Free Third Transmission by Jack Heath

shrugged. ‘I’ve done tougher jobs than this.’
    â€˜That’s not good logic,’ Ace said. ‘You’re more likely to die in a car crash than a shark attack, but people still get eaten by sharks. Just because this mission is safer than some doesn’t mean it’s safe.’
    â€˜I’ve been in car crashes
and
attacked by sharks, and I’m still standing,’ Six pointed out.
    â€˜I get that you’ve done scarier things than this. But how does that make this not scary? That’s like saying it doesn’t hurt to stub your toe, because you once broke your leg.’
    â€˜People have been hunting me my whole life,’ Six said. ‘You can get used to just about anything.’
    â€˜So you’re saying you don’t feel fear anymore? You’ve built up a tolerance?’
    â€˜I still get an adrenaline rush when someone is shooting at me, or when I’m jumping out of a plane or something,’ Six said. ‘There are still people and things that scare me. I just find it hard to maintain that shivers-up-the-spine type of terror all day every day.’
    Ace smiled. ‘If we’re still alive tomorrow, I’m going to do a psych evaluation on you, write an article about it, sell it to a medical journal and make a fortune.’
    â€˜What’s my cut?’
    â€˜Hey, I’m the one with the psychology training. I’ll give you 5 per cent.’
    â€˜I’m the one who can’t feel fear,’ Six said. ‘I’ll give
you
5 per cent.’
    They sat in silence for a while. Six could hear the links in her earrings jingling softly.
    â€˜Can I ask you something?’ Ace said.
    â€˜Sure.’
    â€˜The not-dying-of-old-age thing,’ she said. ‘How does it feel?’
    Six wasn’t sure how to answer that. ‘It’s better than the alternative, I guess.’
    â€˜Is it?’
    Six raised an eyebrow. ‘You think I have a death wish?’
    â€˜No, nothing like that,’ Ace said. ‘I just meant … She paused. ‘Most people believe they’ll get old, and then die of an age-related illness in a hospital somewhere. Some of them are wrong, and they fall off their motorbikes or they drink some polluted water or they get stabbed by muggers. But it’s what they believe. But because of your job, you probably figured there was a 90 per cent chance you’d die on a mission, and a 10 per cent chance you’d die of old age. Am I about right?’
    â€˜Actually, 92.3 per cent and 6.8 per cent,’ Six said. ‘With a .9 per cent chance of something else, like a freak accident or a serious infectious disease.’
    Ace gulped back a laugh. ‘You actually calculated the exact percentages?’
    Six shifted uncomfortably in his seat. ‘I was on a stakeout. I wanted to keep my mind active.’
    Ace shook her head. ‘Okay. Anyway, now that you know about the telomeres in your DNA, there is zero chance of you dying of old age, right?’
    â€˜Right.’
    â€˜But it’s also infinitely improbable that you’ll live forever. You’re not immortal, you just don’t get old. So now, you can be pretty certain that you’ll die on a mission – it’s just a matter of guessing which one.’ She paused. ‘Unless there’s a freak accident or a serious infectious disease.’
    Six glanced at her. ‘You’re very blunt.’
    â€˜
I’m
blunt? “I need you to be my date for a party because you’re pretty”,’ Ace said, with quite a credible impression of Six’s voice.
    Six shrugged.
    â€˜I don’t bother lying to people who already like me,’ Ace said. ‘It’s a personality flaw, but I think I pull it off. So anyway, you know that you’re going to get shot to death or blown up someday. How does that feel?’
    â€˜How you die isn’t as important as how you live,’ Six