Trespassers: a science-fiction novel (37 page)

Lyntic nodded and headed out the front door to make it happen.

“
We
’
re not leaving without her memory being restored,
”
Dexim said. He turned to Mindy.
“
Do you think you can convince the boy?
”

“
I think he
’
s already convinced,
”
Mindy said.
“
He just needs a little time.
”

“
Time for what?
”
Jin asked.

Mindy couldn
’
t believe it. Wasn
’
t it obvious?
“
He
’
s about to lose the girl he loves. He
’
s about to tell her to forget all about him.
”

On the sofa, Jeremy was trying to talk this out.
“
We really don
’
t have to believe all of this,
”
he said.
“
If they can restore your memory, you
’
ll know what
’
s real. You
’
ll know your story for yourself.
”

“
But what if it
’
s too weird?
”

“
It won
’
t be too weird for
you
,
”
Jeremy said.
“
It
’
s who you are. It
’
s
your
memory.
”

“
An alien, though?
”

“
Forget all that,
”
Jeremy said.
“
You have memories. And they
’
re offering to give them back to you.
”

She nodded.
“
But what about you? They said there
’
s a good chance
—”

“
You
’
re not going to forget me,
”
he said.

“
But I
’
ve forgotten my parents, and my friends, and .
.
.
”

“
Look at me,
”
he said, squeezing her hand and gazing into her eyes.
“
You
’
re
not
going to forget me.
”

A smile rolled onto her face.

“
I
’
m going to be right here the whole time,
”
he said.
“
And you will remember me.
”

“
The first thing I
’
m going to do is check your eyes to determine which method of transference was used,
”
Tobi explained, as he slid his chair closer to Sara
’
s. Both of them were sitting at the kitchen table. Jeremy was sitting next to Sara, holding her hand
—
because that
’
s the way she wanted it.

As Tobi looked into her eyes with a handheld scope from the medical bag, he explained that the process of restoring a memory was called
waking
.
“
And when we perform the restoration process, we say we
’
re
waking a person
.
”

“
I
’
ve been sleepwalking, huh?
”
Sara said.

“
In a way, I guess.
”
As Tobi continued the exam, he explained that he was looking for scars on the iris.

“
Scars?
”
Sara asked.

“
Microscopic dots in the iris,
”
Tobi explained.
“
They
’
re formed as a reaction to a buildup of adrenaline, which is a product of the memory-blocking process. But we can tell which process was used because they generate different doses of adrenaline in different rhythms, causing the radial muscle of the iris to
—”
He dropped off as he switched to the other eye. After a quick look, he sat up and nodded, hoping his fake smile would cover his concerns.

“
Dexim,
”
Tobi said, twisting his head around to find him.
“
We
’
re about ready to start here. Can I have a quick word with you in the other room?
”

As the two of them left, Sara turned to Jeremy.
“
What was that?
”
she said.

“
I don
’
t know.
”

In the living room, Tobi advised Dexim that he couldn
’
t determine which process was used.

“
What does that mean?
”
Dexim asked.

“
It means that she probably did this under extreme stress when her adrenaline was already flowing and it didn
’
t leave the usual markings.
”

At this point, Lyntic arrived in the living room and shrugged at them.

“
He
’
s saying he can
’
t tell which process was used,
”
Dexim said.

“
So try one,
”
Lyntic said.
“
And if that doesn
’
t work, try the other.
”

“
No, no, no, no,
”
Tobi said,
“
it doesn
’
t work that way. If we use the wrong process to try to reverse the block, it will wipe her memory.
”

“
Leaving her where?
”
Lyntic asked.

“
Oh, I
’
m sure she
’
ll be a great girl, but she won
’
t remember one damn thing about one damn thing.
”

“
How bad, exactly?
”
Dexim asked.

“
Exactly like I just said
—
she literally won
’
t know which way is up, or what
up
means.
”

“
Isn
’
t there some way to know which one she would have used? Isn
’
t there a protocol?
”
Lyntic asked.

“
No.
”
Tobi shook his head.
“
Any machine could be set to either process.
”

“
Isn
’
t there some logical way you can figure this out?
”
Lyntic said.

Tobi shook his head.
“
Aeosic is used eighty percent of the time,
”
he said,
“
but there
’
s no guarantee that Protetic wasn
’
t used.
”

“
Well, if one of them is used four times as much, wouldn
’
t it be stupid for us to try the other one?
”
Lyntic reasoned.

“
That
’
s still a big gamble with someone
’
s entire memory,
”
Tobi said.
“
Can
’
t we just take her back as she is and try this at a later time, maybe after we gather some more information about
—”

“
No.
”
Dexim shook his head.
“
We need to know what
she
knows before we transport her out of here. Unless you have some strong reason to believe it was the twenty-percent method, we
’
ll go with the eighty percent and take our chances. Those are pretty good odds.
”

“
Pretty good odds?
”
Tobi said.

“
Look, we can spend half an hour discussing it,
”
Lyntic said,
“
just to arrive at the conclusion that we don
’
t have a choice, since she may have information vital to this mission. Then we
’
ll spend half an hour wrestling over which process to try, and we
’
ll inevitably decide on the one with the greatest odds of success
—
the one that
’
s used eighty percent of the time. Being decisive saves us an hour. You have to learn to manage your time in the field.
”

Tobi nodded. Lyntic was not a person to argue with, and her confidence was contagious.

“
What
’
s going on?
”
Sara asked, as Tobi returned to his seat next to her.

“
I just wanted to make sure we had the supplies we need,
”
Tobi said with a smile.
“
We do. We
’
re fine.
”

“
Well, which is it?
”
Jeremy asked.

“
What do you mean?
”
Tobi said.

“
Which process was used?
”

“
Oh, it was Aeosic.
”

The three other members of Dexim
’
s team and the four members of Stewart
’
s team stood around the edges of the kitchen, watching Tobi prepare the equipment. The device he pulled from the supply bag looked like a dull-gray version of an iPhone. He detached two wireless earpieces from the base of the unit and set them in front of Sara.

“
Put one of these in each ear,
”
he said,
“
and you will hear a low hum. That will build into a slow, throbbing rhythm. Then your vision will start to fade, and your other senses will go as well, until you feel like you
’
re floating in darkness. You will be hyperfocused with perfect clarity. The only thing you will be able to hear is my voice, and your attention will be so sharp that it will seem like you can see, feel, smell, and taste my voice. I will guide you through the process of accessing your subconscious and freeing your memories. It
’
s a matter of ordering your subconscious to remove the block from your mind. But your subconscious will only take this order from you. You will be fully aware during this process. If you have any doubts, it
’
s not going to work. You need to make your decision before we start and stick to it.
”

Sara nodded as she picked up the first earpiece and examined it.

“
Wait,
”
Jeremy said.

Sara turned to him.

“
What if. .
.
. What if you don
’
t. .
.
.
”
He swallowed hard and started again.
“
You
’
re going to remember me
—
I know you are
—
but in case .
.
. in case something goes wrong .
.
. in case you don
’
t remember . . . maybe we should .
.
.
”
The words caught in his throat.
“
Maybe we should say good-bye.
”

Sara
’
s heart broke at the sound of this, as did Mindy
’
s, Tobi
’
s, and Lyntic
’
s (not because Lyntic cared about these two, but because their story was so close to her own). Even Lambert had to turn and look out the window, pretending to have something in his eye. Despite the fact that these two had been together only two days, there was a deep bond between them, a bond that even the others could see. Splitting them up didn
’
t feel right, but it had to be done.