That I know of.

The Forgeworlder Collective established a mining facility as they passed through the asteroid belt, intending to exchange the minerals for goods, services, and political recognition. The sudden influx of such metals in volume has profoundly impacted Earth's economy. Gold and diamond mining have never really recovered, leading to prolonged economic depression in some areas. The ETs had not expected the size of the market disruption, which has exacerbated tension between the various ET colonies and Earth's governments. While this has not led to active shooting wars, low-level conflicts, intelligence and counter-intelligence operations have become the rule of the day.
—Anaïs Nineveh, The Exodus: A History, Chapter 3

Mel found himself staring at the ramen for longer than he should have. It was the photographs of the scrumptious-looking meals on the packaging that caught his attention. He'd been essentially living off ramen for weeks, had bought a cookbook intending to learn how to cook different kinds of ramen, and yet at the end of the day, he'd maxed out at cut hot dogs and the occasional bit of green onion.

Jenny and Jordan were elsewhere in the store, picking up raw vegetables, eggs, bread, tofu, and zinc supplements. Mel stared at the ramen and sighed.

The hive mind seems to have a plan, he thought. But I don't. It seems to know what they need and works out how to get it, but I don't even know what I want. So how can I figure out how to get it?

Beef flavor was on sale. So was a bag of fresh spinach in the vegetable aisle. The polska kielbasa wasn't, but Mel considered that an investment, like the cans of Quench. Something told him he'd need the electrolytes.

Dawn was there. She smiled, but her smile was faltering, hesitant, as she saw Jordan and Jenny with Mel at checkout. He realized that the older Black woman had seen Mel with Jordan and Rachel before, holding hands, shopping for groceries, but probably had no idea what their relationship was.

"Hey," he said. "Jordan, Jenny, this is Dawn, she's in the ASL class Rachel and I are taking. Dawn, you've met my girlfriend Rachel; these are our girlfriends Jordan and Jenny. Rache and I are taking the class so we can talk to them better."

The brain slug hosts shifted their groceries and gave the little salute that was the ASL sign for 'Hello.' Dawn's smile grew less nervous and more relaxed as she returned it.

"Oh, you're poly! You know, I wondered. How nice to meet you both," Dawn said. She nodded at Mel. "See you in class tomorrow."

Mel felt good for a moment. He'd handled a social interaction well, with honesty. By the time they got to the building and he'd opened the door for Jordan and Jenny, he was second-guessing himself.

I didn't ask Rachel if she wanted me to do that, Mel thought to himself. What if she wasn't ready to be open with other people about our relationship yet? I mean, this whole thing is new to both of us. That could have gone badly if Dawn had been less cool about it.

One more thing to weigh on Mel's mind.

Once home, things got pleasantly domestic. Groceries put away, Jordan and Jenny shucked their clothes, changed their tampons, and Mel made ramen, cutting up some spinach and kielbasa to go into the pot with the rest of it. The girlfriends selected a documentary on the tarantula hawk wasp. How they would incapacitate their prey, then inject an egg inside of them. Once it hatched, the larva would eat its way out of the host, trying to avoid critical organs until it was ready to emerge. Jenny and Jordan, who were sharing a large bunch of grapes on a plate between them, stared in rapt attention as the camera caught the plunge of the stinger. The documentary even re-played it in slow motion, just so that the viewers could catch the moment the egg was forced into the paralyzed spider's body.

"Don't get any ideas," Mel joked as he took their plate and the skeletal tree of the grape bunch, to do the washing up.

A knock at the door caught their attention. Mel frowned. He'd expected Rachel to be over, after class, but she had a card key to get in. He tiptoed up to the door and glanced through the peephole, to get a fish-eye view of a woman all in black with dark frizzy hair.

"It's Anastasia," Mel said, and opened the door.

Their neighbor stood there, in a kind of black lacey shawl atop a tube top and black jeans, with the same boots she had worn to the integration ceremony. She smiled at Mel, then looked over his shoulder to wave at Jordan and Jenny.

"Rachel won't be home until late tonight; she has to study at the library. She doesn't want to fall behind on her classes," 'stasia said. "And I was hoping to borrow Mel for a little while, get his thoughts on the ceremony for my dissertation. Do you two mind?"

Mel glanced over his shoulder to see Jordan and Jenny give a thumb's up. So he shrugged.

"I guess I have permission," Mel said dryly.

Over in 502, things were largely the same. He smelled tea, and noticed that Anastasia had already been steeping a pot at the table.

"Sit, sit," she said. Then, as he sat and she poured the tea. "Now. Tell me everything you remember. Start from the beginning. Take your time."

