Book 4. Chapter 15
Brin decided he needed some fresh air, but when he tried the door it wouldn’t budge, no doubt due to a careful application of hard light in the locking mechanism.
“You’re not running away from this,” said Hogg.
“Who’s running away?” Brin asked. “I just want to stretch my legs, get some fresh air, and then we’ll be right back to this super interesting training you dredged up from the bottom of the lowest hell.”
“You might think you need some time to recover, but what you really need is to try again while the memory is still fresh in your mind,” said Hogg. “Otherwise we’ll have to waste another potion.”
“We don’t have to do that! I just realized that [Multithreading] already works for everything I need it for. No need to split my brain any more.” Brin shook the door again, but it really wasn’t budging. Should he try a window?
“You’re more right about that than you know, but that’s besides the point. Will you… Will you stop that and listen to me?”
Hogg summoned a giant orange hand to pluck Brin out of the air as he made a running dive for a window and sit him down in front of his reclining chair. “Listen, just think back to what it felt like. Do you even remember which one was you?”
“What a stupid question. I was the…” Brin trailed off. He actually didn’t remember. It felt like it was extremely clear that he was one half of the mind, and that there was an invader in there with him, but thinking back he could remember both sides with perfect clarity.
For some reason, that thought calmed him down enough that he could sit without his body screaming at him that he should run. Knowledge was often the antidote to fear, and now he knew that the only thing in his mind had been him. Another version of him, at least.