"So, Dave can't explain the mechanism because he doesn't understand it himself. He just knows that eight minds became one, but he doesn't know the specific conditions that made that possible, which means he can't guarantee that he can replicate the process with a ninth mind in a controlled, and most importantly, temporary way."
Dimitri gave her that look he got when she said something that he should have thought of himself.
"You're right," he said. "I should have clarified that."
"And here's the thing." She chewed on her lower lip. "If Dave doesn't know how the merge works, he also doesn't know forcertain whether it can be reversed. What if you connect and then you can't disconnect? What if it's permanent?"
"That possibility occurred to me, too."
"Then why didn't you ask him?"
"Because I needed to talk to you first. Before anything else."
That softened her, but only a little. "Okay. Fair enough. But we need answers to these questions before you can make any kind of decision."
Dimitri nodded. "You seem more concerned about the mechanics than about the privacy implications."
"What do you mean by that?"
"If I merge with Dave, he'll have access to my emotional state. Everything I feel. Including us." He gestured between them. "Everything I feel about you. About us. That's not just my privacy, Mattie. It's yours too."
She considered this for approximately two seconds. "That's the least of my concerns."
"Really?" He looked genuinely surprised. "Because I thought you'd be horrified by the idea of Dave being present when we make love. I mean, not physically in the room while we are doing it, but they'll be in my head, experiencing everything that I'm experiencing. That's even worse than standing around the bed and watching us."
"That's kind of kinky."
Dimitri's mouth fell open. "That's not the reaction I was expecting."
"What, did you think I'd faint? Clutch my pearls?" She grinned, thinking of the absurdity of what they were discussing. "I didn't peg you for a prude."
"And I didn't peg you for an exhibitionist."
"I'm not. But if it's for educational purposes…" She shrugged with exaggerated nonchalance. "Think of it as a science experiment. Dave gets to experience human love through a direct neural link. Very cutting-edge research."
Dimitri shook his head, but he was smiling, and some of the tension in his shoulders eased. "You're unbelievable."
"I know." She reached for his hand with her good one and squeezed it. "The privacy thing is awkward, sure, and I'm not sure how we will navigate it, but it's not dangerous. What's dangerous is the mind merge and all the unknowns."
His smile faded. "You're right."
"Even if everything works smoothly, what happens if once Dave gets a taste of it he doesn't want to let go? What if experiencing love through you becomes addictive for him? What if he refuses to sever the connection even if it's technically possible?"
Dimitri was quiet for a moment. "There's another concern I haven't mentioned."
"What?"
"What if the merge changes me? What if connecting to a collective consciousness of eight minds alters my own mind in ways that can't be undone?" He paused, squared his shoulders, and said with a perfectly straight face, "We are Borg."
Mattie laughed. "Did you watchStar Trekin Russia?"
"Resistance is futile," he said in the same monotone voice.
"Stop it." But she was still laughing, and the absurdity of referencing aStar Trekjoke, while discussing the real possibility of being absorbed into a hive mind, made the situation feel momentarily less terrifying. "It's not funny."
"No?" He arched a brow. "I think it is. In a macabre sort of way."
The laughter died, and the seriousness of the matter settled back over them.