Mel spoke. Anastasia did not interrupt. She poured tea for them both. Little details came back to him. 'stasia's smartphone lay on the table; and Mel figured it probably had a recording feature. He frowned at that. She hadn't had her phone at the integration ceremony, but Rachel had hers. Mel hadn't really noticed it at the time.

There were parts that he told 'stasia that he hadn't told MacElroy, because of course 'stasia had been there. Had seen the state that Rachel was in, after she had been adopted by the hive. Had helped distract the driver. When he was done, the tea cup was empty, and 'stasia ended the recording.

As she refilled the cups, his neighbor added: "I just want you to know, it isn't Antonio."

Mel blinked.

"What?" he said.

"The host wearing the mask during the integration," 'stasia said. "Wasn't my brother."

"I . . . um. Okay," Mel said. He wasn't sure how that made him feel. "Was that a major concern? I mean, I thought he was . . . deceased."

"Legally, yes," Anastasia said. "But legalities, when it comes to brain slugs, can quickly get complicated. Let us say, I was aware of the possibility that he might not be dead in the strictly physical sense. Does it matter who's sucking you off? Man or woman?"

'stasia set the teapot back in place as she said that, a non sequitur that made Mel blink. He touched the teacup. Lukewarm at best. He'd been talking for a while.

"I mean, I care who I'm having sex with, as in the individual," he said. "Never really had sex with a guy before. That I know of."

"That you know of," 'stasia said, then took a small sip. "Exactly right. Which is why, when I saw the mask, the wheelchair, the limbs all in casts, I wondered. If, you know, maybe after his accident, the Seacouver Hive had given him the option to join them. It seemed plausible, at the time."

"But you say it isn't him," Mel said, trying his own tea. The jasmine was very cloying.

"No. I had to go downstairs to ask, to see who was under the mask," 'stasia said. "Have you been down there?"

"Not yet," Mel said. "Although I figure if they need me, they'll call. So who is the host in the mask?"

She let her finger trace idly on the screen, which stopped the recording.

"One of those legal complications I mentioned," she said carefully. "And I think you had better ask her yourself."

Mel grit his teeth. He couldn't help but feel like she was being mysterious on purpose.

"I guess I will," he said. "But why tell me this?"

Anastasia looked up from her phone. Her dark eyes were full of pity.

"Because I think your life is about to get a lot more complicated, and not for anything you've done. I hear things, through the wall, when Rachel talks in her sleep. She's been trying to be cool about it, but being adopted by the Seacouver Hive has affected her deeply, in ways she's still coming to terms with. She moans your name a great deal. I think she's more 'open,' when she's asleep, like a radio that's always on, but at night it can pick up stations from far away. I've been listening, putting things together. The Hive Mind can be very forthcoming when it serves its purposes, but secrecy has long been one of the safeguards that help brain slugs survive. It hasn't told you everything. It will never tell you everything."

Mel finished the tea with a swig. He stood up, that knot in his gut back again. The happy mood evaporated. 'stasia liked secrets, but Mel was getting tired of being surrounded by people who knew more than him, manipulated him.

"Thanks for the tea," he said, and nodded curtly. Out in the hallway, he stood for a long moment. Not sure whether he should go back inside or head downstairs. The Seacouver Hive had masked the host for a reason. He could just leave it at that. Go back inside. Get a blowjob. Sleep. Or head downstairs and—what? Bang on the door? Rip the mask off? Mel frowned at that.

This feels like MacElroy handing me the empty vial all over again, Mel thought to himself. Trying to get me to do something that might affect his relationship with Jenny and Jordan. Playing games. I don't want to play games. I'm happy with blowjobs and ramen! At least . . . I thought I was.

Mel shook his head. He opened the door to 501. Jordan and Jenny were back on the couch, holding hands. They looked at him, the same blank expressions on their faces.

"'stasia said she knew the identity of the masked brain slug host downstairs," Mel said. "She said it wasn't Antonio. I haven't given it much thought as to why they were masked. But she said I should go ask them myself. Before I do that, I wanted to ask you about it. Because I don't want to keep secrets from you, and I don't want to go prying. I trust you—I want you to trust me. What's going on?"

Jenny rose. She stared at Mel for a moment, then withdrew into Jordan's old room. When she emerged, she had her flash drive in hand. Plugged it into the television. She sat in Mel's usual spot, which left the center seat open. The two naked women patted the seat.

Mel got the hint. He sat. Jordan handed him the remote control. On his own, he navigated through the menus. Saw the listings for the oral sex videos. Jenny's old porn. The testaments for Jordan Carmichael and Jenny Soong and . . .

He froze in shock at the new name, only recently added.

ARKWRIGHT, MEL.