26th March
10:37 GMT -5
"I don't think anyone in America will care about that, even if it did get televised."
We're in Ripon, Wisconsin, walking along Newbury Street on the way to the home of Cynthia and Lawrence Crock. Senior. We could have just appeared in front of their house, but I thought that Jade might want to talk about events… Decompress a bit. Missus Nguyen Senior is ambling along in front of us, appearing to be thoroughly enjoying her outing. Haven't told her the good news about her son yet and I don't plan to until I can do a proper assessment of his mental state. Of course, I'm not going to stop Jade doing so if she so chooses.
"Prospective employers will. Working with a known superhero, saving lives with no thought to payment…"
Jade's effort in Vietnam almost completely drained John's ring, conducted biological repairs on about five hundred people and reduced the total soil contamination of Vietnam by about forty percent. An outcome like that -where you can't say that the problem is definitively dealt with- isn't particularly satisfying. Well, I've never found it particularly satisfying. And it would feel strange to have boasted about it in a press conference. As it was, we got a recorded meeting with the Head of the Central Commission of Internal Affairs, parts of which will be played by the state broadcaster as soon as they can finish editing it.
I'm.. probably.. going to feel obliged to go back and finish the job. It'll take me longer, but seeing what that crap does to people firsthand is giving me the motivation.
"You were taking a big risk." She glances at me, then returns her gaze to the pavement in front of us. "Lending me your ring like that."
"My objective is getting you on the straight and narrow. In the pursuit of that objective I am willing to take quite significant risks." I rock my head from side to side. "Though… Unless you flipped out completely-."
"You could have taken it back."
"If you were good enough that I couldn't, you wouldn't have needed me to." I nudge her with my right elbow. "So? Think you'd be interested in learning it?"
"I…" She shakes her head. "No. Not any time soon, anyway." She looks away, taking in the houses on the opposite side of the road. "I think I'm going to just try 'normal' for a little while."
"Really? What brought this on? Was it.. that bad?"
She doesn't reply for a moment, a small frown appearing on her forehead. "You remember Madison? You met her in the kitchen a few times."
"Yes?"
"Apparently her son's been doing much better in school lately."
"I'm glad to hear it?"
"He had been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder."
I nod. "It's such a shame that psychopharmacology isn't advanced enough to safely and reliably treat that."
"Stacey's building super fixed their heating about a month and a half ago."
"Good of him."
"About two days after she complained about it when you were there."
"Is that so?"
"Shannon's husband owed money to a loan shark. He's now being investigated by the police."
"Sounds thoroughly deserv-."
She stops suddenly, grabbing my upper right arm with her left hand. "Did you fix everyone's personal problems?"
"No, not everyone. Just anything I could fix through legal mechanisms or by my own labours. Didn't realise there was that much lead paint left in Rhode Island."
"Lending money isn't illegal."
"No, but if you don't have the right licence the debt may be unenforceable. And even if you do have a license, sending a burly bloke around once a week to demand money isn't allowed. The restraining orders and the police investigation should stop things getting further out of hand."
She studies my face for a moment. "You did that… What, so I'd be in a happy prison?"
"Reduced stress, reduced instances of violence, generally more…" I nod. "Optimistic outlook." I shrug. "I'm a little surprised you didn't spot it before, actually. I wasn't trying to hide it so much as not draw attention to it."
She rolls her eyes as she turns to continue down the street. "Some of us only just got your brain upgrade."
..!
"I'm sorry, what?"
She glances back, slightly puzzled. "The amygdala thing you did to Mister Huang? I've only had it for half an hour-."
My eyebrows go up. "Y-you did that?"
"Of course I did. Why wouldn't I? You know how much smarter it made him."
"Yes, but… It alters the way you process information. It pretty much forces you to be more empathic."
"If you've got it then it can't be all that bad."
I shake my head. "Jade, I… I.. didn't do that to myself."
Her eyes widen slightly. "Oooh."
"I've done some work on my brain… Gradual incremental improvements… I did consider adding in new inter-hemispherical connections, but I didn't want to risk doing anything radical in case it became a problem and I couldn't undo it."
"How much of a problem is this going to be?"
"I don't know, I've only ever done it to one person before. It.. shouldn't be a problem at all. I mean, assuming you only did what I did to Mister Huang. If you went beyond peak Human there might be problems."
"Okay." She nods. "You might want to put some kind of warning on that file. Though on the positive side you've got plenty of people to study now."
"A-all of them?"
"Hey, you said-!"
"Yes. I'm not saying that was.. wrong." Could be an invaluable opportunity, actually. I've been a bit nervous about… Call it what it is, Human experimentation. And they are going to need to pick up new skills rapidly… "No, you know what? Good choice. I was just a bit surprised."
"Is it this house?"
We both look over to where Missus Nguyen is standing in front of the Crock residence.
"Yes, that's the one. Sorry, we just got a bit-."
"That's quite alright. I am glad to see little Jade making friends." She pauses for a moment. "When we are inside, I may need one of you to translate for me. I have not spoken English regularly for over fifty years."
Jade and I look at each other. "Table this for now?"
"That's probably best. So, let's meet my family."
