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to <strong>the</strong> nature of <strong>the</strong> electromagnetic bonds <strong>in</strong> water molecules—chemists refer to such molecules as<br />
“sticky”—water can store about four times more <strong>the</strong>rmal energy than soil. Dur<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong> day, <strong>the</strong> water buried<br />
<strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Knight family greenhouse absorbed heat; after sunset, it slowly released energy. Us<strong>in</strong>g this system,<br />
<strong>the</strong>y grew food all w<strong>in</strong>ter and didn’t need to pay a dime to <strong>the</strong> power company to heat <strong>the</strong> greenhouse. “In<br />
my family,” said Chris, “self-education, self-improvement was preferred.”<br />
Money was tight. Whenever Sheldon came home with co<strong>in</strong>s <strong>in</strong> his pocket, he dropped <strong>the</strong>m <strong>in</strong> a coffee<br />
can, and Joyce distributed <strong>the</strong>m <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> morn<strong>in</strong>g before school, for milk money. <strong>The</strong>y never got rid of scrap<br />
metal or spare parts.<br />
Chris described his family as “obsessed with privacy.” He begged that <strong>the</strong>y not be contacted or disturbed,<br />
at least while he was still <strong>in</strong> jail. <strong>The</strong> Knights socialized with a small group of friends and relatives, and<br />
virtually no one else. One’s desire to be alone, biologists have found, is partially genetic and to some degree<br />
measurable. If you have low levels of <strong>the</strong> pituitary peptide oxytoc<strong>in</strong>—sometimes called <strong>the</strong> master chemical<br />
of sociability—and high quantities of <strong>the</strong> hormone vasopress<strong>in</strong>, which may suppress your need for affection,<br />
you tend to require fewer <strong>in</strong>terpersonal relationships.<br />
“Each of us <strong>in</strong>herits from our parents a certa<strong>in</strong> level of need for social <strong>in</strong>clusion,” wrote John Cacioppo<br />
<strong>in</strong> his book Lonel<strong>in</strong>ess. Cacioppo, <strong>the</strong> director of <strong>the</strong> Center for Cognitive and Social Neuroscience at <strong>the</strong><br />
University of Chicago, said that everyone naturally possesses a “genetic <strong>the</strong>rmostat for connection.” Chris<br />
Knight’s must be set near absolute zero.<br />
Sheldon, Chris’s fa<strong>the</strong>r, died <strong>in</strong> 2001—Chris didn’t know that until his arrest, more than a dozen years<br />
later—but Joyce, <strong>in</strong> her eighties, still lives <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> same house, along with her daughter, for whom she<br />
rema<strong>in</strong>s <strong>the</strong> caretaker. <strong>The</strong> oldest son, Daniel, ten years older than Chris, resides <strong>in</strong> a double-wide mobile<br />
home on an adjo<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g lot. <strong>The</strong>ir closest neighbor, John Boiv<strong>in</strong>, said he’s lived next door to <strong>the</strong> Knights for<br />
fourteen years and still hasn’t said hello to anyone <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> family. Sometimes Boiv<strong>in</strong> spots Joyce collect<strong>in</strong>g <strong>the</strong><br />
newspaper. Chris’s sister, Susanna, has hardly been seen <strong>in</strong> public for decades.<br />
“I know everyone <strong>in</strong> Albion,” said Amanda Dow, who has worked <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> local town office for close to<br />
two decades, “but I can’t put a face to <strong>the</strong>m.” People who knew Sheldon <strong>in</strong>variably described him as<br />
<strong>in</strong>troverted. Bob Milliken, an Albion dairy farmer and distant cous<strong>in</strong> of Sheldon’s, said <strong>the</strong> Knight family<br />
was “smart, honest, hardwork<strong>in</strong>g, self-sufficient, well respected, and quiet.” Milliken added that on <strong>the</strong> rare<br />
occasions when he did speak with anyone <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> family, he “more or less just stuck to talk<strong>in</strong>g about <strong>the</strong><br />
wea<strong>the</strong>r.”<br />
Chris <strong>in</strong>sisted that he’d had a f<strong>in</strong>e youth. “No compla<strong>in</strong>ts. I had good parents.” No one else <strong>in</strong> his family<br />
has had any trouble with <strong>the</strong> law. Two of Knight’s bro<strong>the</strong>rs, Joel and Timothy, visited him <strong>in</strong> jail, <strong>the</strong> only<br />
members of <strong>the</strong> family to do so. Chris didn’t recognize <strong>the</strong>m, he admitted; only Joel’s laugh sounded<br />
familiar. <strong>The</strong> bro<strong>the</strong>rs said <strong>the</strong>y’d often wondered what had happened to Chris. <strong>The</strong>y had supposed he was<br />
dead but had never expressed this thought to <strong>the</strong>ir mo<strong>the</strong>r. <strong>The</strong>y’d always wanted to give her hope that he<br />
was still alive. It seemed to comfort her. Maybe he’s <strong>in</strong> Texas, <strong>the</strong>y’d say. Or he’s <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> Rocky Mounta<strong>in</strong>s.<br />
Or even New York City.<br />
His family apparently never contacted <strong>the</strong> police about Chris’s disappearance. <strong>The</strong>y did not file a miss<strong>in</strong>g<br />
person report. “<strong>The</strong>y assumed I was off do<strong>in</strong>g someth<strong>in</strong>g on my own,” said Chris. “Hav<strong>in</strong>g an adventure.<br />
We Yankees, we see <strong>the</strong> world differently.” Sergeant Hughes said he wasn’t particularly surprised to learn<br />
that <strong>the</strong> Knights had not <strong>in</strong>volved <strong>the</strong> authorities. “<strong>The</strong>y’re a rural Ma<strong>in</strong>e family,” he said. “Keep-to<strong>the</strong>mselves<br />
people.”