Chapter 49: Catastrophic Advice

Aldric finished breakfast shortly before six. He had slept for seven hours and forty-six minutes, which was consistent with his usual routine, and no anomaly had appeared since he woke up. His heart rate was normal, as was his temperature, and the few movements he had made around his apartment had caused only the expected variations.

His phone vibrated on the table. Aldric set down his cup and checked the screen.

Emma: The restaurant I told you about closes at 10 p.m.

He pressed two fingers to his wrist. The variation was too slight to distinguish from the one caused by moving his arm. Aldric opened his notebook, wrote down the time, and added a note beneath the previous day's observations:

Practical information: negligible response.

He was about to put the phone away when a second notification appeared.

Emma: I'd really like us to go there together sometime 😊

Aldric added another line to his notebook.

Intensity varies according to the nature of the interaction.

Deliberately initiating further exchanges with Emma, however, risked influencing his reactions. He therefore needed another way to understand what was happening to him, and three candidates immediately came to mind.

Patrick had several decades of experience in this kingdom. Karim was married, had a family, and could recognize certain problems before they became serious enough to attract Lucas. As for Lucas, despite an alarming tendency to provide information simply to observe the consequences, he possessed a surprising amount of knowledge about social behavior.

The group was far from ideal, but Aldric had planned battles using less reliable sources.

The morning was spent moving an apartment on the fourth floor. After several hours of carrying boxes, furniture, and a washing machine whose owner had assured them was "much lighter than it looked," a claim Aldric was able to classify as false after lifting it, Patrick announced their lunch break.

The four men settled in the shade of the truck. Karim pulled a bottle of water from his bag, Lucas unwrapped a sandwich, and Patrick checked his phone before setting it down beside him. Aldric let them start eating before taking out his notebook.

"I need your expertise."

Lucas stopped chewing.

"This is already off to a great start."

"Let him speak before you make the situation worse," Patrick said.

"I haven't done anything yet."

"That's the best time to stop."

Patrick's reaction at least confirmed that Aldric had correctly identified one of the risks associated with this consultation. He nevertheless rested the notebook on his knees.

"For the past several days, I have been observing a physiological response whose nature I have been unable to identify."

"Wait. This thing with your pulse is still happening? And you still haven't seen a doctor?" Karim asked.

"The probability of a medical condition now appears reduced."

Lucas turned toward Patrick.

"He actually said 'reduced.'"

"I heard him."

"My heart rate increases under certain circumstances, and I sometimes require more time to reach certain conclusions."

"So you're thinking worse."

"Like when Patrick announces we have to carry a piano up to the fifth floor with no elevator?"

"My heart rate does not vary significantly."

"That's a very specific example..." Patrick said.

"Purely hypothetical."

Aldric was not convinced, but the possible existence of a piano was irrelevant to the current investigation.

"I have, however, identified a common factor."

"Which one?" Karim asked.

"Emma."

Lucas stopped eating. Karim looked at Patrick, while Patrick was already staring at Lucas with the expression of a man who had just identified the greatest threat to the conversation.

"Your reaction suggests that you consider this information important."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"A little," Lucas admitted.

"Explain."

"No," Patrick said.

"I haven't said anything..."

"And you're going to keep it that way."

Aldric turned his attention back to Patrick.

"Are you familiar with this reaction?"

Patrick exchanged a glance with Karim.

"I have an idea."

"What is it?"

"Not enough information."

"Does it only happen with Emma?" Karim asked.

"So far, yes."

"And under what circumstances?"

"They vary. Her presence can be enough. Certain messages as well. The strongest reactions, however, seem to be associated with particular interactions."

Lucas ran a hand over his face.

"Okay."

"Why are you reacting like that?"

"I'm thinking about your problem."

"Your expression suggests you're trying not to laugh."

"I can do both..."

"Keep going, Aldric," Patrick sighed.

"I have not yet identified precisely what distinguishes those interactions."

Lucas raised his hands.

"I have a question."

"No," Patrick replied.

"You don't even know what I'm going to ask."

"Experience."

Lucas was admittedly the least reliable source in the group, but an unreliable source was still a source. Aldric had planned battles with less.

"Ask your question."

"How much do you sleep?"

"Between seven and a half and eight hours, depending on the day."

"Not enough."

Karim looked at Lucas.

"You sleep ten or twelve hours on weekends because you go to bed at four in the morning. You're not exactly a medical authority."

The information reduced the value of the recommendation, though not enough to dismiss it entirely. A poor source could still provide accurate information. Aldric therefore turned to a new page.

Potential Treatment 1: Temporary increase in sleep duration.

