Fourth Comings_ A Jessica Darling Novel - Megan McCafferty [69]
I wrinkled my nose right back at her. Mirroring her gesture was a shamelessly obvious maneuver, but I was, after all, on a job interview. And I really needed, and maybe even really wanted, this job. A job I felt in no way qualified to have, since I had no idea what I’d be doing.
“What would my position entail?” I asked.
“Well, at first, a lot of reading, scoring, and categorizing the Chemical Quizzes as they arrive via e-mail, then entering them in the iLoveULab Dating Base.”
“Sounds fascinating.”
“It is,” she said, her eyes ablaze. “Eventually I would have you work as a liaison between the MRI technicians and our clients, analyzing the MindLoveMaps themselves….”
As Dr. Kate spoke, I started thinking about how you already disliked the sound of this job, just based on my early descriptions of the e-mail from Dr. Kate. This additional information would only make you hate it even more.
You dispute any empirical data that explain the origins of human emotions. You dismiss the science that proves that passion is no different from hunger or thirst or sleep or any other biological drive. You want to believe that love is this ineffable thing that can’t be quantified.
No wonder, then, that you were deeply offended when I suggested that we both take the Chemical Quiz that Dr. Kate had sent for my perusal last week.
“I’m not taking the test,” you said as you sat cross-legged on your straw meditation mat with your head resting between Claire and Chloe’s names on the wall.
“Why not? It’s just for fun!”
“Why take a test that will only prove that we’re not compatible?”
(This exchange resonates deeply in light of recent events.)
You were afraid that I’d be swayed by any evidence that proved we weren’t meant to be. So you didn’t take the test and I never asked you about it again.
From what I’ve read, I can pretty much guarantee that I’m a Communicator with a bit of Commander, which means that the female side of my psyche is barely outmuscling the male side in the tug-of-war battle over my brain. I would’ve bet my first paycheck that you are a Creator. And not that you care, because you think it’s all crap, but Creators like you and Communicators like me are supposed to be ideal matches….
“Is there something wrong?” Dr. Kate asked in a sharp voice, jerking me out of my reverie.
“Oh, yes! I mean, no! Nothing’s wrong.” I didn’t realize that I was frowning until I rearranged my features into a smile. “I was just thinking about how your technology and research could have spared me a lot of heartbreak.”
“That’s my goal: to eradicate heartbreak.”
I smiled wider when she said this because it sounded silly, but then quickly drew my face into a contemplative expression when I realized that she was totally serious.
“It might sound trivial to some,” she said, with the tiniest of nods in my direction on the word some, “but more people are devastated by broken hearts than cancer, AIDS, and all other diseases combined.”
“Oh, yes,” I said. “I’ve never had AIDS or cancer, but I’ve had a broken heart, and I can’t imagine that those diseases could make you feel any worse….”
Dr. Kate puckered her lips in disapproval. Her mouth was so puffed up with plastics that such a tiny, easily-missed gesture took on ginormous, notice-me significance.
“But…uh…,” I stammered.
“What?” Dr. Kate asked.
“Can you really cure heartbreak?” I asked. “I was recently doing some reading for my job, and I learned that the prefrontal cortex shuts down completely when you first fall in love. That’s the part of your brain that controls social judgment, right?”
She nodded.
“So when you first fall in love, you can’t see any of your lover’s faults; you only see an idealized version of him. And over time, when you find out that this perfect guy is a flawed, complicated human being, it can be a huge letdown. Which explains why most relationships implode after a few months or years.”
A half nod.
“I mean, can the iLoveULab brain scans do anything to stop love from fading over time? Doesn’t all passion die