Page 392 of Light Leech

“Ralia. Please.”

“Please what? You know what, I think I need some time with him. At least Sha believes in what I am doing and doesn’t question every motive when it doesn’t fit his style.”

“Since when has he been the only one you can trust?”

“Since he decided to trust me.” The glass wall rose between us and our pods split.

My jaw hung open. I was at a loss for words.

I stared through the glass at her pod. Her glass went dark, obscuring everything within. I couldn’t close my mouth. I looked from side to side as if there would be some explanation for her uncharacteristic fit.

As expected, there was no answer.

The light from my flight panel shined on my face, but I didn’t want to numb my mind with entertainment.

I requested another pod merger.

She rejected it.

I closed my dry mouth.

“This makes me ill,” Zhu said.

Same here.

“I already knew that.”

Thanks.

“There is no need to thank me.”

Never mind. Back to her. Do you think Sha is making her act like this? She’s never this standoffish.

“Perhaps, though I am unable to communicate with him.”

What should I do?

“She is your friend. Why are you asking me?”

I don’t know. I thought you might know how to fix it if Sha is her problem.

“If it is, I am afraid the only way to learn his intentions is to let them play out.”

And if they end up killing us?

“They will at least be revealed by then.”

Is there a way we can separate? I don’t want to split up from you, but if you know how to, maybe we can use that to free Ralia.

“I am afraid such a cleaving would leave your hypothalamic implant powerless.”

Resulting in techbone.

“And the associated decay of your body. I do not believe you can survive without me. Perhaps one day you can discover something to replace me, but for the foreseeable future, that must not occur.”

I didn’t like those sentiments. I let Zhu ramble on to himself about the difficulty of our predicament, but I zoned out a few sentences in. I stared back at her pod, even though I couldn’t see her through the tinted glass.

I turned to my neurospace.