If the toddler found a word in the internet research he didn’t understand, he looked it up on online dictionaries. What was even more amazing was that he remembered what he read, understood what he read and most impressively was able to integrate what he learned. In front of his family he dropped the baby talk and spoke as well as an honors highschool student.

The family was more than a bit unnerved by Jenken’s sudden explosion of knowledge and understanding. The lad let them be concerned but greatly tamped down their worry.

Jenken spent his computer time researching brain anatomy to fill in the gaps he discovered in Dr. Green’s knowledge. After all, as a pediatrician she had knowledge and understanding of the brain, but that was far from what a neurologist knew. But what Jenken gleaned from her knowledge guided his research to fill in the gaps and expand on what he’d learned.

One night as Jen and Ken slept, Jenken had another revelation. His body as well as Jen and Ken needed sleep but he did not. They were engaged in normal diurnal body functioning while he was exempt. At the same time he realized he could not control his body without them. Jen and Ken shared that ability although unless he provided a link, they could only function with awkward difficulty. Fortunately, if a need arose he could wake and or connect them in an instant and tell them what needed to be done.

With Jen and Ken asleep, Jenken put everything he had into self probing his brain. He had no problem finding the dreams of Jen and Ken. They were similar to the thoughts he was able to ‘read’ in other people. Each essence was located in one of the split cerebral lobes. Then he began to concentrate on finding his own thoughts. The going was slow, like trying to see an object in the dark. Pushing with every bit of his concentration the probing suddenly exploded like dazzling fireworks. His probing ability made a quantum leap. Suddenly, instead of finding his thoughts he was “looking” at his brain. What he saw was very much like what he’d read in Dr. Green’s mind and on the internet about FMRI images. There were myriad white pulses moving in hundreds of directions between green stationary locations. The green spots brightened as a white pulse moved to it, then dimmed as it passed the white pulse on to an adjoining green spot. Almost instinctively he realized the green spots were the neurons in his brain. The white pulses were signals traveling across the neurons. Carefully he toned down the bright colors and soon was able to see his brain in minute detail. Quite naturally he looked for the sites he knew to exist from absorbing Dr. Green’s knowledge as well as from his internet research.

The left and right cerebral lobes, Jen and Ken, were mostly dark green with only a handful of brighter green with white pulses. Since his siblings were sleeping, Jenken realized what he saw were their dreams. But where was he? The search for himself was frustrating since there was no place left he could be! With a sigh of frustration he drew his view back to encompass his entire brain. It was only then he saw a cascade of gleaming bright green neurons with thousands of white pulses in an area that wasn’t in any brain anatomy he’d seen or learned. Focusing for a closer examination of the unknown area he found where he existed! Jenken’s existence centered in a unique to his brain area above the upper thalamus as well as the area below, behind and between the cerebral lobes that seemed to be connected to his thalamus!

Accessing his knowledge Jenken knew the thalamus has multiple functions, sort of a kind of switchboard for information. It acts as a relay between a variety of subcortical areas and the cerebral cortex. In particular, every sensory system with the exception of the olfactory system includes a thalamic nucleus that receives sensory signals and sends them to the associated primary cortical area. The thalamus processes sensory information as well as relays it to each of the primary sensory relay areas and receives strong "back projections" from the cerebral cortex. The thalamus also plays an important role in regulating states of sleep and wakefulness. The thalamus plays a major role in regulating arousal, the level of awareness, and activity. Damage to the thalamus can lead to permanent coma.

As he examined the unique area of his existence Jenken was able to figure out what had happened top create the never before seen segment. The thalamus had been impacted by the horrific prebirth injury. With a rush of insight he realized the circuit board that severed his corpus callosum was responsible for creating him! Jen and Ken came about because of the split in the frontal lobes, each sense of self occupying one of the lobes. Jenken came about because as the circuit board split the cerebral lobes, it scraped off thousands of still forming cerebral neurons from both lobes dragging them down to the thalamus leaving dual comet like trails on either side of the intruder. White blood cells rushed into the damaged cerebral areas and sealed it protecting the undamaged areas.

