I learned a new meaning of the term today. It is appropriate enough to share it with you all. It’s from Jodi Picoult’s “The Pact“, which is a great (albeit rather cheesy for some of you with exceeding testosterone, but you probably don’t read anyway) novel.

“… there’s a specific term for the kind of relationship that had developed between Chris and Emily over the years”

“What’s that?”

“Fusion.” He smiled at the jury. “Just like the physicists. It means that two personalities have bonded together so strongly that a whole new personality is created, and the separate ones cease to exist.”

Jordan raised his eyebrows. “Could you run that by me again?”

“In plain English,” Dr. Karpagian said, “it means that Chris and Emily’s minds and personalities were so connected there really was no distinction between them. They grew up so close that they couldn’t function without each other. Anything that happened to one of those kids was going to affect the other. And in the case of the death of one of them, the other one literally would not be able to go on living.” He looked at Jordan. “Does it make more sense?”

“It’s more clear,” Jordan said, “but it’s hard to accept.”

Dr. Karpagian smiled. “Congratulations, Mr McAfee. That simply means you’re mentally healthy.”

Nuff said.