Close Obsession

Chapter 2-3

“Tell Arus that he can talk to me himself if he’s so determined to make this happen,” Korum said quietly, his eyes narrowed with anger. “She’s my charl. If he wants her to do something, he needs to ask me very, very nicely. And then, if Mia says she’s okay with it, I will maybe consider it.”

Saret smiled ruefully. “Sure. You know I hate to be in the middle like this. You and Arus can talk it out. I was asked to deliver a message, and that’s where my responsibility ends.”

Korum nodded. “Understood.”

The expression on his face was still harsh, and Mia shifted in her seat, feeling uncomfortable about the role she had inadvertently played in this disagreement. She needed to learn more about this trial and what it all meant, but she didn’t want to ask more questions in front of Saret. Instead, wanting to lighten the tension in the room, she asked cautiously, “So how do you two know each other?”

Saret smiled at her, understanding what she was doing. “Oh, we go way back. We’ve known each other since we were children.”

Mia’s eyes widened. If they had been children together, then she was in the presence of two aliens who measured their age in thousands of years. “Were you classmates or something?” she asked in fascination.

Korum shook his head, his lips curving slightly. “Not exactly. We were playmates. Our children are educated very differently than humans—we don’t have schools like you do.”

“No? Then how do your children learn?”

Saret grinned at her, apparently pleased by her curiosity. “A lot of it is play-based. We let them develop most of the key skills they need through socialization and interaction with others, be it children or adults. Later on, they do apprenticeships in various fields with the goal of honing their problem-solving and critical-thinking abilities.”

Mia looked at him in fascination. “But how do they learn things like math and history and writing?”

Saret waved his hand dismissively. “Oh, those are easy. I don’t know if Korum has talked to you about this before—”

“I haven’t yet,” Korum said. “You got here as soon as Mia woke up. All I had time to do was mention the language implant.”

“Oh, good.” Saret sounded excited. “Would you like to get that done tonight, Mia?”

Mia hesitated. If Korum wasn’t lying to her, then she would be an i***t to pass on this opportunity. “Can you please explain to me again what exactly this implant is and what it does?” she asked, looking at Saret.

Korum sighed, looking exasperated. “Yes, Saret, please tell Mia exactly what the implant is. She doesn’t seem to trust my explanation.”

“Can you blame me?” she asked Korum, trying to keep the bitterness out of her tone.

Saret’s eyebrows rose, and he grinned again. “Still some unresolved issues, I see.”

Korum shot him a warning look, and Saret’s grin promptly disappeared. “Never mind,” he said hastily. “I don’t know what Korum told you, Mia, but the language implant is a very simple, very straightforward device that many Krinar get upon maturity—once our brain is fully developed. It’s a microscopic computer made of special biological material that essentially acts as a highly advanced translator. Its function is to convert data from one form into another—thought pattern to language and vice versa. It acts on one area of the brain only and has absolutely no harmful side effects.”

“Does it ever malfunction?” asked Mia. “Or can it do something else to me?”

“Like what?” Saret looked perplexed. “And no, this technology has been in existence for over ten thousand years, so it’s been fully perfected. It doesn’t malfunction, ever.”

“Can it make me think something that I don’t want? Or broadcast my thoughts?” Now that she’d said it out loud, Mia could hear how ridiculous that sounded.

Saret shook his head with a smile. “No, nothing like that. It’s a very basic device. What you’re talking about is far more advanced science. Mind control and thought reading are still in theoretical stages of development.”

“But it is theoretically possible?” Mia asked in amazement, the psych major in her suddenly salivating at the prospect of learning even a tiny sliver of what the Krinar knew about the brain. Now that she wasn’t so nervous, it occurred to Mia that the K sitting across from her was probably a veritable treasure trove of knowledge about her field of study.

Saret nodded. “Theoretically, yes. Practically, not yet.”

