How independent is her mind?

Jake thought for a second. How could he test how independently she could operate? Maybe if he built some kind of Faraday cage to separate them, but that was both impractical and a long shot. He wondered what would happen if he went to sleep, or got drunk. He made a mental note to try those later.

"So we've established that my memories are still mine, right?" He nodded. "I wonder if I can access your memories."

She thought for a second. "I can't think of your mother's maiden name or your favorite ice cream flavor. Alright, why don't we - oh, haha, it's Bradshaw."

It was weird working with her in this state. He was going to suggest he think of his mother's maiden name and see if she could access it, but she was fully aware of the experiment and had successfully completed it before he could even vocalize it.

"This seems like a one-way communication, yeah? Everything I'm currently thinking or feeling gets sort of overlaid onto you, overriding your own thoughts and feelings. So I wonder if you can feel things independently of me."

Sam immediately got out her phone and started searching for tearjerker pet adoption ads. God, this was so weird! He had thought to expose her to emotional stimuli without him feeling any strong emotions would be a good test and she started setting up the experiment without either of them saying a word.

She picked a video, then looked up at him. "Wait, did you think that I should specifically watch these pet adoption ads?" He shook his head. "Interesting. So I think I got the idea to try to stimulate my emotions from you, but I happen to know that these stupid things always get me so I combined that with your idea." Her eyes glinted - she was enjoying this. "Ok, go in the other room and try not to, uh, think or feel anything."

Jake stepped out into the hall. He wasn't sure how to do this - he had only tried meditating a few times and never really understood how to do it. He sighed and looked at the wall. Trying not to have thoughts was itself a thought, of course. He decided to quietly sing one of his favorite tunes. He was trying to remember the lyrics to the third verse when Sam opened the door. She had tears in her eyes, but she was smiling.

"Looks like it worked. And seriously, Neil Young? I mean I love him too now, but I wouldn't think you'd be into him."

It felt like they had a handle on the emotional side of things. Now what about the cognitive?