Jared didn't waste time.
If his intelligence increased—
He needed to measure it.
"…what are you doing?" Iris asked.
"…experiment."
"…on what?"
"…myself."
"…that sounds like a terrible idea."
"…acceptable risk."
They were in the library.
Jared sat down and opened three books at once.
Math.
Psychology.
Economics.
"…you're not serious," Iris said.
"…yes."
"…you can't read three books at the same time."
"…testing that assumption."
She leaned over his shoulder.
"…this is going to end badly."
"…unlikely."
Jared started reading.
At first, it felt strange.
Then—
It clicked.
His eyes moved faster.
His mind processed faster.
Instead of reading line by line—
He absorbed patterns.
Concepts.
Structures.
Minutes passed.
Iris watched him carefully.
"…this is ridiculous," she muttered.
Jared closed all three books at once.
"…done."
"…NO YOU'RE NOT."
"…retention test."
He grabbed a notebook and began writing.
Page after page.
Detailed summaries.
Connections between subjects.
Even cross-referencing ideas.
Iris stared.
"…okay, that's not normal."
"…correct."
"…you just read three books in like ten minutes."
"…approximate."
"…and you understood them?"
"…yes."
"…that's terrifying."
Jared stopped writing.
He reviewed his notes.
Memory retention: near perfect.
Processing speed: significantly increased.
Then—
A realization.
"…this isn't linear," he said.
"…what does that mean?"
"…growth rate is increasing."
Silence.
"…so next time—"
"…improvement will be greater."
Iris leaned back slowly.
"…I'm either witnessing something amazing…"
"…or something very bad."
"…both," Jared replied.
He looked at the small bandage on his arm.
"…three months," he said.
"…I repeat the process."
But a new thought formed.
What if I don't wait?
He didn't say it out loud.
But Iris noticed his expression.
"…no," she said immediately.
"…I didn't say anything."
"…you didn't have to."
She pointed at him.
"…whatever you're thinking? Don't."
Jared paused.
Then nodded slightly.
"…temporarily."
"…I KNEW IT."