The gag reflex rises but it’s not nearly strong enough. He narrows his eyes and glares at her. “You’d better be kidding me.”

“I’m not.”

“Fine,” he sighs. “Let’s hear it.”

She pulls up her hand-held and stabs at a few keys. “First, and most notably, you’re going to spike some migranes. That’ll be the nanites rejigging your synapses.”

“So, it’s rewiring my brain?”

“Pretty much.”

His eyes darted. “Um…”

“Don’t panic. Most of the work is in the parietal — speech comprehension — and a bit in some other areas. Nothing life threatening, but you’ll be polyparaphasic for a while.”

“Huh?”

“You’ll want to say something but you won’t be able to use the right words for it. Then there’ll be a crossover as the Mandarin is introduced. Things will settle out eventually.”

“And the migranes?”

She shrugs. “I can’t say how bad they’ll be but it shouldn’t last: you’ll get a hit of pharmas right at the receptors and it’ll be over.”

He smiles. “Not bad.”

“No, but this is.” She holds up the monitor towards him.