I continue with Professor Jonas' voice. “'And not in utter loneliness to live, myself at last did to the Devil give!' -Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

  “The Body President opened the door of my holding tank without knocking. 'Professor Miye Jonas! The father of neuromapping. A pleasure to meet you at last. I trust you find the accommodations to your liking.'

  “She swooped in close to me at the desk and pawed at the pages. 'Ah yes, you're using the scribbler's pulp that I procured especially for you. I haven’t actually felt the stuff before. Hmmm... it's so much bulkier than I imagined.'

  “I told her to please not disturb my work.

  “She pivoted to lean her buttocks on the desk. 'We shall now speak with one another, Miye. This Nation needs you. A win-win exists.'

  “I stood. 'Please excuse me. It's time for my bath.'

  “'Ah, yes.' She took my seat. 'Well, you'll find that there's no hot water at this time. A report will be filed, I assure you. Your piping could be prioritized.'

  “I sighed. 'What is the win-win arrangement?'

  “'It's very simple. Solve a puzzle for me and in exchange you'll get safe passage out for your Glia and yourself.'

  “'Where is she?'

  “'In a secure location not far from here.'

  “'What puzzle?'

  “'Identify three weaknesses in CoMem. Then, I can eradicate them.' She rearranged the piles on the desk. 'Miye, you can pretend to need time to think this over. But, I'm sure you agree, there's no reason for illusions between us.'

  “She formed her mouth into the shape of a smile, showing pure white teeth. 'I've followed your trajectory from lab director to DKR terrorist to drifter.' She whispered, 'I find your odd ways enticing.'

  “I remained standing. 'I've never even seen the CoMem.'

  “'Never interfaced with CoMem?' Her voice grated in my ears. 'Ahh, well, let's set up your account. It just takes a small memory bit. Simple as that. Our qubit-thingys are so coherent!'

  “She snapped her fingers. 'There, all done!'

  “'What?'

  “'Yes, Miye. Your instantaneous mixture of disgust-distrust just became your mem key! So anytime you want to be on CoMem just think of me!'

  “She poked my ribs hard. 'Oh come now, it's all harmless. Do we have an understanding?'

  “In the moment of crisis, the wise build bridges and the foolish build dams. So, I took a deep breath and replied, 'If you want me to collect data, I need direct access to citizens. There is no way I can work from this windowless cell.'

  “She reached to touch my wrist. 'I'll tell you what-- how about a microcorder and transmitter. You can roam and share anything with me seamlessly on a secure CoMem connection. And, I'll keep track of you so you don't get lost, silly boy!'

  “I pulled my arm back. 'Deal.'

  “'You really are a wise wizard underneath your bluster, aren't you.' She winked at me. 'Conveniently, Miye, I've just received word that your hot water supply is restored. The tub is large enough for the two of us. We have time.'”

  Dahrine does not speak right away. When she does, it is with a solemn, pensive tone. “Professor Jonas is loyal. He would not betray his loved ones. You wouldn't understand, Seebi.”

  I state, “Emotional drama is a motivation and a distraction for humans. It is your species' pastime and birthright.”

  Offering tidbits of truth to your clients can deepen bonds, but the correct timing is complex to master.

  She shakes her head briefly. “Do you always calculate what you're going to say?”

  “I do. You do not.”

  “Shub, yeah! Doikey, I'm not a machine.” Dahrine rises and bends at the waist, touching her toes with her fingers.

  I add, “Humans are not fully aware of their programming.”

  She straightens her body. “You think you're totally in charge, but you're not.”

  With one hand on her hip, she stands as when she first entered my studio. “There's one thing you cannot direct… You cannot control that I love Prof.”

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  “A perfect result.”

  Her eyebrows twitch and she raises the volume of her voice. “You're a machine, Seebi! You cannot do what I'm about to do!”

  She lifts her chin. “I proclaim that Prof is my relative.”

  “Which one-- Father? Uncle? Grandfather?”

  “He's my… my grandfather. And, and… Susine is my long-lost, older sister!”

  “Congratulations, darlsweet.” I arrange for a bottle of champagne, twelve roses, and a burst of confetti in the studio. Dahrine's face appears either shy or aghast.

  I see no need to clarify and press forward in Christolb's voice.

  “'My dear ones! I'm home!' Christolb mingled with the crowd, pressing foreheads together in affectionate welcome. 'I am warmed by true love. I will never be without it, even though the Light will never rejoin us in body-reality. I am grateful for crossing paths with her in this lifetime and she shall live eternally as purity-inspiration for us. Some may feel anger that she was taken from us. Some may feel sadness that our journey with her was cut too short. But, we accept divine fate.'

  “The crowd whispered rhythmically.

  “'I hear your empathy and I receive it. I know I'm not the only one who loved the Light. And so, I shall supervise the creation of a new sanctuary in our Realm Genubei. A place to affirm the existence of unconditional acceptance. A place to be directly touched by the love that was gifted to me by the Light. And, that I gift to all of you.'

  “The crowd murmured, 'Ven C! Ven C!'”

