“What kind of downsides?” Zed asked, bracing himself for the worst.

  The two doctors exchanged a look.

  “Would you guys stop doing that? It’s getting annoying, and it’s not like I need some kind of brain power to notice when something’s up.”

  “Right,” Dr. Roth said. “Well, the biggest potential downside right now is just the sheer number of unknowns. We’ve been observing you for almost a week, and that’s just not enough time to gauge the long-term effects this might have on you.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything bad will happen or that you’ll have any negative effects," Dr. Bailey said quickly. "For all we know, these changes could even fade over time. Dr. Roth feels the extreme nature of the changes at the cellular level makes that unlikely, but again, we just don’t know.”

  Zed just nodded. He didn’t expect to have all the answers he wanted, but the thought of living with such a massive doubt hanging over his head was daunting.

  “Anything else?”

  “Yes, actually,” Dr. Bailey said softly. “It’s what you said about that fear of breaking inside. That not having something for your amplified brain to analyze makes it turn inward.”

  “Yeah, what about it?”

  “Do you still feel that way? I haven’t heard you mention any episodes all week. That seems a little odd considering how much it seemed to scare you on day one.”

  Zed shifted in his bed. He knew what she was getting at and had hoped to avoid the topic entirely.

  “Zed?”

  “It’s still there.”

  “OK, then why haven’t you mentioned it?”

  “I’m managing it.”

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  “Managing it. How so?” Dr. Bailey’s voice was patient. Zed could see that Dr. Roth really wanted to push harder, but his time with Dr. Bailey must have been rubbing off on him at least a little. He said nothing.

  Zed sighed and turned to Dr. Bailey. “If I keep something playing in my CIG at all times, it acts like a wall.”

  “What does that mean? What’s a wall?” Dr. Roth asked, his self-restraint finally running dry.

  “Oh, it’s a structure usually used to divide rooms,” Zed replied.

  Dr. Roth started to say something, then closed his mouth abruptly. Yes, Dr. Bailey was definitely improving his bedside manner.

  “Sorry, I do that when I’m nervous.”

  The two doctors sat quietly.

  “If I have a video playing—a video with people in it—it seems to pull that other part of my brain away enough to keep it from looking at me. As long as I’ve got something to distract it, I’m fine.”

  Dr. Bailey leaned back in her seat and looked around the barren room as if searching for something.

  Finally, she said, “Zed, I’m glad you found a way to cope for the moment, but I’m not sure that’s going to work for the long haul. You can’t stay distracted forever.”

  Zed laughed. “You clearly don’t know many teenagers.”

  “I’m serious, Zed. This doesn’t seem like something you can avoid, and with so many unknowns, I’d rather you face it while we can help you.”

  “I’m fine, Dr. Bailey,” Zed said. This was a conversation he very much wanted to end. He’d rather kick the can down the road in hopes that whatever was going on in his brain would fade than intentionally look into that abyss again. “You’ll be the first to know if I feel like I can’t handle things.”

  Zed put on what he hoped was a confident smile. It was easy enough to see by the look on Dr. Bailey’s face that she wasn’t buying it, but she dropped the subject.

  “So, when can I get out of here?”

  “Soon. We’re still waiting for confirmation of some tests we’ve run to come back from Earth, but we’re all but certain you’re not contagious at this point. There’s nothing airborne coming off of you, and nothing in your blood that’s giving us concern,” Dr. Bailey said.

  Dr. Roth shook his head. “Honestly, that in and of itself is puzzling.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s just so—” Dr. Roth gestured at nothing. “—it’s so damn compatible. With a human body, I mean. Just one of the many mysteries I’m probably going to have to spend the rest of my career unraveling. Don’t concern yourself with it. There’s no reason for worry at the moment, and we’ll be sure to let you know if anything changes.”

  “We’re not quite ready to let you out into the wild, but you are cleared for visitors, Zed. There are a couple waiting to come in right now. We’ll send them in on our way out.”

  The doctors made their way through the plastic barrier that separated Zed’s space from the rest of the med bay. They left the entrance open, and a few moments later, Ana and Ed Marsh stepped through.