The gorilla licked his lips - nervously, it seemed to me. "I think we
can safely say that I'm not prepared to deal with the needs of a person
your age. I think that can be safely said. Yes." "You mean you give up.
Is that what you're telling me? You want me to go away because you give
up. Don't you think a twelve-year-old girl can have an earnest desire to
save the world?" "I don't doubt it, " he said, though the words sounded
like they were pretty hard to get out. "Then why won't you talk to me?
Your ad in the paper said you need a pupil. Isn't that what it said?"
"That's what it said." "Well, you've got one. Here I am." With these
words we meet Julie Gerchak, one of the most engaging young heroes since
Huckleberry Finn - and one of Ishmael's most challenging and rewarding
disciples. Unable to justify turning her away, Ishmael accepts the
daunting task of juggling two pupils of widely differing characters -
one of whom (Julie) insists on remaining unknown to the other (Alan
Lomax, known to the readers of Ishmael as the narrator of that book.)
Julie is unquestionably bright (quite possibly brighter than Alan), but
she's also shy of his educational background by ten years! This means
Ishmael can by no means follow the same strategy with each - or expect
the same outcome from each. Alan and Julie don't just take different
routes with their simian mentor, they end up in very different places.
But something else distinguishes Ishmael's relationship with Julie. When
the infrastructure of his life begins to crumble, Ishmael must choose
one of his students to entrust with a great secret and a great mission.
And, surprisingly, his choice falls not on the older, more experienced
student but onthe younger one. In revealing the mission and the secret
entrusted to her, Julie pens a conclusion to the Ishmael saga that will
raise cheers from his fans all around the world.