"Why did you write 'treatment'?" Patrick asked.

"Because Lucas just suggested an intervention that could potentially reduce the symptoms."

"I never said it would reduce them," Lucas protested.

"You said I wasn't sleeping enough."

"Yeah, but that was mostly a general criticism."

Aldric added a second line.

Reliability of recommendation: Uncertain.

"You could've left that part out," Lucas said.

"At least that one's not dangerous," Karim said.

"Do you have any other recommendations?"

Lucas immediately raised a finger. Patrick grabbed his wrist before he could speak.

"No."

"Let go of me."

"What were you going to suggest?"

"A beer."

Patrick held on to his wrist for another second.

"Why?"

"To relax."

Patrick finally let go.

Potential Treatment 2: Moderate alcohol consumption to reduce general tension.

Patrick looked at what Aldric had just written.

"You actually added it."

"The suggestion is not without logic."

"Thank you..." Lucas said.

"That was not a compliment."

Aldric returned to the main issue.

"Can alcohol affect heart rate?"

"Yes," Patrick answered before Lucas could even open his mouth.

"Significantly?"

"It can."

Significant confounding variable. Low-priority test.

Lucas leaned over to read.

"So it's not rejected."

"No."

"He's learning fast."

Karim looked at him.

"You're not his teacher."

"And yet he's taking notes."

Patrick ran a hand over his face.

"Why are we turning this into a medical consultation?"

"Because he asked for our expertise," Lucas replied.

"You have no medical expertise."

"What about Emma?"

"What about Emma?" Lucas asked.

"Since the reactions appear to be connected to my interactions with her, is there a way to test that relationship?"

"You could reduce contact for a few days."

Patrick turned toward him.

"What?"

"Temporarily. If he talks to her less and it stops, that still tells us something."

For once, Lucas's suggestion had a logic that was difficult to dispute. It acted directly on the identified factor without introducing a substance that might alter the results.

Aldric put his pen to the page.

Potential Treatment 3: Temporary reduction in interactions with Emma.

"Wait," Karim said. "Have you considered that what's happening to you might not actually be a problem you need to eliminate?"

"What other possibility do you have in mind?"

"That they're simply reactions. Not necessarily symptoms."

"What distinction are you making?"

"A symptom suggests that something isn't working properly. Your body can also react normally to certain emotions."

Patrick nodded.

"Your heart speeds up when you're stressed, but also when you're excited, surprised, embarrassed, or waiting for something important. That doesn't mean there's anything that needs fixing."

"Then why don't you tell me which emotion is causing these reactions?"

Patrick exchanged a glance with Karim.

"Because we could be wrong."

Lucas rolled his eyes.

"And if it's not dangerous, maybe you can keep observing it for a while before deciding it needs to be fixed," Patrick said.

The argument was reasonable. Reaching a conclusion too early risked altering Aldric's behavior and, consequently, the reactions he was trying to understand.

It did not, however, explain the looks they kept exchanging.

"You have an idea."

Patrick shrugged.

"Maybe."

"What is it?"

"We're going to let you figure it out," Lucas said.

"Why?"

"Because we could be wrong."

Lucas smiled.

"And because it's much funnier this way."

"Mostly because we could be wrong..."

Aldric understood that he would get nothing more from them.

"This consultation was useful nonetheless."

"Thanks, buddy," Lucas said.

"I was referring to Karim and Patrick."

"Never mind..."

Karim stifled a laugh as Lucas went back to his sandwich.

"So we're giving up on the beer?"

"Yes," Patrick and Karim answered at the same time.

Patrick checked the time on his phone.

"We're back to work in two minutes."

Aldric closed his notebook. The consultation had not provided a definitive answer, but it had at least allowed him to eliminate several poor methods and establish that the phenomenon probably required no immediate treatment.

He was about to put the notebook away when his phone vibrated.

Emma: Do you want to have dinner with me tomorrow night?

EMOTIONAL RESPONSE DETECTEDIntensity: ModerateAssociated Individual: EmmaSpecific Emotion: Unidentified

"Perfect."

Patrick, who had just picked up his bag, stopped.

"What?"

"Emma is asking me to have dinner with her tomorrow."

"And what's perfect about that?" Lucas asked.

"It will provide an opportunity to test several hypotheses under natural conditions."

Karim closed his eyes. Lucas, on the other hand, smiled.

"Whatever happens, just let him do it."

"I'm starting to understand why I told you not to talk," Patrick said.

Aldric did not see the connection. He turned his attention back to his phone and replied.

Aldric: Yes. I'd like that.