The Elders (Mind Dimensions #4)(46)

“Do many situations call for a sword fight?”

He chuckles. “Those are my sentiments exactly, but we digress. What do you think of such help?”

I shrug. “It’s not like I have that many choices.”

“So you want to proceed with proving your trustworthiness?”

I’m not sure if it’s just me, but he looks a little too eager. “You have to tell me exactly what’s involved, and then I’ll think about it.”

“I shall do my best.” I see a hint of a wry smile; he knows he has me on the hook. “Though it’s not an easy task.”

“Not a good start.” I catch myself shaking my head.

He pauses for a millisecond before saying, “Fine, here goes. It’s called Assimilation. It’s a process, for lack of a better word, that can only happen in Nirvana.”

“That already sounds pretty sinister,” I say, my eyes narrowing.

“I won’t try to fool you. Assimilation requires a level of trust to begin with, from both parties.”

“But why do I have a feeling your risk is negligible,” I say sarcastically.

“Because you’re smart.” He gives me a wide grin. “Indeed, the risk is mostly yours in this case.”

“Why is that?”

“Because you still have people with guns pointed at you outside my Mind Dimension.” He mimes holding a gun in each hand. “If you harm me in any way, and that includes during Assimilation, you’re as good as dead.”

“Nice.” I cross my arms. “But what about the little problem of me not trusting you?”

He shrugs. “It’s up to you if you want to gamble. Bear in mind, though, in a way, I would be teaching you something about Nirvana as a result. And though you would have to take my word for it, you could get me to tell you the truth.”

“Sounds like a Catch-22,” I say with frustration. “Tell me more about this Assimilation.”

“It’s hard to explain.”

“Of course it is,” I say, trying not to roll my eyes.

“Fine, let me try.” He sighs. “It allows for a state of being where we would be physically incapable of lying to each other. During this process, you would have no doubts regarding my intentions.”

I consider it. Thus far, this whole trip has been a giant waste of time as far as learning anything about Level 2 or the Super Pusher, but this could be my chance.

“You saw me fight Kate,” Frederick reminds me. “If I wanted to harm you, I would’ve done so already.”

“Great.” I glare at him. “The good old ‘since I can kill you, you should trust me’ argument. We haven’t learned that one in debate class.”

“I am just trying to make a case for me having no ulterior motive.” He follows these words with a couple of slow blinks.

“Oh, you have one.” I try to recall whether blinking means a person is lying. “But it’s probably not to make me Inert.”

One corner of his mouth twitches, as though he’s amused. “And is that good enough for you to give it a shot?”

“I don’t have too many choices,” I say and exhale audibly. “But I have one condition.”

He lifts his eyebrows. “Like you just admitted, your choices are limited. You’re in no position to negotiate, but I’ll hear the condition as a gesture of goodwill.”

“I don’t want to wait until the end of the Session to get started on the rescue,” I say. “I’m too worried about them, and I’d like to leave right away, as soon as we’re done with this Assimilation business. Would it be a problem if I just walk up to my frozen self and get out of the Mind Dimension? I don’t want those people to shoot me.”

“They won’t shoot you, but Gustav will be upset,” Frederick says. “You promised him you’ll stay until the end of the Session. He’s a stickler for promises.”

I blow out a frustrated breath, but then a sneaky idea comes to me. “You initiated this Session,” I say, “so perhaps you can end it? I would then, strictly speaking, be keeping my word.”

“You want me to end the Session?” For the first time, he looks genuinely distraught. “It will be extremely inconvenient for the other Elders. What if they have done some work already? They would lose it.”

“Oh, come on.” I lean forward in my chair. “They just came back from the Celebration. What could they have accomplished?”

“I guess that’s true.” Frederick studies me for a few moments before saying, “All right. As a token of my cooperation, I’ll do it.”

I give him a satisfied smile. Score one for me. “So, how do we do this Assimilation?”

“It’s easier to show than to explain,” Frederick says. “I will pull you into Nirvana again, where I will let my mind assimilate with yours, and vice versa. That’s the best word I can use, hence the term.”

My smile fades. “I really don't like the sound of that.”

“Do not fret.” Now it’s Frederick’s turn to smile. “In Nirvana, the minds exist in a purer form. Communication there is different from here. It requires the minds to be interconnected, but that is all we are talking about: communication.”