Page 54 of Jarran

“The engineering data Jarran provided gave our researchers the framework they needed to understand the hybridization process.” Silca’s voice carried a note of cautious optimism. “Deprogramming protocols are underway. It will take time. Some of them may never fully recover, but they have a chance now. A real one.”

Evie closed her eyes for a moment. “Good.”

“And now that the Sifter threat has been neutralized, the Baylan and Virilian authorities have approved the final step.” Silca’s fingers hovered over the deployment control. “Complete removal of Pella Rin from the patient’s mind.”

“So he can have a normal life.” Evie looked at Jarran’s sleeping face on the monitor. He looked so peaceful. “I hope we can both have a normal life. One day.”

Silca smiled. It was small and brief and very Baylan. “I hope so, too, Dr. Carr.”

She initiated the deployment sequence.

On the screen, Evie watched thousands of nanobots release into Jarran’s brain. They appeared as tiny points of light on the display, spreading out in a controlled wave, seeking out the artificial pathways Xill Rin had built tericycles ago. Each point of light found its target, paused, and then the connection severed. One by one. Tiny flickers on the screen as pieces of Pella Rin were methodically, permanently erased.

Evie cleared her throat and looked away. She’d helped design this procedure. She understood the science, had reviewed every simulation, and approved every parameter. But watching it happen in real time, in the brain of her true love, made her stomach clench. She fixed her gaze on the vital signs instead. Heart rate, steady. Respiration, normal. Neural stress indicators, within acceptable range.

“The procedure is progressing normally,” Silca said after several minutes. “Eighty percent of targeted connections have been severed. No collateral effects detected.”

Evie nodded. She didn’t trust her voice.

“Ninety percent. Ninety-five.” Silca watched the display with the focused attention of a physician who had been doing this for longer than Evie had been alive. “One hundred percent. Deployment complete. The nanobots are entering their dissolution phase.”

Evie exhaled. She pressed her hands harder against the console and let her head drop forward. It was done. Pella Rin, the constructed personality that had stolen Jarran’s life and terrorized a quadrant, was gone. Permanently. The pathways were severed, the connections dissolved, the cage dismantled.

“Initiating wake sequence,” Silca said.

Evie moved to the examination table. She stood beside him and watched the sedation reverse. His fingers twitched first. Then his breathing changed and his brow creased slightly. His eyelids fluttered.

He opened his eyes.

For one terrible second, Evie held her breath. She searched his face. His dark green eyes focused on her, and she looked for any trace of that cold, contemptuous emptiness she’d seen in the way station docking bay.

Jarran blinked. His gaze found hers and held. “Hello, beautiful.”

Evie’s knees went weak. She gripped the edge of the examination table. “How do you feel?”

He considered this. He raised one hand and touched his temple, pressing gently where the electrodes had been. “Clear,” he said. “My head feels clear. Quiet.” He paused. “There used to be a pressure. A weight at the edge of my thoughts. It’s gone.”

“Any confusion? Memory gaps?” she pressed. “Do you know where you are?”

“The Korath-7 medical lab. You are Dr. Evie Carr, the love of my life. You are wearing your hair in a bun, which I like very much. The Baylan standing behind you is Silca, who has cold hands and no sense of humor.” He glanced at Silca. “No offense.”

“None taken,” Silca replied. “My hands are a standard Baylan temperature.”

Evie laughed. It came out shaky and wet and she pressed her fingers to her mouth. “Do you feel like yourself?”

“I feel like myself.” He reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. His touch was warm and gentle and entirely Jarran. “Completely. For the first time, there is nothing else in here. No shadow. No pressure.” His eyes held hers. “I am just Jarran.”

She leaned down and kissed him. His hand came up to cup the back of her neck and she let herself sink into it for a few seconds before pulling back. Silca was watching with a neutral expression. Of course, she had likely seen far stranger things in this lab.

“I’m glad you’re free of him,” Evie said. “I’m so glad.”

“So am I.” He sat up slowly, swinging his legs off the table. The robe shifted and he tugged it closed with one hand.

“What would you like to do next?”

“I was going to ask you that,” she told him.

He looked down at himself, barefoot and rumpled, wearing a medical robe and a head full of electrode gel. “I’d like to get dressed.”