🌒

You turn to Zeta. “You should go along and make sure Akiko’s okay,” you sign.

[Akiko liked that]

“We’re probably the best candidates anyway, since our genders are more similar than Zeta’s,” Akiko signs. “You don’t want to deal with dysphoria on your first sync.”

“You’ll be okay on your own?” Zeta signs.

“I’ll lock the door and disconnect its circuit,” you sign.

“If anything happens to her, I’ll know immediately,” Akiko signs. “The link is two ways.”

“Okay, let’s do this,” you say.

“I don’t think I could possibly teach you to do this conscious, with as little Communication training as you’ve had,” Akiko signs. “You’ll have to dissociate.”

“Into the æther?” you sign.

“Not exactly, it will be like going into the æther, but you’ll be connected to me instead.”

“But I don’t have a neurodissociative implant yet, I can’t just do that at will like you.”

“Right, so in class you would do it with an injection, right?” Akiko searches for something in her pockets.

“You got some of the dissociation juice?” you sign.

She pulls out a small white bottle, the sort the medical vending machines dispense, and hands it to you. “Only the medical staff can get that, but there’s another way in. It’s not a smooth ride, and it’ll be hard on your body, and there’s probably a 30% chance you’ll really hate it. But once you’re under full dissociation it’s pretty much the same.”

“My sibling told me about this,” Zeta signs. “They called it an æther trip, they said it’s fun!”

“Good,” you sign.

“But then my brother said it’s not fun and it makes you really sick,” it signs.

“Oh…” you say. “What’s the synchronization going to be like?” you sign.

“Like nothing you’ve felt before. Our minds will be linked just as if they were computers. You’ll feel what I feel, but, that’s not the whole story, because it’s more like we both feel what we feel. We’d be able to communicate telepathically on the surface, without even using messages, but you’ll be so dissociated you might not be up to talk much. I’ll mostly be in control, but you’ll be able to influence our actions too. And you should, if you know something I don’t and you think we’re in danger.”

You look down at the bottle next to you. “If this is the only way, let’s do it.”

“There might be one other option, you should know,” Akiko signs. “You told me you and ÆON once performed what sounded like a limited synchronization ætherside.”

“Yeah, we were able to share our actions, like, I would think of something and ÆON would do it.”

“Then it’s probably possible to sync us while you’re conscious if ÆON helps us make the connection,” she signs.

“Then ÆON would be synced too?”

“Partially, I think, not like we will, but connected, like a peripheral device.”

“Synth was pretty clear that I shouldn’t let ÆON be involved in this…” you sign.