She’s the same one who spoke before, the one Jules called Anna, and she has a low, cultured voice even when she’s exasperated. She stands with her back to me, so I can’t see her face, but she has a thick braid of gray-and-black hair tied off with a red band. Tall and slender, with a dark complexion, she rests one gloved hand on the patient’s arm.
“Not yet,” the whistler says, setting the bin on a counter. He takes off his helmet, revealing a thatch of brown hair.
“Might as well get the dogs,” Jules says.
I shudder to think of being chased by dogs in those dark tunnels.
“You know what’ll happen to the dreamers with that racket,” the whistler says. “Give her another day and she’ll come out on her own. They always do.”
“Not always,” says the second woman. It’s the first time she’s spoken, and her voice is lighter and softer. I shift to get a better look at her profile. She’s petite and delicate-looking, with smooth dark hair, fine eyebrows, and brown skin. She seems younger than the others, and she’s wearing green sneakers with her scrubs.
“Kiri’s right,” Jules says. “If she breaks her leg and dies back there, it’ll be a waste. I say we bring in the dogs. Give her a little scare, too.”
“I hate the dogs,” Kiri, the petite woman, says.
“Why didn’t our cameras pick her up when she was aboveground?” Anna asks.
“It was one of those shorts I’ve been telling you about,” the whistler says. “All the cameras crashed last night for an hour and then came on again spontaneously.”
“You have to track that down,” Anna says. “Didn’t I say it could be dangerous if the cameras malfunctioned while someone was in the park? And now it’s happened.”
The whistler sighs and sorts through a pile of white food containers. “I’ve looked. I’ll look again. Do you really believe Sandy will bring Rosie to us?”
“He has to find her first,” Anna says.
“Does anyone know if Linus is in touch with her?” Jules says.
“Sandy could ask him,” Kiri says softly.
“Linus won’t take Sandy’s calls,” Anna says. “Berg told me so, but he’s tracing Linus’s other calls, obviously. He’s talked with his producer, a pizza place, and the ophthalmologist, but not Rosie.”
“I think they broke up,” the whistler says. “That’s what makes the most sense. Otherwise, why isn’t Linus with her?”
Anna lets out a laugh. “Since when are you so interested in the romantic details?” she says.
“If they break up, it could be good for Ian,” Jules says. “Right, Whistler? Your boy has the hots for her still, doesn’t he?”
I listen, agog. This man, the whistler, is Ian’s father? I need to get a better look to see if there’s a resemblance.
“My son knows what he’s doing. He has good taste,” Whistler says.
The others laugh.
“That’s why you want Rosie down here,” Jules says. “You want to get Ian’s girlfriend back for him. He likes them dreaming, doesn’t he?”
“Are you finding anything over there or just wasting time?” Whistler says.
Jules’s next laugh is rather snide.
“Really, Jules,” Anna says. “We’re not finding much, Whistler,” she adds politely. “She’s in a pre-REM mode. A bit restless but stable. I’m curious to see what her dreams are like.”
A phone rings.
“There he is, finally,” Anna says. “I’m putting him on speaker.” There’s a clicking. “Hi, Sandy. Anna here.”
“Sorry I’m late. Did you start without me?” Berg says.
His voice always gives me the creeps, and I can feel myself shrinking inside my skin. It sounds like they coordinated a time for this call.
“We have Dubbs on the table. We’re just ready to go,” Jules says.
My heart sinks. They are working on Dubbs, just as I feared.
“Remember, no mining for her,” Berg says. “We’re just taking a look. Is she in REM?”
“Not yet. We could boost her,” Jules says.
“No. Leave her be,” Berg says.
Kiri reaches up to adjust Dubbs’s IV, and I hear a few taps on a keyboard.
“What’s the status on Rosie?” Anna asks.
“Nothing new. I’m looking for her,” Berg says. “I’m sorry it’s taking so long. I know how important this is. She’s very good at disappearing, but she always surfaces, one way or the other. She knows I have her family.”
“Have you tried getting any dreams from Thea?” Jules says.
“No luck so far,” Berg says. “The parents have invited Orson over and he’s there now, but the girl’s resisting medical intervention. It’s a delicate situation.”
“These are all delicate situations, Sandy,” Jules says. “We’ve been getting some strange ripples here in the dreamers.”
“What kind of ripples?” Berg asks.
I half expect Jules to mention that a visitor is in the tunnels.
“We’ve noticed a turn in the organic code,” Jules says.
“A hacker, maybe? A virus?” Berg asks. “Is it spreading? Is Whistler with you?”
Jules looks toward the whistler and nods his chin.
“Not a hacker,” Whistler says. “It’s internal. A spontaneous mutation, possibly.”
“Track it down,” Berg says.
Whistler laughs. “Sure thing. No problem.”
Jules makes a face at him. “In other words, Whistler’s working on it,” he says. “The truth is, we only have so many hands down here. Rory Fallon’s gone back to Iceland to spend some time with his wife and daughter, and we don’t expect him back anytime soon.”
“How are you doing with my hybrid?” Berg asks.
“It’s coming along,” Anna says.
“Be more precise, please,” Berg says. “When will it be ready?”
“We’ve tweaked the CRISPR for your mHtt and crossed that with the Sinclair Fifteen, which appears to cut out the Huntington’s,” Anna says. “We’re running trials with the seeds in a dozen dreamers now, but we won’t know how it works in a live host until we try. Is your coma patient standing by? Has his family signed on?”
“No,” Berg says. “I’ve hit a snag there. Chimera’s a dead end.”
The doctors look at each other with varying degrees of surprise.
“Then what’s the point, Sandy?” Jules asks. “I thought you wanted the Berg-Sinclair hybrid for a live host.”
“I do. I’ll get you a host. Don’t worry about it,” Berg says.
“You’ll get us one?” Jules says. “We don’t do live hosts down here. You know that, Sandy. Dreamers only.”
“So you say,” Berg says.
Jules shakes his head. Kiri lifts both of her hands in a what now? gesture.
“Are you going to tell us who you have in mind as a host? Have you found a volunteer? Your son, maybe?” Kiri asks.
Berg’s laugh comes over the phone. “Not my son. Someone else. I’m just working out the logistics.”
Anna frowns. “You’re not going to ask us to put the hybrid dream seeds right back into you, are you? That won’t work, Sandy. You’re already too far along.”
“I’m well aware, thank you,” Berg says. “I’m already taking the maximum dosage of tetrabenazine, and my chorea’s noticeably worse. No. I’ve got someone else. I need to make the leap, like Orson did. Like Rosie’s transfer into Thea.”
The team exchanges glances again. Jules ducks back his chin and frowns. I’m getting a bad feeling about who Berg might want for his host.
“Haven’t you learned anything from Orson, Sandy?” Anna says.
“Many things. What’s your point?” Berg says.