Yet another restless night. Tom couldn't stop thinking about what had just happened. He had actually been inside the mind of another person. This wasn't simply talking to each other, this was a binding of two minds. They had shared their feelings and pain through the Mindline chip. It was perhaps the most terrifying moment of his life, and yet there was something he was intrigued by, drawn to, like some out of body experience. He wondered whether he could do it again. Just one more time. He wanted to feel that buzz. This was something perhaps no other human being had ever felt before. 'People could get hooked on this' he pondered. 'I think I'm hooked on it already. No, this isn't right. I've done a terrible thing. Come on now, I didn't find anything bad, it was all positive. Just leave it alone. But what if I have damaged my brother's mind in some way? What if he can't think straight anymore? Tom, you are so stupid, what the hell have you done?' This conversation with himself went on sporadically through the night.
David awoke particularly late the next morning, complaining about a horrific nightmare he had the night before. They decided they should have at least a couple of days apart, so they wouldn't get too sick of each other in an intense month of research. Brendan came to pick him up, and the two were immediately in deep conversation. Tom waved an awkward goodbye, his conscience continually punching him in the chest, and memories of last night kicking him in the brain.
He tried to rest. He tried to read, watch TV, go for a quiet walk, something even remotely relaxing. His mind could not let go. If that damn owl had not disrupted everything, would he have found the information he was looking for? Did he have to go deeper? He couldn't get his brother drunk again, or he would suspect something. He paced his workshop to figure out a way of hacking once more. There wasn't any way, except the riskiest of ways. He would have to wait until late into the night, and hope that his brother was asleep. That was the only way it could be done without causing alarm. 'Just one more time,' he promised himself, 'and I will not do this crazy stuff anymore'.
After taking some power naps throughout the day, and consuming various forms of caffeine and sugar (he lost count of how many), Tom managed to stay awake into the early hours of the morning. 'He must be asleep now, surely.' He thought, slightly bewildered in his exhaustion. He sat down at his computer once more, slipping on the amplifier helmet. At this point he felt like he was about to throw up. There was so much opportunity for error.
He tapped the commands, trying to concentrate. The white noise flooded his head once more. He was in. [David ....David] his mind called out into the void. The seconds felt like hours. What if he was awake?
[I am so...I am so happy right now] David called back. Sigh of relief. He must be asleep.
[What are you thinking, David?]
[I am part of....this project....with you.....we make a great team. Our machine will make history....I know it]. Tom was puzzled. This sounded like word for word the same conversation they had the previous night. Perhaps this was a sign of brain damage, or something else more worrying.
[What else are you thinking?] Tom pried.
[Everything is good. We are going to be.....very rich people.] Again, David spoke the same words as before. [Our product will change the world - it gets me...so excited.] Tom let the words continue. [Think of the possibilities....]. David switched off the conversation sharply. He couldn't carry on. He was getting into things beyond his control, beyond his understanding. This wasn't right. But the feeling had come back - being inside another person's unconscious head felt freakishly delicious and exciting. He wondered what it would be like to hack other minds. The power he could wield once Mindline went commercial. Politicians, famous faces, complete strangers...he could know the secrets of the world. Once he engineered ways, nothing would be hidden from him. NOTHING. The thought of it all made him salivate. David would never need to know any of this. This would be Tom's little niche. His own unique way to go up in the world. 'I'll show them all I'm not just some tinker' he seethed. Eventually he calmed himself, pulled away from the computer and stumbled to bed.
The only way for him to be sure about his brother was to go to his house, in person. No more mind-hacking. He must see for himself that everything was as it should be.