Rebirth The Mass Effect is old. part 15

In response, a slight shrug of the shoulders.

"And why not?"

"Your secrets will cease to be secrets."

Nihlus rubbed his comb tiredly and looked at me strangely.

"I'm still alive because of you." He raised his hand, interrupting my objections. "Don't argue. I've done a lot in my life... Unsightly. And I'll do a lot more. Saren is my teacher for a reason. I don't care if you see something wrong. Rather..." here he stopped, averted his eyes a little, "hurry up... I'm worried about your reaction."

"Are you saying this to someone who doomed an entire civilization two lifetimes ago, deliberately leading the dominant species to genocide?" I said softly.

Nihlus twitched his mandibles in surprise.

"Was that for what?"

"Did not have. It was just the only way I could find to give this reality a chance to survive. At least, it's something I can handle. I completely destroyed the entire chain of events, turning from a hero into a bloody nightmare. Instead of saving the Empire in the war, become its hero and forever consolidate the status of the immortal Alar as the dominant species... I became... their undoing. New civilizations and other races will rise on their bones, but they... a complete genocide. I played the role of a kind of Reaper."

Nihlus shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

"Sometimes the end justifies the means."

"Do you think so?"

"Take a look for yourself." He grinned, gazing intently into my eyes.

I didn't look at it. There was no need. His emotions were already easy to read and without any resistance, as if he hadn't set out to hide them at least a little. Usually, a conscious desire really allows you to hide your feelings and thoughts behind the barriers of the will, but now... I shook my head.

"I hope you won't regret it later."

In response, a slight smile and irony.

"What is required of me?"

"Sit comfortably so that you don't fall down if you suddenly lose consciousness or control over your body. Come here."

Nihlus moved to the bed, leaned against the back. I knelt down and gently cupped his head in my hands, placing my thumbs on his forehead.

"Look into my eyes. And try not to think about anything, otherwise I'm guaranteed to read it." A short nod. I stared into his calm green eyes and easily fell into his mind.

A cursory mind scan horrified me. Not like shields... No protection at all! Only the basic one at the core of the personality, which keeps the psyche and mind in a normal state and separates consciousness from the subconscious, and the first veil. This is the last bastion. He will fall and the intelligent being will be mired in visions from the depths of his own mind, slowly going mad and losing the ability to think coherently. The natural shields are full of holes and it's not clear what to hold on to. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?! How?! There was a lot of work to be done. But first, we need to protect the core of our personality so that no one can get in and bookmark it. I slipped into the depths of his mind, starting to build a maze.

Words cannot describe the work of a mentalist. Building associative connections, protective veils and unconscious reflexes to the slightest external changes in the personal core, installing dynamic shields that respond to fluctuations in the veil. I didn't touch his memory. We will start building the Citadel after the first protection takes root and the natural shields rise.

I strengthened them by relying on willpower and the unconscious instinct of any mind to preserve its freedom and integrity of personality. As a side effect, Nihlus has almost completely lost his remaining gullibility. No, he hadn't become paranoid, it was just that earning his trust wouldn't be easy. Cold calculation and reasonable fears will prevail until he CONSCIOUSLY includes a reasonable person in the inner circle.

I didn't watch how much time I spent, but gradually the natural shield tightened the holes and, although it remained almost completely transparent, at least it stood up, as it should. And it will be possible to strengthen it next time with the conscious help of the host. That's enough for the first time. Let's see which changes will take root and which ones will crumble.

I broke the contact and moved away, staring intently into the completely glassy, devoid of even a glimmer of reason, green eyes.

"Nihlus!"

The Turian trembled slightly, twitched and shuddered all over, and I saw intelligence appear in his eyes. Nihlus blinked and shook his head.

"Nihlus!"

"I hear." He answered dully.

"How does it feel?"

"Strange." He stood up slowly, swaying slightly. "My mind is in a daze."

"Learn more!"

"It's like I'm looking through thick glass." he replied distantly.

"Is perception clouded?"

"No," The Turian suddenly shook his whole body. "The lethargy goes away, but the feeling of detachment remains."

You need to get some sleep. This is the result of the installation of the first shield. Let's go. I accompanied Nihlus to his cabin, which he shared with Garrus after returning from the Citadel. Garrus was there, watching his kinsman's slow movements with concern.

"What happened?" he asked softly.

"Mind overload." I replied. "He needs to get some sleep."

Naylus silently undressed and lay down on the bed, and I put him to sleep with a light mental touch. He will sleep for ten hours until the effects subside.

"Garrus, make sure no one bothers him until he wakes up."

Garrus nodded, looking from me to Nihlus with concern in his light blue eyes.

"Something happened?"

"It's not a big deal." I rubbed the bridge of my nose. "Today we tried to put protection on his mind. I don't want Nihlus to repeat Saren's fate when we encounter the Reaper."

Garrus blinked.

"How?"

Should him say it or not? I stared intently at the expressive face of the Turian, looking worriedly at the already sleeping Nihlus, then at me. To be honest... Sooner or later, he'll find out everything. Is it worth starting this chain of frankness? And why not?

There is a high probability that I will have to gut Benezia's brains in front of the landing party fighters. Nihlus will definitely support me, but Garrus will... he may not forgive the distrust. Am I ready to lose his trust for the dubious value of keeping this secret? Definitely not.

