I waited outside of the medical bay for hours.  The other two scientists who had been in there came out at some point, whispering to each other and glancing over their shoulders.  Doctor Elsa didn't follow.  I didn't dare go inside and risk making her mad, so instead I waited.

When the door finally opened and Doctor Elsa stepped through, she looked dazed.  Her eyes were slightly unfocused.  A splotch of blood was on her lab coat.

"Are you hurt?" I asked as I moved away from the wall.  Doctor Elsa glanced at me.

"What?  No, I spilled the sample of blood and had to go back for another," she answered.  Her voice made it clear she was distracted.

"Did he wake up yet?"

"Not yet.  In a few hours we'll know what's wrong with him."

I glanced up and down the halls as Doctor Elsa stood still, that unfocused look coming back to her eyes.  She was obviously stressed.  Something needed to change that.

"Remember that hologram room you told me about?" I asked.  Doctor Elsa snapped back to attention.

"The Memory Chamber?"

"Yeah, that one.  Are we allowed to go there?"

"You aren't if you're alone, but I'll come with you," she offered.  We set off down the hall together, heading towards a wing I had never been in before.  A large iron door marked the end of the hall.  It looked like it might block off a bomb shelter or vault.  Doctor Elsa paused long before reaching it, turning instead to a door on our left.  She swiped a keycard and the door slid open.

"This is the Memory Chamber," Doctor Elsa explained as the door closed behind us.  The room was small with a domed ceiling.  The walls and ceiling were white like the rest of the lab.  The only interruption was a panel protruding from the floor in the center of the room.

"What do you use it for?" I asked, feeling the wall.  It was cool and smooth.

"To understand," she replied.  "And to remember."

"What's your favorite memory?" I asked.

"My favorite memory?"

It was as if the idea was completely new to Doctor Elsa.  As if she'd never considered having a favorite anything.

"Yeah, you know, one of the happiest days in your life.  Something like that."

"I've never really thought about it," she admitted.  "I suppose it would be-"

I held a finger to my lips, silencing her.

"Don't tell me," I said.  "Show me."

Doctor Elsa smiled faintly and moved to the central panel.  She tapped it, inputting a string of numbers.  The light in the room flickered for a moment before transforming.  We weren't in the lab anymore.  We were standing on the wooden shingles of a farm roof.  Below was a green meadow dotted with flowers.  A field of corn swayed in a faint breeze we couldn't feel.  A two story home was a short distance away, pale blue with white shutters.  The sky was painted orange and pink by the setting sun and I could hear crickets chirping in the distance.

"This is my childhood home," Doctor Elsa explained.  "It's where I lived years ago, before the virus.  I used to climb up on the roof to watch the sunset even though my dad hated it. He always said I would fall off one day."

Doctor Elsa sat down and I sat beside her.  The hologram was so real that I could almost believe it.  I could imagine the breeze, the smell of hay and flowers.  But it wasn't real.  And it wouldn't be real ever again unless I succeeded.

"I'll go back, no matter what the dangers are," I promised.  "And I'll succeed."

"I don't want you to be forced into this," Doctor Elsa protested.

"This is my choice.  I'll do it.  And I'm only doing it for you.  Not because of anybody else.  I'd do anything for you."

Doctor Elsa looked completely off balance.  I started to wonder if I had thrown it out there too early.  I couldn't deny that I had feelings for her, but I didn't want to ruin our relationship.  It was too late to take it back now.

"Sorry, I-" I started.  Doctor Elsa placed a hand on my shoulder to silence me, then pulled away.

"Jack, I mean, I don't know what to say.  This isn't the time or place.  We're trapped in this lab.  We could all die at any moment.  And you're about to go back in time.  I won't see you ever again.  I just . . . I don't know what to say."

"Then don't say anything," I told her.  We leaned closer.

"Well isn't this scandalous," a dry voice announced from behind us.  Doctor Elsa and I turned as the memory around us flickered away.  Doctor Bentley was standing in the open doorway.  His face was stone.

"Oh, don't let me interrupt you," he said.  "I was just coming with important information, but I'm sure that the very survival of this facility can wait."

Doctor Elsa's face burned a fiery red.  She stood, brushing off her lab coat and avoiding my eyes.  Doctor Bentley stormed into the room and grabbed her wrist.

"Why is there blood on your lab coat?" he demanded.  "Don't you care about this facility at all?"

"It spilled in the medical room!" Doctor Elsa protested, yanking her hand back.

"That blood is contaminated with Bone Fever!"

The color drained from Elsa's face.  She ripped off the lab coat, revealing the blue t-shirt and jeans she wore underneath.  She held the lab coat in front of her like a piece of garbage.

"The results from the lab came back?" she asked, her voice shaking.

"We just got them," Doctor Bentley replied.  "I came to find you.  Due to your . . . gift . . . your responsibilities have increased."

"I understand," Doctor Elsa said.  Her voice was subdued, her eyes downcast.

"The whole Medical Bay is under quarantine," Doctor Bentley continued.  "You are the only one allowed in or out.  Take great care to avoid contaminating others.  And  especially stay away from Subject 23-J.  You wouldn't want to risk contaminating our only successful experiment, would you?"

"Of course not," Doctor Elsa agreed.  "Goodbye, Jack.  I'll . . . someone else will take over your final preparations."

She rushed out of the room with her lab coat held in her hands.  Doctor Bentley cringed away from her as she went past before glancing at me.

"You should thank me," he said.  "Remember, you aren't even human.  And she is."

The Memory Chamber door slid shut behind him.