Page 47 of Pandion

Supposedly the EA had studied the organism extensively, but most of their findings were filtered into simplified public records and rest kept secret with the reasoning that they were too complicated for the layman to understand, and misunderstandings could be detrimental or even outright dangerous. That stuff was only available for the few who were selected to study the field to become doctors or researchers.

Under normal circumstances in case of a medical emergency, one was supposed to go get a health check from a professional EA doctor, but since that was not an option, they needed another way to get their hands on the right data. Considering Kagesawa’s skills in data-mining and analysis, he would have mentioned if he’d already obtained something useful.

‘Eating up’ sounds unsettling. Let’s not make assumptions. They may be merging,Harumine suggested.If it’s utilising the first one’s tendrils, it’s no wonder your side of the link has improved so rapidly.Harumine had noticed differences and improvements after removing the port but at a much more moderate rate than Kagesawa.

I wish I knew what was happening in there. I feel completely fine, but it’s unnerving. Will it keep feeding me things on its own? How long has it been doing that without me noticing? Is it misfiring, or is it doing it on purpose?

Harumine cut his finger. It wasn’t very deep, but it did sting and startle him almost as much as Kagesawa’s words.

Did you hurt yourself? Finger? You cut yourself?

Harumine grabbed a piece of tissue paper and used that to press the cut.It’s fine. What do you mean ‘on purpose’?

The organism was complex, but nothing Harumine had been taught suggested it was capable of independent thought. It was intelligent in the same sense as plants or fungi, but it didn’t choose to do things outside its genetic instructions.

I don’t know. It’s just a feeling I get. Like it’s trying to help me. On purpose.Kagesawa seemed serious.

Harumine treated his finger and resumed preparing the breakfast. He was too dumbfounded to comment.

Chapter 18

The review was scheduled for the following Monday. Harumine postponed it until Wednesday. He had a plan. He wasn’t particularly confident about the plan nor did he hold high hopes for it, but it was a plan.

If anyone had records and data about the organism that could help diagnose what was going on with Kagesawa, it had to be the EA. The recent events and political turmoil had caused the local EA office to fall into a state of near chaos. Harumine waited for his appointment in the lobby area and saw people dash about, some looking frantic, some already succumbed to apathy.

His escort was fifteen minutes late. He’d prepared a slew of shoddy excuses for why his port had been removed and tampered with, so he was both miffed and relieved when they skipped the security check—likely because they assumed the link between him and Kagesawa had expired—and the subject never came up.

Upstairs, Harumine had to wait for another fifteen minutes before the reviewer, Kaneda-san, arrived to show him to one of the rooms. She was unprepared, browsing through her palm reader, unable to find the correct file and searching for a data chip from the disarray that was her work desk. She tried to make do with some incomplete notes but gave up halfway and sent her secretary out on a hunt for her missing documents. The questions she’d prepared seemed inconsequential. This review wouldn’t have yielded any useful results even had Harumine wished to cooperate.

“Are you in a hurry? Can you wait here for a moment?” She dashed out, presumably to search for the secretary since he hadn’t returned yet. It was a convenient opportunity to poke around the room, but alas, she’d not logged in on her BCI, and Harumine could find nothing of interest at her desk.

When Kaneda-san returned, she asked to reschedule. She couldn’t even set a date, only informed him that she would be in touch. If the first review had seemed a tad haphazard and disorganised, this one implied the EA had since completely lost the plot.

Harumine spotted a familiar face when he returned to the reception area. This was not a coincidence. Pulling up work schedules wasn’t nearly as challenging as fishing for some of the other information Kagesawa had had him retrieve.

Since Kagesawa’s impression of the relationship was somewhat unreliable, Harumine needed to play this by ear untilhe could determine which approach had the highest chance of success.

“Oh, hello, what brings you by?” the former kiosk attendant asked. He recognised Harumine’s face from that single meeting on the linking day, but since he hadn’t addressed him by name, there was a fair chance he either didn’t know or recall it. Good.

“I’m here for a review, but it was rescheduled.”

“Nothing serious, I hope?” The now-receptionist asked. “You’re still linked to Kagesawa, right? I haven’t seen him around.” So far, the words hinted at worry, but was that kindness intended towards Kagesawa or for Harumine, or was it merely polite smalltalk? His body language was giving off a few hints but nothing clear enough to risk it, yet.

“In a manner of speaking. You’re no longer working at the info kiosk? Did you get a promotion?” Harumine asked.

“Yes, but only because we are currently understaffed. As you can see, it’s quite the putrid scat cabaret.”

“I was wondering about that. What’s going on?”

“A bunch of dumdums started removing and modding their ports, the general public found out, and all hell broke loose. We’re swamped with paperwork having to deal with unhappy employers, licence issues, applications for port reinstalls, reporters asking for interviews, people calling in to confirm conspiracy theories like whether the empaths are going rogue to stage a coup or if there’s some secret threat we’re preparing for. Alien invasion or similar idiocy. The rumours are getting preposterous.”

“There was something about that on the news. I didn’t think it was this bad.”

“Oh, it’s bad. Whoever made that video deserves a spot under the earth’s crust. I have a double-shift every other day doing desk work to sort all of this. I’m this close to quitting.” The receptionist pressed his thumb and forefinger together. “I’mgetting harassed daily. Most of my empath friends are taking their vacation days, leaving the country and hoping that all of this will have blown over by the time they get back. I don’t fault them at all, in fact, I’d recommend everyone do the same because this could get ugly.”

“Probably a lot of portless jumping ship as well, I’d imagine. What will you do?”

“I thought I’d go back home to see my family. I’ll probably have to think about a career change, but it’s going to be a challenge to find anyone willing to hire an ex-EA employee.”

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