“How is he doing?”

“Better now. I think he’s sleeping, but I honestly can’t tell given how messed up he is right now. Restoring the console seems to have helped even if he can’t read back more than the last few lines.”

“At least he’s not screaming anymore.”

“Yeah. I don’t know what to do about him though. He can’t go on like this. His working memory is so short, none of what he used to do to compensate can work anymore.”

“Maybe he just goes through life without memories then.”

“Wouldn’t that be nice to just let all of it go? How would that be?”

“Might feel good sometimes, but not at this price.”

“Have you decided how you’re going to vote on Lin’s proposal?”

“After what she did? All the manipulation and then that stupid Omega protocol or whatever that she tried to pull?”

“She just wanted to keep him safe. I can understand that.”

“She could have cost us everything.”

“Well, do you have a better idea for what to do with Noah?”

“I don’t know. Keep him comfortable and see if we can come up with some way to reverse the damage?”

“Lock him up then? Because you know he won’t stay put unless she’s with him. He doesn’t even know her name but he always starts trying to figure out who that missing girl is whenever he’s conscious long enough. As soon as he’s mobile the first thing he’ll do is go looking for her.”

This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author's consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

“Maybe you’re right. I just don’t like it.”

“You’ve read how he writes about it when he sees her every time.”

“I know. I’ve read the logs. And I’ve seen the scans. Max says he doesn’t think Noah is capable of ever feeling differently about her. The machinery that should let him update his emotional connections is completely wrecked. The way he felt about someone when we left China is pretty much how he’s going to feel about them forever, when he can even manage to recognize them.”

“But think about it. It’s like he’s seeing her for the first time and it’s total love at first sight. Can you imagine that? And he has the added bonus of her knowing him and loving him back. That’s the part of all this that I actually envy.”

“You would, you big dumb romantic.”

“Maybe you should get a little romance in your life.”

“Maybe I can once I finally get out here and go to med school. Meet some hot blonde doctor babe there or something.”

“Into blondes now, huh?”

“I don’t know. Maybe. I’ve had exactly one crush and it lasted one dance back a million years ago at one of Marc’s social dance things and I didn’t even catch her name before she left.”

“A truly tragic end to your love life.”

“I hope not. Max says he knows some nice girls he can introduce me to. He wants me to go to Germany with him and finally meet his partner. The school there isn’t bad either, though I’m still leaning toward Johns Hopkins. I want to see if I can work on having a real relationship with my mother there.”

“So many choices. Like what to do with our brother once he finally wakes up for real.”

“I know, right? Well, I’ll think about Lin’s idea some more. I still don’t have a better solution. I’m definitely not going to be his lifelong babysitter, and I know you and Val think you need to hunt down all the loose ends with the CPP. That’s going to be months or years of travel and danger and not exactly something you can haul him around on. So I don’t know. Maybe we should saddle Lin with him. She’s certainly eager to take on the burden. But Noah would have to agree once we can get him lucid and stable enough to actually make the choice.”

“You already know what he’ll want.”

“I know. Idiot.”

“Me or him?”

“Yes. Now let’s get out of here. He needs rest.”

“He rests better if Lin’s in the room.”

“Shut up. Let’s just go.”

Lin.

That’s such a nice name.

I’d like to meet someone with that name one day.