"I can work with consciousness." I confessed.

"Can you read minds?"

Looking into bright light blue eyes... me... I said it absolutely honestly:

"Yes, I can read other people's thoughts and emotions if I want to." Grimacing, I replied. "It's just that you have to spend more effort NOT to HEAR this noise! It's like standing in a crowd of loudly and incoherently screaming sentients. There is no desire to listen to everyone's words... rather, on the contrary, I want to cover my ears. So it is here. Mentalism is both a gift and a curse."

There was no desire to lie or cheat. Would I say that to Alenko? Never! Would you tell Liara? Who knows? But the trust that I literally physically felt from the light blue-eyed Turian demanded the same trust in return.

The flip side of mentalism.

I KNEW Garrus trusted me... I COULD FEEL it... and she trusted him, too. Without a shadow of a doubt, almost without hesitation, without hesitation. Trust in return for trust. The mental mirror effect that people like me suffer from. A dangerous effect. Dangerous, first of all, for me. It is because of the mirror that mentalists lose their identity, dissolving into other people's emotions, reacting sensitively like a wild animal. The eternal threat. Balancing on the edge of a blade. A gift is a curse.

"Are you a biotic?"

"I'm a mentalist. It's a natural gift. He doesn't show himself in any way externally." meeting the gaze of the Turian, I pressed: "There's no protection from people like me, unless you're a mentalist yourself. Nihlus even has a natural shield that is almost transparent! I can pull everything out if I want! From the first breath to the innermost thoughts that he himself had forgotten about! And he VOLUNTARILY agreed to it!" I shook my head. "I didn't dare to do that at the time."

"Why are you telling me?"

"You asked. I replied."

"Wrong question." Garrus shook his head. "Why did you tell ME?"

"Because I trust you." I honestly admitted.

Garrus jerked his head up, staring intently into my eyes. Looking for a trick? I shouldn't have. I was being completely sincere.

"The mentalist has it... a peculiar weakness. The dark side of the gift, dangerous for us. It's always there. For biotics, this is exhaustion and the risk of burning out the brain. We have a mirror effect and a serious risk of going crazy by dissolving into someone else's mind. Even when I completely block perception, I still instinctively feel the attitude of the reasonable towards me. Without intending to read the interlocutor, I intuitively feel his attitude and respond in kind. To hate with hatred, to malice with malice, to contempt with even greater contempt. I have to consciously control myself not to kill in response to a wish of evil or a perceived threat."

"And trust?"

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Trust breeds trust."

He understood WHAT I said.

"Are you that vulnerable to others?"

"Let's just say I've learned to distinguish my emotions from those inspired from the outside."

Garrus nodded slowly.

"Keep an eye on Nihlus. If he starts talking in his sleep or starts having seizures, call him immediately."

Despite his well-founded fears, Nihlus quietly slept until the middle of the day and left the cabin just in time for lunch.

Our new cook cooked very well, and for those who had strayed from the same type of ship's rations, it was generally fine. Moreover, he cooked equally well for both groups of reasonable people. While we were eating, I briefly scanned Nihlus, who was sitting nearby, and noticed an interesting picture: the natural shield not only took root, but also began to gain strength. It feels like all that was needed for a full-fledged formation was a starting push for the natural defense to unfold, as it should from nature.

""What's the result?"" — a clear, loud thought, directed directly at me, instantly attracted attention.

I looked up and met the sly gaze of green eyes. He quickly realized what bonuses the presence of a mentalist gives! Catching his gaze, I established a steady mental contact.

""Even better than I expected. The defense began to unfold on its own.""

""In other words, is the experiment considered successful?""

""Yes. Your natural defenses will reach a normal level just in time for your arrival on Noveria, if you don't slow down. Full protection.""

""That's not enough, is it?""

""No, of course not. But this is the basis. Without natural shields, it is impossible to install additional shields. Especially combat ones that will be able to withstand conscious aggression from a mentalist.""

""So, first we should wait for the end of the formation of the natural shield. That's good."" a quick glance at the wary Garrus. ""Does he know?""

""yeah. I mentioned my gift as a mentalist.""

""Are you going to protect him?""

""If he agrees. In an amicable way, it should be given to all the fighters of the landing group.""

""Can he be trusted?""

""Absolutely. Garrus will never betray.""

In response, a slight doubt, however, quickly faded. Garrus Vakarian was recognized as worthy and brought into an extremely narrow inner circle.

Nothing much happened before leaving the repeater channel. I've been watching how Nihlus natural shield unfolds and how the defenses at the core of his personality behave. I had to adjust it only once, but even then, in small ways. Garrus watched with interest and a strange thoughtfulness, but he was in no hurry to ask any questions, although he was happy to join our evening gatherings. Tali finally disappeared into the kingdom of Adams, practically without leaving the technical compartment. Liara took over Kayden's training, and our biotic crawled out of the hold only to eat and go to the infirmary. Rex also got a kick out of the blue-skinned fragile beauty, however, the Krogan did not refuse Asari lessons and enthusiastically smashed training targets under her strict guidance.

The ship shook during the exit from FTL, and the cheerful voice of the Joker announced:

"Exiting the repeater channel in the Pax system. Noveria is two hours away."