Page 33 of Pandion

“Shut up! I’m taking you to the doctor right now.” Harumine glanced at the clock and corrected, “First thing tomorrow.”

He would have done so immediately had the local empath specialist’s office been open at this hour. The organism had better hang on until then, or else…!

After a whole host of tests and waiting through most of the morning, Kagesawa finally got to see the doctor.

“The good news is the physical injuries are minor. The rest is due to the sleep deprivation exacerbating your DEFD.”

“My what?”

“DEFD. Didn’t you have this assessed when you obtained your licence?”

“No?”

“Odd. Well, the port connection with this organism is beyond repair, and I’m pretty sure you’re ineligible for organism replacement with such severe DEFD.”

“You keep saying that, but I don’t know what that is.”

“Developmental Executive Function Disorder. Predominantly the AMEtype that affects your attention, motivation and emotional regulation, moderate severity. Your organism may cause slight discomfort as it deteriorates and disintegrates now that it’s no longer connected to a port. The symptoms can take a couple of weeks to resolve, in some rare cases a month or two. Here’s a prescription for an antiemetic and a data chip for mental health services, should you need them. With your history, I suggest you make use of it.” The doctor handed Kagesawa the data chip, processed the prescription and updated his medical records. “Was there something else?”

“No, I guess not. Thanks.” Kagesawa popped the chip into his palm reader and skimmed it through as he exited the office. He retained nothing from the skimming.

Satoru was still waiting for him in the waiting room. This seemed peculiar considering he’d probably been informed of the situation in that review appointment of his. Kagesawa didn’t know the exact details of their discussion, but he’d had a few leads and poked about to fill in the blanks. It should have been enough for Satoru to tap out.

Did he think he had something more to gain from this? His record would be wiped clean, so there should’ve been no reason to hang around anymore. With the link severed for good, any interest in Kagesawa’s dealings should have effectively vanished. After all, what could he do without an organism? He’d hoped this was enough for the EA to leave him alone.

“What did the doctor say?” Satoru stood up at the sight of Kagesawa sauntering back into the waiting room.

“It’s beyond repair. Report back to the EA, and they’ll arrange an expedited removal and a new link for you.”

“What? Just like that? When will they replace your organism? I can wait.”

One had to admire Satoru’s dedication. Whatever they’d offered him as compensation must have been quite something. Maybe if Kagesawa had strung the EA along a bit longer, Satoru could have received what he was after. He’d be out of this contract with no delay, though, and that had to count for something. He’d be able to get on with his career like he was supposed to.

“No, that’s off the table as well,” Kagesawa said.

“What, why? They can’t or they won’t? Is it because they’ve already done it once? Can’t we pay for it?”

“You can stop acting like you care. It’s OK. I’ll be fine. You’ll be fine.”

“What are you saying? Why’s it off the table? Don’t you want to—?”

“You can see for yourself.” Kagesawa tossed him the data chip. “I’m damaged goods. A poor investment. It’s probably for the best.” He only wished he’d found out about it sooner, so he could have adjusted his expectations for himself. And, had he been rejected from empath training in the first place, it would have saved a lot of people from a lot of grief.

Satoru skimmed the data.

“They won’t help you because of this? But you were doing a good job!”

“Frankly, I’m relieved. I knew there was something fundamentally wrong with me.” He’d figured he was an incompetent loser, and now he knew why.

“This can’t be right,” Satoru said under his breath.

“You’re free to stay at my place until you find your own. I think I’ll go somewhere else for a while. Maybe take a vacation untilthis wound heals.” There were some things he needed to figure out, and a change of scenery might help with that. Satoru was staring at him. “What?”

“Are you being serious right now?”

“Yes. Did I forget something?”

“You’re not going to try to dispute it or fight for it at all?”

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