must be kept up all night. Learning to endure hardship and pain would focus their special
abilities.
    Krebs admired Hannibal. He kept