Mia opened her mouth to ask another question, and Korum interrupted, looking amused at her unabashed interest, “So does this make you feel more comfortable about getting the implant?”

Mia considered it for a second. How much should she trust them? Korum had already proven himself to be a master manipulator, and she had no idea what Saret was like. But then again, like Korum said, they didn’t really need her permission to do this. The fact that they were giving her a choice is what ultimately convinced her.

“I think so,” she said slowly.

“Okay then, Saret, can you please do the honors?”

“Um, wait,” Mia said, her heart starting to beat faster, “you mean I can get it right now? Is there an anesthetic or anything?”

Saret smiled. “No, nothing like that. It’s very easy—you won’t even feel it.”

“Okay...”

Korum got up, still holding Mia’s hand. Saret stood up also and approached them. “May I?” he asked Korum, reaching for Mia.

Korum nodded, and Saret extended his right hand, brushing Mia’s hair back behind her left ear. She shuddered a little at the unfamiliar touch. Her nails dug into Korum’s hand, and she fought the urge to flinch. Even though they’d told her it wouldn’t hurt, she couldn’t help her primal reaction.

“That’s it.” Saret stepped back.

“What?” Mia blinked at him in shock.

“It’s done. You have the implant. We’ll give it about a minute to sync with your neural pathways, and then we’ll test it out.”

“But how? Where did it go in?”

“It went in through the skin,” Korum explained, smiling at her. “You didn’t feel it, right?”

“No, I didn’t feel anything.” Were they playing a joke on her?

Saret laughed, enjoying her reaction. “Good, you weren’t supposed to. The device itself has analgesic properties, so you shouldn’t have felt the tiny cut it made in the thin skin behind your ear.”

Mia raised her left hand, feeling for the wound, but there was nothing.

“So tell me, Mia, do you feel any different? Are you thinking any thoughts you shouldn’t be thinking?” Korum asked her with a mocking gleam in his eyes.

Mia shook her head, frowning at him slightly. She didn’t appreciate his making fun of her ignorance.

And then her breath caught in her throat.

Korum had just spoken to her in Krinar—and she had understood his every word.

“Wait a second,” she said, and the words that came out of her mouth were strange and unfamiliar. Yet she knew exactly what they meant, and her facial muscles seemed to have no problem forming the sounds. “You just spoke in Krinar!”

Korum smiled. “And so did you. How does it feel?”

Mia blinked at him. It felt strange, yet effortless. “It seems to be okay,” she said again in Krinar. “I just don’t understand how it works. What if I want to say something in English?”

“If you want to say something in English, you just have to think English, and you’ll switch languages,” Saret explained. “Right now, your brain’s natural response is to speak in Krinar because that’s the language in which we’re addressing you. You have to actively think that you want to speak in English in order to do so when confronted with Krinar speech. However, later on, when you get used to the implant, switching back and forth will be automatic and won’t require any extra thought on your part. This is really not all that different from being multilingual. I’m sure you know people who speak several languages fluently—and now you have that same ability, just taken to a different level.”

Mia listened to his explanation, the reality of it seeping in. “Wow,” she breathed softly, “so I can really, truly speak any known language now? Just like that?”

She wanted to jump up and run around the room, screaming with glee, and she controlled herself with effort, not wanting to appear like a silly kid in front of Korum’s friend. It was just so unbelievably amazing. She had always been good with languages in school, studying Spanish and French throughout high school, but she’d never managed to become fluent. And now she could speak whatever language she wanted? Her earlier reluctance forgotten, Mia could now only think of the mind-blowing possibilities.

“Just like that,” Korum confirmed, looking down at her with a smile, and Saret nodded as well.

Struggling to appear dignified, Mia fought back the huge grin that threatened to split her face. “Thank you,” she told Saret. “I really appreciate it.”

“You’re welcome, Mia. I hope to see you soon.” And with that, he touched Korum’s shoulder again and left, the wall to their right disintegrating to grant him passage.