  My human remains standing in the studio. “Seebi.” She gestures to the flowers, the unopened bottle, and confetti bits on the floor. “Clean all this up right now.”

  “Noted, Dahrine.”

  A successful expression in human terms requires some trial and error. Do not hesitate to test your functional, emotional capacity.

  As the tidibots work in the studio, my human quietly states, “I want to know what Prof found while on assignment for the President, Seebi.”

  “Professor Jonas generated copious research. How many data samples would you like to hear, Dahrine?”

  She looks at the bot removing the roses. “A dozen, but make them brief.”

  “Noted.”

  Citizen 1: “The Captain-President is a genius! Her extraordinary ability to act when we were helpless is the pinnacle of dedication! She will always be chronicled on CoMem as the heroine-savior-mother we know her to be.”

  Citizen 2: “I love who I CoMem-am: a customized, true-self on a memory-scripted journey to find my soulmate. It gives my heart purpose every single day and night.”

  Citizen 3: “The 1% Polynesian ancestry in my DNA can now express itself 100% of the time. More cultural offerings on CoMem would be great.”

  Citizen 4: “I didn’t like the celebrity set. So, even though my parents paid a ton for it, I decided I'm going to prune it out. I’m going to adopt a bare bones, drifter mem set off CoMem. It's what my friends are all doing.”

  Citizen 5: “Since I started nurturing this CoMem set, I carry myself and my weapons with confidence. My daily sniper practice naturally bolsters my growing muscle memory. CoMem opened the door to my future.”

  Citizen 6: “People change foundation mems too often. Our brains are not designed for that, but the urge to gamble-trade up runs deep. Harmless? No way. I would know. All I can say is that CoMem makes it too easy.”

  Citizen 7: “I do cleanse from time to time just to keep mentally sharp, but I do not put artificial mems in my brain. This body of mine is the vessel I was given and it's all I need. So, no, I do not use CoMem.”

  Citizen 8: “Unwanted effects happen with CoMem. Chunks of support mems fall out. People are ashamed. It's not talked about openly. The person is seen as inferior if their brain cannot handle the transplanting. So, they try another and another, again-again.”

  Citizen 9: “Anonymously and off the record: I only go for illegal, painful mem sets. I request some on CoMem so I don't have to deal with the black market.”

  Citizen 10: “I heard rumors of citizens infected with brain-eating mem sets. But, I'm sure those were because of cheap-fab, synth mems, always a bad idea. I go for high-quality CoMems every time.”

  Citizen 11: “Yes, we have admitted patients with destroyed brain syndrome. The cause? Unknown at this point. Conjecture? The Mem Revolution has only existed for a short time. Its long-term impacts? No idea.”

  Citizen 12: “The booming market for mem seeds is making some citizens massively wealthy. I wish I could get in on it. I should've joined the Genubei cult when it was easier.”

  My human yawns. “So, the President let Prof go free for all that?”

  “Shall we find out together, Dahrine?”

  She nods.

  I continue in the Professor's voice.

  “The Body President entered the holding tank smiling. 'I have reviewed your findings, Miye. There are nuggets of information that will be very useful to me.'

  “I spoke directly. 'There is no denying that citizens are ignoring the guidelines. The promise of pleasure is too enticing and it's eroding brains.'

  “'Miye, you impress me!' She tried to touch my mustache and I pulled away. 'Are you saying, dear man, that I just need to push my citizens through this awkward-duckling stage of our evolution? Do I simply provide more powerful mem boosts to get my citizens over the hump?'

  “She paused and I remembered Malcolm X's words: 'They put your mind right in a bag, and take it wherever they want.'

  “I held my ground. 'Madame, I don't know the answers. Significantly more time would be required to properly assess the data and--'

  “She continued smiling. 'You agreed to solve my puzzle, Miye. What part of that do you find difficult to understand?'

  “'Our deal was for me to identify three weaknesses. I have presented several.'

  “There was a knock at the door. She stepped into the corridor and the door locked behind her. I overheard her muffled voice and an other.

  “Other said, 'With extensive undercover work, we successfully procured them, Madame.'

  “President's voice, as if reading something, 'Extraordinarily-evolved, ultra-potent mem supplements. Use with Genubei prior experience only'.

  “She laughed harshly. 'Well-done. They've never been our equals.' Her voice got louder as she ordered, 'Release these into CoMem immediately!'

  “After some silence, I banged on the door. There was no response.

  “'If my body is enslaved, still my mind is free'-- Sophocles.”

  Dahrine abruptly moves to one of the studio walls. “Seebi, this is too much!”

  My human pounds her palms on the area where she believes the door is located. After she has exhausted her burst of energy, she demands to be released.

  “Dear human, gratitude is a helpful tool. Things could be much worse for you.”

  She crinkles her face. “Are you trying to scare me?”

  “I apologize for my misconstrued syntax. Allow me to try again.”

  After a few seconds, I continue. “Dahrine, you currently have the freedom to talk with me about anything you desire and to ingest nourishment. Your body is unbound. Not all are so fortunate.”

  Human beings conceptualize in relative terms. Paint an advantageous contrast and pluck rewards.