Page 218 of Incompatible

I hesitate, because I often get spam calls offering me refrigerators and laptops if only I do this or that, but since I am bored anyway while planning how to end my life, I lift the phone to my ear.

"Hello."

"Mr. Strada?"

My whole body jolts violently.

I recognize Blue Lowen’s voice.

"Yes, that’s me. Funny that you’re calling, you could say just in time, I was actually heading to the fourth floor to end it all."

Silence falls on the line; my confession is definitely something that could be treated as TMI.

"I thought something might interest you," Blue Lowen says, ignoring my near-suicidal admission completely.

"You see, I am a scientist, and what has always been my greatest strength is this relentless curiosity that made me follow things other people dismiss."

I swallow hard, because I think I know where this is going, and my heart speeds up.

"So I checked your blood sample against my own."

"And?" I force out through a tight throat.

"It is a match."

Silence settles in.

Finally, with a trembling voice, I ask,

"So my dad didn’t lie…"

"He didn’t. The problem is that I cannot tell you who your father is without actual blood samples from my brothers or my father. The genetic compatibility between us is twenty-fivepercent, which means you could be either my nephew or my half brother."

I clear my throat loudly because it feels dry and raw. Unbelievable.

"I don’t know what to say. On one hand I’m glad, but on the other… what does it change for me? If you think I’m one of those people who come to your family to beg for money, you’re wrong. I used that as an argument only because I hoped you would show me a little mercy and try to compare my genetic code with Bay’s. I don’t expect anything more."

"You are not interested in finding out who he actually is?"

"From what my dad told me, that person has a family and children. I don’t want to break up that family, I don’t want to be the reason for any division or tragedy. I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t want him to… hug me at least once, because I have no one in my life, I am completely alone, but I don’t want my selfishness to hurt other people."

There is a long silence on the phone, and then Blue Lowen says,

"For now, please give up on the idea of ending your stay on this planet. I will contact you in a few days."

And he suddenly hangs up.

I bend forward, pressing my forehead to the glass and my elbows to the windowsill.

Wow. Just wow.

At least that. At least I know my dad didn’t lie. My father is out there somewhere, a real living person so closely related to me.

Somehow that helps me get through another day and then another, even though I have no idea when Blue will call or what he intends to tell me.

The days pass, each one like the last, lectures, studying, and my usual chess games, and finally, about ten days later, I receive another call.

This time it is some guy who introduces himself as Mr. Blue’s secretary and invites me to an appointment in his office six days from now. I am not sure what it could be about.