It was time. Silla was, for lack of a better word, hatching.
She'd put herself into extended cryogenic hibernation seven years ago to halt the progress of the Phaylen's Syndrome that was slowly eating away at her.
It was something she did on her own. When the rest of the research group came into the lab the next morning there she was, Snow White in her glass casket.
Tem, her husband, took it the hardest. He'd known about the Syndrome of course, known that it was slowly leaching away the time they had to spend together.
Silla had left explicit instructions that she was only to be revived when she was cured, or if the world was ending.
She'd known that she had at the most five years before she was completely debilitated, she'd also known that it would take them at least six to find a successful cure.
One might see what she did as selfish, but one didn't know her that well then.
Anything Silla did, she did out of love.
Over the past eighteen months, Tem had managed to perfect a cure. He'd used it to stop, and reverse the advanced aging brought on by the Syndrome, and also reverse his own aging of the past seven years.
So now it was time.
Tem was waiting, one hand against the glass of Silla's cocoon. The thin rime of permafrost had already evaporated and the chamber was slowly warming, according to the monitors, Silla's heartbeat and breathing were gradually coming back up to normal levels.
Alix, the head medic, had already prepared a cot, and was now just waiting for-there it was-the soft hiss of the chamber opening. Tem lifted his wife's still near-comatose body and carried her gently to the cot. He curled up against her, lending his heat to help warm her.
Two hours later, Silla still hadn't woken. Alix shook her head, "S'no use. No brain activity. The human body wasn't meant to be inoperative for that long Tem. And even if she does wake up, we can't be sure it's still going to be her in there."
Tem closed his eyes, "She's still my wife. Still the woman I love." He sighed, resting his head against Silla's back, between her shoulder blades.
In that moment, Alix saw with perfect clarity that losing Silla again wouldn't just break Tem's heart. It would kill him. More surely than losing her to the Syndrome would have, then he would've been able to see it coming. Losing her now would be meaningless, unexplained, and it would shatter what was left of him.
He'd be left with going through the motions the rest of his life. Perhaps he'd still be the brilliant biologist he'd always been, but his heart wouldn't be in his work, simply because it would've died, here, now, with Silla's second death.
Alix refused to let that happen. She started attaching electrodes to Silla's head, neck and arms, "Right, if you want her back, I'm going to need your help Tem."
He nodded, planting a light kiss at the nape of Silla's neck before rising, "What should I do?" He had put his love aside for the moment, he had to so that he could treat Silla as he would any other patient, that meant letting Alix take over.
Alix nodded, affixing three more electrodes down the back of Silla's neck, "Prep an injection, dose and a half of SB5."
Tem paused preparing the injection, "Why SB5, the side effects..."
"Are rare, and easily reverse." She cut him off lightly, "What's the difference between comatose and deep REM sleep?"
Tem blinked, handing her the injector, "Coma is usually brain-dead, no activity. Deep REM is lots of activity, dreaming."
Alix half smiled, injecting the drug into Silla's still-sluggish system, "The SB5 should bring on an artificial state of REM sleep, in theory, giving her brain a jump-start."
Tem nodded slowly, "Makes sense, in theory. But how will we know it's working in reality?"
Silla arched suddenly, every muscle taught, her hands clenching reflexively.
Alix gently pressed her back down, "Tem, get a brace between her teeth before she breaks them."
Tem nodded, slipping the thick soft plastic wedge between Silla's teeth when she threw her head back, gasping for air. She continued to writhe for another minute or so.
Alix nodded, watching the monitors as Silla fell still, "So far so good. Talk to her Tem, touch her. If anyone can bring her the rest of the way back, it's you."
Tem pulled a chair over next to Silla's cot and sat, her hand clasped between both of his, "Silla, if any part of you can hear me, open your eyes, come back to me. Please Sil, if you don't wake up, I won't be able to go on, the only reason I survived the past seven years was because I knew I was working to get you back. And if I don't, then seven years of work will all be in vain. Never mind the hundreds, maybe thousands of people that we can now cure. You're the only one that matters, because you're the one I love."
He laced his fingers with hers, sighing softly, his other hand reaching up to flick an errant lock of hair away from Silla's eyes, "You hear me Sil? I love you. Please, /please/ come back to me."
