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“I thought we agreed that this could appear as a conflict of interest.”He gently squeezed her hand, trying to convey in that small gesture that he wasn’t put out by the news.
“We talked about that too.How would this appear as a conflict of interest in our case?It’s not like either of us are in positions where we can be bribed, and as soon as I’m able, I’m stepping away from the leadership role everyone else has put me in.”She took a deep breath.“It’s also only a matter of time before anyone who wants to hook up with a New Edener will do so.It’s already happening.Rodelle’s sister-in-law’s neighbor started sleeping with a cyborg in the west side rooming house almost immediately.”
That was news to Rhys.“How?”
She snorted.“I imagine the usual way.”
“I mean, how did that happen without me knowing?”
“Geez, Rhys.Some things are meant to be private.I didn’t go into detail about us with Jasmine and Rodelle.”
“No, our broadcast link,” Rhys patiently explained.“We can communicate that way.It’s like an electronic telepathy.”Come to think of it, he hadn’t heard any of his fellow cyborgs’ thoughts in days.It was as if everyone had severed their link to their common network.“Huh.”
“Huh, what?”
“No one has spoken that way in a while,” Rhys said.
“You’re reclaiming your humanity in more ways than one,” Hannah said.
They were past the power station, now walking through a dense green forest.A thin path wound through it, and Hannah led him along.“We’re almost there,” she said happily.
Ten minutes later, they stood in a clearing.A small waterfall, perhaps six meters high, poured into a pool of clear water.Sunlight peeked through the heavy green canopy overhead, dappling the path and reflecting off the pool.Rhys relaxed a little.This, he could handle.
She picked a spot near the pool and took the basket from him.Flipping open the lid, she pulled out a thin blanket made of scrap pieces of fabric and spread it out on the ground.When she sat on it, he followed suit.She handed him a wooden box with a woven reed top and handle that held a couple of sandwiches and handed one to him.She took another for herself.
“Do you not like water?”Hannah asked.“I’ve never asked you that, and I probably should have.You’ve been on edge since I suggested we come here.”
Rhys paused, his sandwich halfway to his mouth.He didn’t want to lie to her.“I didn’t do very well when the power station’s bulkheads were drained.”
“Do you want to talk about it?”
He hesitated, mulling over her offer.“I’ve never been afraid of anything before,” he admitted.“I don’t think I let myself be frightened of anything, and this particular fear is irrational.I have the means to continue breathing underwater.If I had died during it, I would have been cloned and a new RH104 introduced.I don’t know why that particular incident bothered me so much.”
Hannah gave him a look that clearly questioned his intelligence.“Have you considered that this is the first time you’ve been allowed to explore the human side of yourself?It’s normal to be scared of things.”
“But the water wouldn’t have killed me.”
“You can still be scared of it.Humans are sometimes irrational.I’m sorry I pushed you into coming here.”
“No!”Rhys’s protest was immediate.“I’m glad you did.This isn’t like a flooded bulkhead at all.”
“And I would miss you if you died,” Hannah said.
“I could be cloned.I would come back.”
“I’m not sure if you would be the same.You wouldn’t have your memories.You wouldn’t remember me.You’d be starting over from scratch again.”
He’d been afraid of drowning in the bulkhead and having to be regenerated, Rhys realized.He hadn’t wanted to die.He wanted to keep the body, life, and memories of his current iteration.It was important that he continued to move forward for her.He hadn’t known that until now.“You’re correct.I want to keep everything going as it is.I don’t want to die again.”
“You need to stay alive,” Hannah said.“We have a lot of living to do.”
He liked how she said “we.”He tried to convey that in the look he sent her way.A blush touched her cheeks, a sight he would never stop enjoying.
Did he really look at her like she was the center of the universe?How had he done that?How had her friends noticed?
“Let’s go behind the falls,” Hannah suggested once their meal was done.“Do you think you’d be okay with that?There’s lots of room behind it.”
Rhys’s vision honed in on the curtain of water flowing into the pool.The falls crested over a cliff shelf.A hollow space about three meters high was hidden behind it.He nodded.“I’d like that.”
