“Oh, several things, actually. A broader, more inclusive definition of athleticism. A true test of the durability of IRIS technology in the field - the fact that not a single unit was seriously damaged was surprising, considering the physical contact they endured…”

Minoru rose an eyebrow, giving his brother a knowing glance. It did not go unnoticed.

Isamu sighed softly. “But I suppose the most significant discovery I took away from the experiment was the number of baseline assumptions - about others, about the broader worldview… even about myself and my own desires - that proved to be flawed in some way.”

Much to Isamu’s surprise, Minoru didn’t reinforce his answer. He knew his brother was grappling with something there that went beyond just being wrong about something.

Of course, Isamu was still insanely curious about Anthean empathy and why he couldn’t perceive it. But he hadn’t dared broach the topic with Ziggy or anyone else in the family. Not after what had happened between them. He was terrified of saying, doing, or even feeling the wrong thing in Ziggy’s presence. Every thought felt like a test he was predestined to fail, and the threat of making even a single mistake was paralyzing.

Instead, in addition to his current collaborations, he poured himself into sating that curiosity on his own - reading about telepathy in general, as well as other altered states of human consciousness, magical and religious experiences he had previously written off as fantasy. And that had been giving him all sorts of ideas for tangentially relevant research.

“Which… actually… leads me into something I wish to ask you…”