Page 79 of Pandion

“Yes, but when will you be evolved enough? How old are you? How do you know this stuff?” With the thing sounding so much like himself, Kagesawa felt too weirded out to project back to it within his head. This made Satoru look at him even more worried.

I’m an infant, but my seed contains some key bits of information from the origin. I think something must have gone wrong. I’m supposed to have a mentor, but my mentor seems to change randomly, and they are very erratic and uncooperative. This last one is a little better. They give me some helpful instructions from time to time.

What mentor? Was it referring to Satoru?

Yes, that’s the one. The one that stopped you from hurting me.

“Oh shit, I’m sorry!” Kagesawa realised it must be referring to his abysmal dampening technique.

It’s OK. It was my mentor’s orders. I don’t think that mentor was very good. They gave me some very confusing instructions. Is that why they are no longer mentor?

“Kagesawa!” Satoru interrupted by shaking Kagesawa by the shoulders.

“What?”

“Should I be doing something? Do you need something? Are you all right?”

“I’m… fine.” Now that he was no longer panicking, the situation didn’t seem as dire.

Good. I’m really only here for the ride for now. You don’t have to mind me.

“Yes, but for how long?” Kagesawa mumbled.

Judging by the rate, about eighty or so years.

“Oh, I hate to break it to you, but I’m going to be dead by then.”

What?

“I’ll be dead within the next 80 years. It’s very, very unlikely I’d be able to live past a hundred.”

Are you sick?

“No, but now that you mention it, my lifespan could be much shorter if I get seriously ill somewhere along the way.”

Do you think you could try to get there, if you live very carefully?

“No, the average human lifespan is under a hundred years. I feel like with the way it’s going, the best I can give you is probably another thirty-five years.”

That is subpar and very disappointing.

“I’m sorry.”

I will have to think about this. Do you think Mentor might have good advice on how to improve your lifespan?

“I’m afraid your mentor isn’t a mentor at all.”

What? What do you mean?

“I don’t know how this is supposed to work from your perspective, but Satoru’s organism is even less evolved than you are.”

“Are you actually having a conversation with it?” Satoru looked like he was suffering immensely, trying to grasp what was going on with his headache as bad as it was. “Do I need to do something?”

“Ah, wait.”Is there something we can do for him?Kagesawa projected to the organism. Silence ensued, but he could tellsomething inside his head was working much the same way it did when he was multitasking. It was a very familiar feeling.

I have some instructions on what to do, but they are a little unreliable. We’ve done something similar before, but I’m not sure if it applies to this situation.

Well, as long as it wasn’t going to backfire and make things any worse…

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