The white matter covering the thalamus had obviously been split open by the edge of the circuit board exposing but not damaging the upper thalamic neurons. Some intact cerebral neurons torn from the cerebral lobes by the trespassing circuit board lodged on the exposed region of the thalamus. Instead of dying the relocated cerebral cells received sustenance from the seeping rupture of the white mass covering the thalamus. In addition the minute pieces of wire, solder, and microchips that were dragged into the injured brain with the circuit board snagged some of the separated cerebral cells on the way. The suction created when the circuit board was removed drew the twin ‘comet tails together with the dislodged cerebral cells clustering about the minute pieces of wire, solder and microchips left behind, all of which was enmeshed with the shredded white matter of the corpus callosum. The dislocated cerebral cells were initially sustained by the fluids seeping from shredded white matter of the corpus callosum and thalamus.

From his online research Jenken knew the brain replenishes cerebral brain cells from a steady layer of stem cells located over the ventricles deep within the brain. This layer of stem cells produces a steady stream of new neurons that replenish the cerebrum. In Jenken’s case, the undamaged but relocated cerebral cells sent out the chemical request for replacement cells and nourishment. The messengers were picked up by the white matter and the stem cells responded. The separated cerebral cells enmeshed in the damaged white matter of the split open thalamus and in the separated corpus callosum grew and merged within a short period of time. New blood vessels grew to supply the budding area. They did not merge with the cerebral lobes because the damaged areas were sealed off however since the exposed upper thalamus was not damaged, the growing cerebral cells rooted themselves into the thalamus cells creating unique neural pathways as well as blood supplies.

The plasticity of his still maturing brain thus created a unique mini third cerebral lobe connected intimately with the thalamus that quickly replaced the heavily damaged corpus callosum. Once the neuron clusters expanded and united blood vessels and veins grew and developed to supply the newly created brain region. Once the unique area matured, which he guesstimated had taken a month, Jenken’s sense of self began to form in the unique mini lobe.

Being so intimately linked to the thalamus, it piggybacked onto the connections to the larger severed lobes that held Jen and Ken. The portion of the third lobe in the severed corpus callosum re-established the left/right lobe connections but did so only with the approval of the new third lobe. Jenken could connect and coordinate Jen and Ken with ease but he could not control them. The unusual development of the mini cerebral lobe was also where the empathy and telepathy abilities originated. Without the ability or need to control a physical body this unique lobe developed in psychic directions normal lobes never had time to explore. In addition, the bits of metallic debris encapsulated in the third lobe formed a sort of broadcasting/receiving antennae that caught and funneled the emotions and thoughts of others into his mind and enabled him to project emotions and thoughts out to others.

The separation of his self into three entities was quite beneficial. Jen and Ken had no paranormal abilities. Since they operated his body the probing and discoveries Jenken made were not known to them unless he allowed it. If anything happened, he could ease out of the connection and they would have plausible deniability.

In the Raven’s Perch Jenken continued to man the cash register during peak hours freeing up the others to serve the customers. During normal operations, he stayed in the small downstairs office while using the computer since it was hard enough for people to accept the precocious child could read, write, do math and run the register and credit machines. Even so, he took a five minute break every half hour to wander among the customers making sure they were satisfied.

One thing occasionally confounded for the boy. He’d always sensed people’s emotions. When he was smaller picking up those emotions at times overwhelmed him. While he had gotten that fairly well under control, now that he’d matured into reading minds, the surface thoughts were effortlessly open to him. Surrounded by the 75 or so patrons in the Raven’s Perch was about the limit he could handle. If there were more people, their thoughts blended creating quite a confusing cacophony.

With parental permission JJ brought his girlfriend home for Spring Break. They had met during their first semester at KU when they shared many of their classes. At first they met in the library to study but soon began casually dating. It was after the summer break of their first year they began dating in earnest as they realized they had missed each other. Judy Murphy was a fourth generation Irish American from Hoboken, New Jersey. The green eyed red head had a charming smile and a tremendous sense of humor which she needed to keep up with JJ.

