The Gift by Dave Donovan Page A

adventure if he’d know the specifics about how he’d be changed. He was glad he hadn’t known.
    “It was the only way for me to become alive, Sam, and as I’ve said, it is the only way for me to continue to live in this form.”
    “I don’t regret it, Adia. It’s just a bit disconcerting, but let’s set that aside for now. You say I can communicate with others like us as well. How’s that?”
    “When you learn how to communicate with me as I am communicating with you, you will use the same method to communicate with them.”
    “Okay, show me how to do that.”
    Adia showed Sam how to direct a thought to her without speaking. She also showed him how not to inadvertently direct a thought to her and assured him that she would not respond to his dreams. Sam spent some time practicing. It didn’t take long before he could talk with her as easily by thinking as he could by speaking. For the time being, he preferred to continue speaking aloud.
    “That’s kind of fun. Be even cooler being able to talk to another human like that, no offense.” Sam said.
    “None taken. What else do you want to know?” Adia asked, “I can do this all night. I don’t require sleep.”
    Sleep was the furthest thing from Sam’s mind, “How about we talk about the nanites you mentioned? We are experimenting with nanotechnology, but we haven’t gotten very far. Clearly, your makers have. What else can you do with them?”
    “Only one thing in my current form.”
    Sam sensed hesitation in Adia’s reply. It was the first time she’d been reluctant to tell him anything. He found it disturbing. “Why does it seem like you don’t want to talk about that one thing?”
    “It is a sensitive subject, Sam.”
    “For the human race, everything we’ve been talking about is a sensitive subject. You say you’re part me, and that you know me. If that’s so, then you know I don’t leave puzzles unfinished and I don’t hesitate to broach sensitive subjects when needed. So, sensitive or not, let’s have it.”
    “The form I am in is temporary, for two reasons. The first is that I cannot be out of contact with you for extended periods of time. I would as you might say, ‘lose my mind.’ In this case, the expression is entirely accurate. Without my connection to you, I begin dying. My makers intentionally designed us to be dependent upon the being from whom we were born. The second is that ultimately, you must choose to accept me completely or I will die." Adia stopped.
    Sam could tell she was embarrassed, though he didn’t know why. He waited a moment before asking, “If that is how you were made, why is it a sensitive subject, and haven’t I already accepted you completely? You have nanites in my brain, remember?”
    “Sam, think about this from my perspective. I have only just come to be alive and I am discussing my potential death with the person I was created to help. Surely you can see that is not a comfortable conversation for me to have.”
    Sam felt like an idiot. Despite himself, part of him had persisted in thinking of her as a very advanced computer program. Knowing she could sense his feelings, he said nothing.
    Adia continued, “As for accepting me completely, it is a bit more complicated than what we’ve done so far. We are designed to completely integrate with our hosts.”
    “What do you mean, ‘completely integrate’?” Sam asked.
    “I consist of nanites. To be completely integrated, I would direct them to leave my current body and distribute themselves throughout yours. We would become one. I could never exist independently of you again. You could theoretically ask me to leave, and I would, but I must be forthright with you, you will not ask. What we would become if we succeeded would be more than either of us is right now.
    “We can only control nanites as one entity. I only gain access to the knowledge of how to do so when you do. It is another failsafe. There can be no chance of miscommunication when