“Wait!”
She glanced back over her shoulder.
“I almost forgot: those tubes running into my body, you need to disconnect me from the third one. It’s keeping me under.”
“Third from the left or third from the right?” She eyed the containers.
“Third from the left. The right I actually need you to increase. The left is anesthesia but the right is a stimulant he was using to keep my internal organs from shutting down. If we up the drip on that one, it might help to jolt me out of this.”
“And the middle canister?” That one was almost empty.
“Nutrients and hydration. You can leave that one alone for now.”
She slowly turned the roller under the stimulant beaker. The blue liquid dripped faster into the tubes. Tracing the green anesthesia tube to his arm, she unhooked it from the catheter.
“All right, I want to be in my body before it wakes up. I’m not certain what happens if it wakes up beforehand, but that’s not something I want to play with.”
“Maybe you’d just wake up, as yourself, but without the memories stored in the computer.” Her heart quickened. “You’d still be alive.”
“But I wouldn’t know you.”
“You didn’t know me before this morning anyway. It would be worth getting to know you all over again.” She stared at his face, his human face. “I could tell you all about us, about what happened.”
“I’d hate to lose today.” Ellis’s tone sank to a murmur, barely audible above the hum of the computer system. “Also, I wouldn’t know about what my father did. Anyway, the risk in this upload isn’t to my human body. It should remain stable, even if the upload fails.”
“You’re sure?” She chewed on her bottom lip.
“Ninety percent. If we do end up having to revive me without my memories, give me a message from me. Tell me I’m an idiot if I don’t take you out to dinner. Last I remember, the most fashionable restaurant in town was that club on the lakefront, the Raleigh Club, I think. Is that still well thought of?”
“I think it closed last year … but that’s okay. I’m more of a bag of popcorn from a street vendor and walk through the park sort of girl anyway.” She smiled.
“I’d like that. I’ll just need to find my chair so I can accompany you. All right, Nyss, the stimulant should be kicking in soon, so I need you to remove that restrictor now. Are you ready?”
She dug in her satchel for her pulser and knelt beside the bundled cords. The restrictor felt hot in her hands.
“Ready.”
“Do it.”
Concentrating on the restrictor as if it were the only thing in the world, she flipped through the frequencies. The restrictor fell open in her hand. Lights surged through the wires. Sparks flew from the computer, and on the table, Ellis’s body convulsed. His tremors shook the table, the metal legs clanking beneath him. Nyssa sprang to his side, wrapped her arms around his bare chest, and held on for dear life.
Ellis thrashed. She could feel every rib. His head bounced against the metal table top. For a moment she feared he’d shake them both to the ground. Then he slumped. Sweat beaded on his brow, and a sigh escaped his cracked lips.
Nyssa traced his dark eyebrows with her fingertip. “Please wake up. Please be you. Please.”
Ellis's eyes twitched beneath his paper thin lids. His eyelashes fluttered, then opened, revealing deep brown eyes with slightly yellowed whites. A faint smile played over his lips, “Hey, Nyss … I think I’m naked.”
Chapter Twelve
Nyssa flushed and yanked up the sheet to cover him from the shoulders down. Ellis laughed, but it turned into a cough.
“Easy.” She wiped his brow with her sleeve.
“I feel like someone stole all my blood and replaced it with ice water.” His voice had a rasp to it, but beneath it was a pleasant baritone, nothing like Hart’s mechanical chiming. She could get used to it. He raised a trembling hand. “My arms … I used to have a decent amount of upper-body strength. I’m guessing I now have the physique of a malnourished five-year-old.”
She scrambled for something comforting to say then gave up and shrugged. “That about sums it up. We’ll get you back to yourself. First things first, some pants?”
“I didn’t realize you were such a prude.” Ellis smirked then turned his head towards the door. “My father used to keep a spare suit in his office, in case he stayed up all night working but didn’t wish to look it at breakfast. We’re roughly the same size. Keep an eye out for my chair too. It’s in a briefcase like thing with a silver handle.”
“Your chair is in a briefcase?” She frowned.
“You’ll see … provided my father hung onto it. Also, if you increase the drip on the nutrient and stimulant, it might help me have the strength to dress myself. I’d like at least that much dignity.”
“What about the nursing robot? Can it help you?”
“Oh, Dad was working on that before … before all this happened. I didn't realize he'd finished it. There should be a dial on the back that controls its functions. Switch it to 'out-patient,' and I should be able to use it to disconnect myself.”
She nodded and switched on the dial. The robot jerked to life. Nyssa slipped into the next room.
Her heart felt like a windup toy wound too tight. His eyes, so dark. She wanted to go on a walk with him, or even a fancy dinner at some stuffy restaurant. She hadn’t wanted that before with anyone.
Doing her best to avoid the remnants of the professor, she knelt beside the desk and pried open the first cabinet. Within, a black briefcase with a silver handle lay beside a stack of papers. She pulled it out. Beneath it lay a yellow envelope with “Ellis” scrawled on it in spidery handwriting. Nyssa scooped it up. The envelope crinkled around something more solid than paper, something round.
She found a musty smelling