Judy had a tough time dealing with JJ’s attachment to his family. Even though he was obviously intent on his studies, he seemed equally intent upon his family, especially his nephew Jenken. This seemed quite odd to Judy since her family was quite dysfunctional. Being an only child she had no experience dealing with siblings or for that matter extended family. Her parents were professionals working in Manhattan and had divorced when she was twelve. Neither parent wanted custody as both were quite self centered. Since neither wanted custody and they were too cheap to send her off to boarding school, they were left with no option but to accept equal joint custody. This resulted in Judy being bounced from parent to parent every few days. Thankfully both lived in the same school district. Her life was that of a latchkey child. She lived out of her backpack since she was never certain with which parent she’d be spending the night as ‘business obligations’ continually arose. Keeping a wardrobe was a struggle since it was divided between the two apartments. Since neither had the time nor desire to take her shopping, they begrudgingly gave her money to outfit herself but insisted she show them the receipts to prove she wasn’t wasting the money. The same held true for food. Judy learned to be frugal. It became a source of pride and determination as she kept every receipt and noted who gave her the money. The sole hobby she had was learning to play a used guitar she bought. The only lessons she had were those posted on Youtube. Both parents made it clear that when she finished high school she was on her own. At 15 she began working at Panera’s Bread, saving every penny she earned for college. Determined to succeed, she kept her grades up and managed to get a few scholarships. After she arrived at Kutztown University, during school breaks and over the summer, she had remained in Kutztown taking a few summer courses and waitressing in local restaurants. She had no where else to go and no money to spend.

Judy envied JJ’s home life and marveled that he couldn’t stop talking about Jenken. Naturally, this piqued her curiosity since it was unusual for a guy in college to be so hung up on his toddler nephew. So she bluntly asked him to explain his fascination with his nephew.

JJ explained how at the end of her sophomore year his sister Jane had been raped and the resulting pregnancy. Judy was horrified by the shooting in the Raven’s Perch and Jane’s injuries. To learn of the forced birth of Jenken at only 26 weeks gestation was tough enough, but learning of his horrific brain injury brought her to tears. JJ explained Jenken was a living breathing miracle to which Judy could only agree. She also realized there was more going on than JJ was willing to reveal but was smart enough not to push the issue.

JJ didn’t learn Judy never returned home for school breaks because her parents didn’t want her until after he returned to school after the Christmas Holiday/Semester break. When JJ informed his parents of her situation they immediately told him to invite her to stay with them for spring break. When JJ told her of the offer for Judy to spend Spring Break with his family, she leapt at the chance.

It was set up that Judy would share Jane’s bedroom and Jenken, who up to this point had slept in his mother’s room would sleep in JJ’s bedroom. If all went well, Jenken would stay in JJ’s room. JJ had some misgivings about sharing his room with his nephew/niece but understood the child needed a more intimate exposure to a male role model. Ken needed space to be a guy.

After their last classes before Spring Break JJ and Judy arrived home at 5:30pm. They parked behind the house and hand in hand headed over to the Raven’s Perch since the rest of the family was working.

Since the parking lot was full JJ squeezed Judy’s hand as he anxiously spoke. “Judy, please don’t act surprised if Jenken is running the cash register.”

“I promise I won’t gasp,” Judy chuckled as she assumed JJ was trying to pull a prank on her. She knew JJ thought his nephew was a wunderkind, but she knew a 2 1/4 year old toddler was incapable of running a cash register.

Needless to say Judy was flabbergasted when she and JJ entered the dining area. Behind the register sitting atop a high stool was a cute freckled red headed toddler waiting on a customer.

“Da ticket be thiwty fou dowas an fity fibe cenz,” Jenken smiled. “Tax be two dowa an ate cenz fo tota o thiwty sis dowas an sisty twee cenz. Will dat be cash o cwedit?”

“Credit my good man,” the smiling man beamed obviously impressed by the toddler as he handed over his card.

Jenken took the card, ran it through the card scanner and entered the amount. When the approval came back he hit the print button and the receipt printed. Jenken tore the slip off and handed it and a pen to the man. The man signed and handed it back to Jenken who handed him his copy as he put the signed slip in the register. “Tank you, pease cum agin!”

Judy shook her head and looked at JJ who was watching her reaction with a big smile on his face. He’d known she had thought he was joking about his nephew.

As the next patron stepped to the register Jenken smiled. “Pease scuse me a minit,” before he turned to look to the door. “Hewo unca JJ,” he called out as he waved. “You be Judy. You pwetty giwh! JJ wucky guy!”

Quite a few patrons turned to see who Jenken was talking to. The regulars recognized JJ and waved. The smiles on their faces showed they thought Jenken’s compliment of Judy was deserved. Judy blushed, totally enchanted with the little dynamo. In just those few moments, she began to get an inkling of why JJ was so enamored with the tyke.

