Knock Three Times and Ask for Attila

By Jamey Gittings

This is a work of science and fantasy that chronicles the lives and trajectories of 15 young people with Down Syndrome who are subjects in a federal gene replacement therapy experiment that makes the subjects not only as smart as normal (typical) people, but far smarter— geniuses in fact.

The narrator, Mason Free, tells the story of his personal transformation from “retard to genius,” documenting the progress of the group as it becomes a shadow global intellectual force. Often irreverent and sometimes politically incorrect, Mason and his cohorts grapple with cultural and personal biases, the nature of intellect itself, and what it means to be vulnerable, while addressing the societal ills of climate change, environmental destruction, cultural and racial prejudice, wealth inequality, and religious intolerance. Along the way, Mason falls in love and reflects on the nature and power of that love, not only for his girlfriend, Holly, but for his divorced parents, and humanity in general. The story, informed by the author’s own experiences in the field and burnished by imagination, is by turns hopeful and cynical, a work of fiction and a stark warning.