She'd put herself into extended cryogenic hibernation seven years ago to halt the progress of the Phaylen's Syndrome that was slowly eating away at her.
It was something she did on her own. When the rest of the research group came into the lab the next morning there she was, Snow White in her glass casket.
Tem, her husband, took it the hardest. He'd known about the Syndrome of course, known that it was slowly leaching away the time they had to spend together.
Silla had left explicit instructions that she was only to be revived when she was cured, or if the world was ending.
She'd known that she had at the most five years before she was completely debilitated, she'd also known that it would take them at least six to find a successful cure.
One might see what she did as selfish, but one didn't know her that well then.
Anything Silla did, she did out of love.
Over the past eighteen months, Tem had managed to perfect a cure. He'd used it to stop, and reverse the advanced aging brought on by the Syndrome, and also reverse his own aging of the past seven years.
So now it was time.
Tem was waiting, one hand against the glass of Silla's cocoon. The thin rime of permafrost had already evaporated and the chamber was slowly warming, according to the monitors, Silla's heartbeat and breathing were gradually coming back up to normal levels.
Alix, the head medic, had already prepared a cot, and was now just waiting for-there it was-the soft hiss of the chamber opening. Tem lifted his wife's still near-comatose body and carried her gently to the cot. He curled up against her, lending his heat to help warm her.
Two hours later, Silla still hadn't woken. Alix shook her head, "S'no use. No brain activity. The human body wasn't meant to be inoperative for that long Tem. And even if she does wake up, we can't be sure it's still going to be her in there."
Tem closed his eyes, "She's still my wife. Still the woman I love." He sighed, resting his head against Silla's back, between her shoulder blades.
In that moment, Alix saw with perfect clarity that losing Silla again wouldn't just break Tem's heart. It would kill him. More surely than losing her to the Syndrome would have, then he would've been able to see it coming. Losing her now would be meaningless, unexplained, and it would shatter what was left of him.
He'd be left with going through the motions the rest of his life. Perhaps he'd still be the brilliant biologist he'd always been, but his heart wouldn't be in his work, simply because it would've died, here, now, with Silla's second death.
Alix refused to let that happen. She started attaching electrodes to Silla's head, neck and arms, "Right, if you want her back, I'm going to need your help Tem."
He nodded, planting a light kiss at the nape of Silla's neck before rising, "What should I do?" He had put his love aside for the moment, he had to so that he could treat Silla as he would any other patient, that meant letting Alix take over.
Alix nodded, affixing three more electrodes down the back of Silla's neck, "Prep an injection, dose and a half of SB5."
Tem paused preparing the injection, "Why SB5, the side effects..."
"Are rare, and easily reverse." She cut him off lightly, "What's the difference between comatose and deep REM sleep?"
Tem blinked, handing her the injector, "Coma is usually brain-dead, no activity. Deep REM is lots of activity, dreaming."
Alix half smiled, injecting the drug into Silla's still-sluggish system, "The SB5 should bring on an artificial state of REM sleep, in theory, giving her brain a jump-start."
Tem nodded slowly, "Makes sense, in theory. But how will we know it's working in reality?"
Silla arched suddenly, every muscle taught, her hands clenching reflexively.
Alix gently pressed her back down, "Tem, get a brace between her teeth before she breaks them."
Tem nodded, slipping the thick soft plastic wedge between Silla's teeth when she threw her head back, gasping for air. She continued to writhe for another minute or so.
Alix nodded, watching the monitors as Silla fell still, "So far so good. Talk to her Tem, touch her. If anyone can bring her the rest of the way back, it's you."
Tem pulled a chair over next to Silla's cot and sat, her hand clasped between both of his, "Silla, if any part of you can hear me, open your eyes, come back to me. Please Sil, if you don't wake up, I won't be able to go on, the only reason I survived the past seven years was because I knew I was working to get you back. And if I don't, then seven years of work will all be in vain. Never mind the hundreds, maybe thousands of people that we can now cure. You're the only one that matters, because you're the one I love."
He laced his fingers with hers, sighing softly, his other hand reaching up to flick an errant lock of hair away from Silla's eyes, "You hear me Sil? I love you. Please, /please/ come back to me."