"Of course I do," Rhea revealed a mysterious smile. "After all, I studied you before."

"Oh?" Alexander raised an eyebrow. "You studied me?"

Rhea relaxed, leaning back. "To be precise, the organization studied you. They likely wanted to work with you, or perhaps gain leverage."

"Oh, yeah?" Alexander said blandly. He cared little for their motives; his concern lay solely with the safety of his family. He narrowed his eyes. "Tell me about R10."

Surprised by the subject change, Rhea glanced at him. "Don't you want to know why the organization studied you, and what they found?"

Alexander shook his head. "Nope."

Rhea shrugged, a hint of arrogance in her demeanor. "Why should I tell you?"

"Well, you can choose not to," Alexander said, rising and walking away.

Dumbfounded, Rhea hesitated, fearing a trick but unwilling to let him leave. As he closed the door, she anxiously shouted, "Wait!"

He reopened the door. "Yes?"

"What is it you want to know?" she asked.

"I thought you didn't want to tell me."

"Well, I do now!" Rhea was frustrated by her inability to control him, despite her perceived advantage.

Alexander reentered the room and stood before her, waiting.

Rhea bit her lip, lowering her gaze. "R10 is about researching immortality. You know about that, right?"

After a moment, Alexander said, "You're talking about transferring consciousness from a decaying body to another—'soul transference,' should I call it?"

"Yes and no," Rhea shook her head. "It's more like consciousness transference. Whether it's the soul... that's debatable. Besides using R10 as an inducing drug, there was one crucial step—cranial surgery."

"Cranial surgery?" Alexander was shocked. He'd never heard of it.

"Of course," Rhea explained. "Our consciousness resides in the brain; cranial surgery is necessary for the transfer. R10 is more a codename for the research than just the drug itself."