The Enlightened (Mind Dimensions #3)(16)

“Oh?” That definitely gets my attention. “What else is there? Something to do with you and him”—I point to Paul—“being bred for your Depth?”

“Exactly,” she says. “You see, our people have been trying to accomplish something for some time, something that requires a tremendous amount of Depth. Paul, do you want to explain this part, since it’s your area of expertise?”

“I can try,” he says with a sigh. “The short version is that it’s possible to Split after you’re in the Mind Dimension.”

“What?” My mind is reeling. “Of all the things I expected to hear...” I take a breath, considering it. “Is it really feasible? Phasing into the Quiet, from the Quiet? What would that even be like?”

“We don’t know,” Paul says. “It’s all rather theoretical. One thing we do suspect is that this feat would allow you to Read anyone.”

“Read a fellow Reader?”

He nods.

Wow. Reading a Reader would be like the Holy Grail for these people, who can Read the minds of anyone but the people who matter most—the people in their own community.

“I think I understand,” I say, “and it does sound impressive.”

“It does present some very exciting possibilities,” Paul says. “The big problem is: the Depth required to Split in that way would have to be enormous.”

“So you’ve been breeding people to create more Depth?” I think I’m catching up.

“Yes. And if your father had had a child with the woman he was supposed to, with her”—he points to Julia’s mom—“our grandchild might’ve possessed the required Depth, and if not that child, then our great-grandchild.”

My head is spinning. “Julia’s mom was supposed to ‘breed’ with my dad? Is she especially powerful?”

Since I never met my dad, it’s not all that weird to think that he could’ve done it with Julia’s mom. What do I care? The thing I do care about, however, is the glimmer of suspicion forming in the back of my mind. No, I tell myself. They wouldn’t be that crude.

“She is indeed,” Paul says. “Her parents are the most powerful of our kind from Ontario. Unfortunately, she’s post-menopausal, so we can’t use her anymore. But her daughter...”

“You have got to be kidding me.” Unfortunately, my sneaking suspicion was right. “You want me to f*ck Julia?” My voice rises in pitch. “No, sorry, you want me to f*cking have a kid with Julia?”

“You make it sound like such a horrible thing,” Rose says, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she smiles. “She’s a rosebud. It’s not like we’re asking you to do something you wouldn’t enjoy.”

“She’s my friend’s girl,” I say weakly. I could’ve made a million other, more obvious objections, but this one was the first to come to mind.

“We’re not asking you to marry her,” Paul says nonchalantly. “We just want you to perform your duty.”

All my reasons against this proposition swirl and overwhelm my mind until I blurt out my main objection: “I’m too young to have kids.” As I say it, I realize it’s probably not even in the top ten cons that they would’ve taken seriously.

“We’d take care of the child,” Rose says. “Of course you’re too young for that.”

I can’t believe we’re actually carrying on with this conversation. Breeding me? For some trait? The idea is beyond ridiculous. All this talk of breeding people hadn’t fully registered until this very moment—until it got personal. The choice my parents made, the choice Eugene and Mira’s father made—not to have kids with the ‘right’ person—was all very theoretical, until now.

“I also have a girlfriend,” I say, realizing that in their eyes, I probably sound like a five-year-old justifying why he won’t eat his broccoli.

“We’re not asking you to leave your little girlfriend either,” Rose says. “Look at us. Paul and I married the people we love dearly. Giving birth to Mark never changed that. In fact, it’s the opposite. Marsha and I are best friends. So are Edward and Paul.”

I feel like I’m in a strange dream version of the Twilight Zone mixed with a ‘I had a child with my twin sister’s husband’ Jerry Springer episode. Inadvertently, I look at Julia. Blond hair, blue eyes, curves in all the right places. She’s as hot as ever, and I can’t stop an erotic image—or two—from slipping into my consciousness, confirming what Rose said. This could be something I, or any other red-blooded guy, would enjoy, on a purely mechanical, execution-of-task kind of level.

“So what’s the timeline?” I ask uncomfortably. “When did you want this... act... to occur?”

“Caleb and Paul can drive you here as soon as you’re ready,” Rose replies.

“Wait. Did Julia already agree to this?” I ask. Even if I wanted to agree to this crazy plan, there’s one huge problem: my mom’s in trouble and I don’t have the time to be, literally, f*cking around.

“She will agree,” Paul says. “Same as you.”

I never thought I’d be this tempted to punch an old guy in the face. I resist, barely, and try a different approach.