James straightened his shoulders and knocked on his daughter's door. He had avoided this conversation for long enough. He needed to know what was going on with his daughter before everything spiraled out of control. He knew Roger was already taking a lot of heat from their superiors demanding answers, of which they had none. It wouldn't be long before a special forces team showed up and tried to forcibly take Heidi in for questioning.
Heidi opened the door, and James stepped back as the full force of his daughter's alternate personality focused on him. He had only witnessed it a few times, and each time he felt like a bug, a worm, unworthy, or perhaps just unable, to comprehend the vast presence confronting him.
"Come in," she said without preamble.
James nodded and entered, noting how tidy his once sloppy daughter's room was. The two of them stood watching each other silently for almost a minute. She seemed to know what he wanted and waited patiently while he tried to frame the right words for the question.
"Are you still my daughter?" he finally asked, feeling more vulnerable than he had since childhood.
Those ancient eyes regarded him thoughtfully, wise beyond measure. "I am. Tell me, what do you believe defines an individual? What makes them unique?"
James thought hard. What did make him the person he thought of as James Rockwell? What defined him as the man he had become? "I suppose the memories, experiences, and my innate personality that guides my decisions based on those memories define me for who I am."
Heidi nodded, a small smile of approval crossing her lips. "And if James Rockwell suddenly gained a host of new memories, would he still be the same person? Have you thought of yourself as a different person than James Rockwell as your store of memories has grown over time?"
He shook his head silently.
"If you acquired a cache of new memories accumulated through many lifetimes, would you still be James Rockwell?" Heidi asked softly.
"I don't know," James admitted doubtfully. "Hypothetically, yes, but if those memories happened to different bodies, to different individuals and were suddenly thrust into my head, I'm not so sure. How much of the daughter I knew is still present in such an ocean of personality? Is she a separate entity entirely, or are you one person?"
Heidi sighed, and a bone weary sadness filled those wise eyes. "We are still separate right now, though that is not entirely accurate. I would never possess another individual and steal their body. We exist as willing partners in an enterprise to become something more than either of us are separately. However, the overall personality of your daughter does not have full access to my memories. I would never push that kind of torture onto such a young mind. Over time, she will gain more access to my memories as she acclimates to the abilities those memories offer. Eventually, once she has gained full mastery, we will be one individual. Until then, I must protect her mind from the horrors of what human nature has wrought throughout the ages. I will never allow harm to come to your daughter's mind. If it brings you any peace of mind, you might think of me as a constant companion to your daughter, a friend and a confident. I am superseding her will right now to have this conversation, at her request. When this conversation is over, your daughter will once again be in full control of this body."
James let out a relieved breath. If she spoke truly, then the situation was better than he had anticipated. He had been sure that another consciousness had completely supplanted his daughter.
"James, you should know that your daughter holds you in the highest esteem," Heidi told him seriously. "She loves you more now than she has ever before. The care and concern you have taken to keep her safe have filled her with more admiration than crude words can define."
James felt tears fill his eyes as he regarded the powerful entity in front of him. No father could ask for greater affirmation from his child. "Thank you."
"I love you dad," Heidi said, and the powerful presence was gone.
James gathered his daughter in a tight embrace, shaking slightly as tears leaked down his face. He had not lost his daughter after all.