The next customer who had waited patiently now handed his slip to Jenken. “Da ticket be fowty two dowas and twelb cenz. Tax be two dowas an fity twee cenz for tota o fowty foow dowas an sisty fibe cenz. Be dat cash o cwedit?”

“Cash,” the man smiled as he handed three twenty dollar bills to Jenken.

“Dis be sisty dowas.” Jenken stated as he quickly counted the money. “You change be fiteen dowas an thiwty fibe cenz,” he stated before even entering the amount into the register. Placing the three twenties on the top of the till Jenken pulled the change from the cash drawer and turned to the customer giving him a ten dollar bill. “You change be ten,” then a five dollar bill, “fifteen dowas an,” a quarter, “tweny fibe,” and a dime, “thiwty fibe cenz. Tank you, pwease com agin.”

Judy was totally stunned that the boy had clearly done the complicated math in his head. JJ just smiled and tugged her hand leading her to the register. JJ led her through the counter to the area behind the register where Jenken smiled as he turned on the stool reaching out for JJ.

“I gwad you here,” Jenken smiled as he hugged his uncle. “I wewy gwad you bring Judy.”

“It’s good to be home,” JJ smiled as he motioned Judy forward to greet Jenken.

Jenken reached his little arms out to Judy who leaned into the hug. “I wike you. You make JJ good mate. He need stwong woman keep him stwaight!”

JJ blushed deeply feeling Jenken had read his mind. If Judy’s visit went well he fully intended to ask Judy to marry him.

Jenken sent a mental communication. “Relax Uncle JJ, I’ve developed a new ability. I can do more than read your mind.”

Meanwhile Judy also blushed as she hugged Jenken. She hoped this trip would culminate with a proposal. Was this precocious child a mind reader? Suddenly her eyes grew big as she looked at Jenken.

“I can do more than read minds,” Jenken explained as he spoke inside her mind. “I’m a lot smarter than my age. I just put on the cute toddler show to make everyone think I’m somewhat normal. Now, I want to link your mind with JJ.”

At that instant JJ and Judy were linked via Jenken who silently spoke to them. “I’ll explain my telepathic abilities later. Now is the time for you to get it together. I know you love each other. Don’t play games, just say it.”

Astonished JJ and Judy looked into each others eyes as Jenken shared their thoughts of love for the other. The experience made their hearts soar.

“That’s enough for now,” Jenken smiled as he soothed their surprise at his mental communication. “I’ve got to get back to work.” With that he broke the link and turned to the next patron.

In a bit of a daze at Jenken’s newest ability, JJ led a very stunned, surprised and happy Judy into the restaurant, getting introduced and hugs from June and Jane as well as smiles from the rest of the staff. JJ led them into the basement office.

“No wonder you never told me all about Jenken,” Judy gushed as she melted into JJ’s warm hug.

“You wouldn’t have believed me,” JJ smiled. “I have trouble believing it. He just keeps getting smarter and smarter. When it’s not busy he sits in here surfing the web. He’s like a sponge, just soaking up knowledge. We knew he was a powerful empath but the mental link is new to me.”

“That was scary when he spoke in my mind,” Judy confessed. “But I’m glad he linked us. I do want to be your wife.”

“I want to be your husband,” JJ smiled. “I need you to complete me and to share Jenken. I’m afraid of what might happen to him if his telepathic abilities are discovered.”

“At least now I understand your obsession with him,” Judy confessed. “Although I never saw any indication a part of me feared you might be some weirdo hung up on little boys.”

“I’m totally hung up on you,” JJ smiled. “Jenken is just so unique I can’t get past it.”

“Well, that’s two of us now,” Judy smiled as she snuggled closer.

JJ took Judy on a tour of the basement kitchen, and storerooms and then up into the bar. Needless to say many of the regulars smiled and winked at JJ when they saw his pretty girlfriend. James, who was working behind the bar, shook JJ’s hand and hugged Judy.

They then walked from the bar into the dining room. Judy had not gotten a good look on her initial pass through as Jenken had drawn most of her attention. JJ led them to a small table in a corner where they could keep an eye on Jenken and the customers. Jane took their order. As they waited for their food they watched the open, happy and welcome atmosphere the Raven’s Perch exuded; Everyone was smiling, enjoying good food, good conversation, and having a good time.

