"Mattie?" Dimitri asked.
"Dave's plan sounds reasonable."
"I concur." Dimitri withdrew the needle from Number Six. "Dave is always reasonable. They are like a sponge for knowledge." He moved to Number Seven but didn't immediately begin the swab. "I'm still thinking about your comment yesterday about your mind being hungry for knowledge. What kind of knowledge?"
"Our education was terminated at thirteen," Number Seven spoke for the collective. "We know how to fight, but we have only basic literacy. We know almost nothing about science and history beyond what the Brotherhood deemed that we need to know. When we are free, we intend to learn."
"In what way?"
Dimitri sounded suspicious, and Dave wondered what he was concerned about. They could peek into Mattie's mind, which was the easiest and fastest to access, but after her earlier comment, they were reluctant to do so.
"Through study. We could go to university and just attend classes without enrolling. We've seen what it looks like in movies, and it seems nice. We could also learn through books and through experience."
Dimitri arched a brow. "The merge will allow you access to all the knowledge stored in my head, and there is a lot in there. It could be one hell of a shortcut." He looked into Number Seven's eyes. "Is that the real reason you want to mind-merge with me?"
Dimitri seemed to have the wrong idea about the merge, how it worked, and what it enabled. Things didn't happen in the blink of an eye. The Eight hadn't become one in a day. They had spent months melding their collective knowledge and sharing their memories. Only feelings could be absorbed immediately. Everything else took time.
"The merge is not about knowledge," Number One said. "It's about understanding love. It's about feelings."
Dimitri looked doubtful. "Perhaps, but you will still have access to everything I know. You can absorb it while our minds are connected."
Why was he so worried about that?
They processed it across all eight minds, searching for the subtext, and when they found it, the realization was accompanied by something that they were surprised to identify as hurt.
Dimitri didn't trust them.
"You think we want to absorb your scientific knowledge about the drugs?" Number One said.
Dimitri's jaw tightened. "The thought occurred to me."
"Do you think we want to learn how to produce the drugs ourselves so we won't need you anymore and abandon you?"
The silence that followed was loaded with suspicion and hurt feelings. Mattie was watching them with wide eyes, Petrov had stopped pretending to work and turned to face them directly, and Dimitri was staring at them defiantly.
"The logic makes sense from your perspective, but it's flawed," Number One said, and the collective made an effort to keep the hurt out of the voice, though it seeped through anyway. "We promise you that it didn't occur to us even once. And the fact that it occurred to you tells us something about the world you've lived in."
Dimitri chuckled. "None of us has lived in utopia, and people are selfish. They look out for themselves."
Number One spread his arms. "We dealt with you with honesty and trust, but you still suspect us. You just don't understand how the merge works. Our collective consciousness is smarter than the sum of its parts, but even though we sometimes sound like a computer or a robot, we are not. We can't download information the way a computer copies files. The merge creates a shared experiential space, a joining of awareness, both of which will be temporary for you. There won't be enough time to learn everything you know. It would probably take just as long as it took you to learn all those things. Feelings, on the other hand, are much easier to communicate. We would feel what you feel, perceive what you perceive, understand what you understand at an emotional and intuitive level."
The collective watched Dimitri, saw the emotions passing through his eyes, and knew that they were reaching him.
Dimitri finished swabbing Number Seven's arm and administered the injection. His hands were steady, but thetension in his shoulders had eased, and the collective took that as a positive indicator.
"I believe you," he said. "You can't blame me for being suspicious, though."
"We don't. It was reasonable. We think of you as a friend, and we thought you think of us the same way, so we were somewhat dismayed by the accusation."
Dimitri sighed. "I do think of you as friends, but I have been betrayed by people I've cared about before. I'd rather be safe than sorry."
"We understand," Number One said. "The merge is not happening tonight, though. Tonight is about the phone."
"Speaking of which," Petrov said. "Dimitri and I still haven't finalized what we're going to say to whoever answers the phone. We need to work on that, and I would appreciate it if all of you saved your emotional breakthroughs for another time."
Mattie chuckled. "You could just let me do all the talking. The shock of hearing a woman on the other side would make them at least curious to listen."
Petrov stared at her. "You might be onto something there, girl." He turned to Dimitri. "Right?"
