Smarts

Lin and Mark were both overachievers at their college. They were always trying to outdo each other and (as such) pushed their limits to study the furthest reaches of a wide variety of fields from nuclear fusion to gene splicing to quantum physics. When a teacher showed off the latest miniature particle accelerator, both Mark and Lin stayed after class to get a closer look.

But two began to butt heads in order to get a closer look, and it soon evolved into a fight over the object. But the device soon began to whirl with an unexpected sputter and then unleashed a flash of light.

The teacher and the other students could only look at what happened in shock, with Mark and Lin seemingly merged into a single person.

“I think I have a migraine,” Lin’s voice said as the side that looked like her lifted a hand to her head.

“What happened?” This time it was Mark’s voice that spoke out of the same mouth.

Then they somehow screamed in unison as they realized they were now sharing a single body. They each controlled their respective half, but could also feel everything of the other side as though it were their own. And despite the distinction and the initial panic, they found being connected allowed them to bounce ideas off each other inside their singular head. Whereas they had once been rivals, they were now able to be a single collaborator. And as time went on, their merged nature allowed them to be even smarter and more advanced, perhaps even the smartest person on the planet. And yet with each side controlling only half the body, doing something as simple as walking proved challenging.