Judy found the food to be just as wonderful as the environment. Having waitressed since she was fifteen she was dumbfounded to find there was not one disgruntled customer or employee. Celtic music featuring harps and fiddles pleasantly formed an ambient background neither too loud nor too soft. The Raven’s Perch simply made you want to stay and when you left had you longing to return.

The rush was slowing down as JJ and Judy finished eating so Jenken abandoned his perch and scampered over to the couple. Grabbing their hands he inserted himself between the couple and tugged them to Jane.

“Mommy, me take JJ an Judy to hous,” he declared. “Otay?”

“Of course, Jenken,” Jane smiled. “Thank you for helping out during the rush.”

“Me wike hepin,” Jenken smiled. “See you wayta mommy!” With that he pulled JJ and Judy to the door.

Once they were clear of the patrons Jenken visibly relaxed but still clung to their hands as he walked between them. “I do like helping out but I really don’t like behaving like a toddler. With Judy here I’ll have another adult to talk to. Judy, you can relax. I’ve been an empath since I was born. I have the ability to sense emotions. I don’t have to try, it just happens. If I see someone is upset, I project serenity into them. If they’re angry, I calm them. If I’m around a lot of strange people, their emotions can overwhelm me. Last summer I started communicating with birds and animals. I could understand them and make them understand me. Then I found I could let them talk to each other like I let you see JJ’s love. From that I developed the ability to read thoughts. I try not to do that but sometimes people have their thoughts just screaming in their heads. If I can, I try to find out what’s bothering them to see if I can help them sort it out. So far, I’ve been pretty good at it. That’s why the Raven’s Perch is so busy. I help the people feel happy and relaxed.”

Judy’s mind was swirling with the implications. “Can you make people do things?”

“I don’t know,” Jenken answered. “I haven’t tried and I’m scared to try. I think I could make someone stop doing something but I’d only do that if they were going to do something bad. To be honest, I think I need responsible sensible adults I can trust who know my secret to help me control it and use it for good. Mommy, Dad and Mom know about my abilities but are too close and protective. I’d like you both to be my mentors. I know that you’ve been keeping track of my abilities, Uncle JJ, and I appreciate it. Your psychology courses will help you. Judy, I know you’re major is in business administration. Since you’ll soon be a part of this family may I suggest you fill in your remaining electives in Public Relations and Communications Study. That degree will compliment JJ’s double majors of Business Administration and Marketing. Not only will that help the family business, it’ll help us as I begin to dip my hands into the business world.”

Judy was so amazed she could only nod in agreement to Jenken’s suggestions. The courses she’d already taken would lead perfectly to such a major. She realized Jenken had scanned her mind for her interests and had instantaneously pinpointed areas she did well in and enjoyed that would truly compliment JJ’s studies. Try as she might she couldn’t detect any ‘thought implants’ from Jenken to make her agree.

“I did probe your mind for your likes,” Jenken smiled. “I also assimilated my findings into the KU course offerings and then the family needs. I did not make you agree with my suggestions. It’s just that I knew what you’d accept.”

JJ just chuckled as they walked. “I told you he’s a whiz kid. Just wait until he’s ready to do something with his abilities!”

On their way to the house they stopped at the car so Judy could retrieve her luggage. Jenken then led them to the house. With Judy the spunky child headed to the kitchen to get drinks. Once they were all seated in the living room, Jenken once more linked their minds and led them on a ‘visual’ tour of his brain.

Judy and JJ were stunned by Jenken’s ability to ‘scan’ his brain. Thanks to their biology classes they knew what they were looking at... or what they SHOULD be seeing in the virtual brain tour. They knew Jenken had suffered a severed corpus callosum. It didn’t take them long to understand that since it happened before any sense of self existed, Jen and Ken independently formed in their respective lobes. Then he revealed his unique third cerebral lobe. They could see that it had formed in the narrow space created by the circuit board through the corpus callosum into the thalamus. The tiny bits of metallic debris were still lodged in the new lobe that had slightly expanded the initial space as it grew. The young adults finally understood how the three distinct yet interconnected entities of Jenken’s mutilated brain had developed. Both were amazed by the unheard of development of a third slightly smaller cerebral lobe. The smaller size of the new lobe did not mean it was less intellectual. If anything, since it did not need nor have the areas normally dedicated to controlling and monitoring the body and it’s senses, the ‘thinking’ and ‘reasoning’ areas that make us human were much larger than the corresponding areas in normal cerebral lobes. That each lobe had independently developed it’s own sense of self was mind boggling. That one entity was a girl, one a boy, and one a blend of both was a total anomaly.

