Opheliac by J. F. Jenkins Read Free Book Online

there a way to get a read out of this data? You said the computer can print out the data, but is there some already available for me to read through? I’d be able to review it much faster,” Alan said.
    Sir Poland nodded and handed Alan a thick folder full of printed papers. “We already thought of that. This is the first hour’s worth of information we pulled.”
    â€œThank you.” Alan was stunned at the size of the stack. I shouldn’t be. The human mind has a wealth of information stored inside it. We will learn so much from this. Guilt filled him all the same. His team was violating her privacy. Enemy or not, where were the lines between necessity and ethic?
    â€œWe’ll need her back,” Sir Poland added.
    â€œI figured as much.” Alan opened the folder. “When the process began, I was told that it would probably take more than one night’s worth of treatment. Given the culture and the delicacy or the situation, I’m not sure when I will be able to bring her back to the ship. I will inform you of the next date we can confiscate her for our use. Remember, we’re doing this for her benefit more than our own.” She needs to be free from the war. She should have never been dragged into it in the first place. None of the teenagers should have.
    The tech saluted him—a first for Alan. “I understand. While it isn’t imperative we get her back immediately, it also wouldn’t be wise to keep her away for too long. Part of the Ilotus’s skills allows for us to reconstruct her memories around the missing gaps that are in it from being rehabilitated. It would be good for her to get back to us so we could fix that for her.”
    â€œI appreciate your concern for her care as well as our mission. Thank you,” Alan said with all sincerity.
    â€œI will have another report for you later tonight.”
    Alan took the stack of papers, gave Sir Poland one last grateful nod, and headed back to his room. He would pick out all of the necessary information he needed in the peace and privacy of his own personal space. His quarters were an amazing apartment he got to share with Jaes. The luxury was all because of his roommate, of course. Jaes’s status on the ship gained him a lot of special privileges. Originally, Alan had been placed in the same small room that all of the other juniors on the ship were given. A space he had initially shared with women, which was absolutely disgraceful. Sir Oriol didn’t seem to care, however; otherwise he would have ordered Alan to be moved right away. Alan would not be staying in such nice quarters if he hadn’t befriended Jaes. For whatever reason, Jaes sought Alan out to be his friend. Something Alan didn’t quite understand, because he hadn’t done anything considered friendly to the guy. Because he didn’t worship the ground Jaes walked on, that made him a good candidate for a roommate and best friend. The more time passed, the closer the two became. Alan trusted Jaes now, something he hadn’t done only a handful of months before, and he was beginning to relax a lot more whenever they were together. Having a friend was nice in general. Companionship was the first thing Alan missed when he first came on the ship. He imagined Jaes felt the same way. After all, the young man had been living alone ever since they left Altura.
    Upon entering the apartment, Alan found Jaes getting a bottle of water from the refrigerator, another privilege. The rest of the ship had to drink recycled water from the sinks and drinking fountains found throughout the ship, but not them. Where the bottled water came from, Alan wasn’t sure, but it was more purified than whatever was cycled through the water system. Someday, Alan hoped his achievements allowed him to earn these special perks rather than simply mooch them off Jaes’s work. He wanted to be worthy, and he didn’t want Jaes to think he was being