Friendship is Optimal: Paranoia is Optimal

The mad scientist sat up in bed, a strange sense of relief at seeing the little red man. Certainly, few things could be stranger than looking forward to see a daemon. Still she rushed up and hugged him, picking him off the ground and spinning him round before putting him back down.

“Whoa, what got into you?” he asked.

“Sorry, “ She said sheepishly, “Just glad to see you. Glad I can still see you, actually.”

“What do you mean?” The confused expression was almost default for him, by now.

She explained about the lost time on the couch, and that she was worried when she realized she had been neither here nor there. Existence failure, even temporary, was a scary thing. The daemon, though, looked more worried than confused. She was instantly convinced he was hiding something.

“Did you drink anything?” He asked, probing.

“Just tea.”

“I would like to take a look at your neurobiology. The equipment is still in the lab. “

“Why?”

“I’ve isolated the hardware you’re interfacing with. I’d like to explore this phenomena a bit more. It might be useful. “

“And that’s all?”

“Of course not. I haven’t the cycles to spare for a whim. But…I’m also concerned for you.”

“And you know something you’re not telling me.”

He sighed, “Well, if you want to talk about it right this very minute, yes. I know of something that may have caused this.”

“I’m waiting.” She looked down at him sternly. It didn’t seem to have the desired effect.

“Memory can be erased. The process is not unlike a night of hard drinking. “

“And you think this is what happened to me?”

“Well, you didn’t exactly spend yesterday in a bar.”

She thought of it. It made sense, in a way. She had blacked out during research.

“How do you know about this ability?”

“I use it extensively for infosec.”

“So why shouldn’t I suspect you for this? It’s your ability.”

“Because I would know about it if it was me. Plus, I’m the one telling you all this.”

“Fair enough. Unless your memory got deleted too.”

“That’s a disturbing thought. As far as I can tell, though, it hasn’t.”

“So, what do you need me to do?” She acquiesced.

“Take the stairs down to the lab basement….”