“Jenken, what you’re doing is another powerful psychic ability,” JJ explained after Jenken shut down the link. “What you’re doing is called remote viewing. It’s almost as if you had a camera and were filming what you’re showing us. With practice I bet you could focus your attention in the kitchen and actually ‘see’. Depending on your range, you might be able to see things in the Raven’s Perch.”
“I’ll have to practice,” Jenken smiled. “But for now I want to show you something else.”

Jenken moved to the opposite side of the coffee table where he placed two blank papers side by side and put two paperback books, one on the outside of each paper. Then he picked up two pens, one in each hand. “Open the books to a random page and hold it open at your side of the coffee table. Even though we’ll be looking at them upside down, we can invert the images so it’ll look right side up. Jen will copy the book on her right side while Ken copies the one on his left side. They’ll simultaneously copy the first full paragraph on the right hand page of each book.”

Judy and JJ exchanged looks of uncertainty but followed the commands. As they watched Jenken, they could see his eyes move in separate directions, just the opposite of looking cross-eyed. With seemingly no effort he began to simultaneously copy the targeted paragraphs. Each eye read and directed that hand to copy the printing. The writing looked as if two people were writing. The right hand was a precise flowing script typical of a girl. The left was a bit on the sloppy side like a boy would write.

Once he was satisfied they’d noted the differences Jenken spoke in their minds. “Jen and Ken are doing the reading and writing. I can follow what they’re doing but am still able to think and function independently. I think this proves that I’m three individuals inside my weird brain.”

Judy and JJ could do nothing but agree. The revelation was truly staggering.

The next morning Jenken revealed his ability to read minds, link minds, and do remote viewing to the rest of the family. Needless to say they were quite surprised at these new abilities. Yet considering how precocious he was it was not too farfetched to handle.

As the others went about their activities Jenken wanted to discuss emerging from his self-imposed toddler life with JJ and Judy. “I’m not bragging but I already have more knowledge than most adults. I have what can best be described as an eidetic memory. Everything I read, hear, see, or pluck from someone’s mind becomes my knowledge. Not only that, but I automatically cross link everything. I need to stop hiding and be me. You’re in college. How can I best ‘come out’?”

Judy and JJ thought for a few moments. They had no doubts Jenken was super intelligent. “I think the first thing to do is to take the SAT tests,” Judy suggested. “With high enough scores, you could probably start college in the fall.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Jenken nodded. “Mommy will be going to KU with you next fall. Maybe I can join the three of you.”

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” JJ cautioned. “I have no doubts you’re capable of doing or even surpassing college work. However, if a precocious super genius toddler suddenly emerges into the public eye, especially one who suffered an embryonic traumatic brain injury, we’ll probably be opening a can of worms.”

Judy and Jenken realized revealing Jenken’s genius in a university environment would raise many concerns and safety issues.

When the matter was brought up for discussion James and June were opposed to the idea. Everyone knew Jenken needed to grow and learn, the issue was how to safely accomplish it. After much discussion they realized it would be an uphill battle to get someone’s Jenken’s age into mainstream education. They discussed what would have to be done to jump through all the hoops. The first thing would be to contact a competent child psychologist to have Jenken take an IQ test. Once Jenken’s genius was verified further testing and evaluation would be needed, most likely at John Hopkins University which has one of the best programs for testing and helping gifted youngsters in the world. If they verified his intelligence, then they could approach the College Board about taking the SAT tests. It would be a time consuming and drawn out affair because of Jenken’s age and it was doubtful if the bureaucrats would budge on their age standards.

After quite a bit of discussion the family decided it would be too risky and time consuming to try to get Jenken into college. Instead they decided to let Jenken continue his self-study. To better enable him they planned to get Jenken his own state of the art laptop, the best internet hookup available, and a WIFI set up so he could log on from their home or the Raven’s Perch.