AN: Thanks everyone for being so patient over this last week. I have finally gotten settled in at my school, and will be starting classes shortly. However, I should have plenty of time to do some writing on the side. As promised, here is the next chapter. It's a bit shorter than I thought it would be, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Thanks to everyone for their comments in my absence. They have been extremely helpful, as well as encouraging, and I will keep them in mind as I work on future Andromeda fanfics.
Chapter Fourteen: Running Out of TimeIt was nearly half an hour before Professor Deedran showed up at the analysis laboratory where Harper and Trance were waiting. Apparently, he had decided to get some rest after bringing their meal, and he did not look very pleased at having been woken such a short time later. Harper had to work hard to keep from moaning in frustration when he saw the Assistant Professor following Deedran in.
"Harper, don't even think about it," Trance muttered to him. She raised her voice so the others could hear. "Thank you for joining us, Professor, Assistant Professor. I'm sorry we had to wake you."
Deedran waved off her apology good-naturedly. "Think nothing of it, Trance Gemini. I take it you have found something?"
She held out what was left of the photonic resonator. "The photonic resonator," she replied. "It wasn't inside the lab at all; it was blown through one of the windows by the force of the explosion."
Deedran gave it a cursory examination before handing it to his partner.
"Ohhhh," the Assistant Professor murmured. "Very interesting. But, um, how will this help you? It's completely destroyed!"
Harper plucked it out of her hand. "Statements like that one are probably the reason you haven't yet achieved the title of super genius," he said wryly. "But thanks for the observation." He looked to Deedran. "I've – I mean, Trance – has already figured out at least one problem with it," he explained. "I gave it too many networking connections. It siphoned off too much extra energy right back into the generator. That's what caused the explosion in the first place."
"Mmm, I see," the Professor nodded. "So we'll need to correct that before building a new one."
"On the contrary," Trance interrupted. "If we fix that problem, it will be impossible for Harper and I to get back into our own bodies. Something that happened during the explosion was responsible for switching us in the first place. If we take away the explosion, it's very likely that any further experiments we do will have absolutely no effect."
"Which is bad," Harper translated. "The thing is, I don't think the explosion in and of itself is what made us trade bodies. We need to scan it and make sure nothing else is wrong with it. If there is, we'll need to duplicate that in any new ones we create, too."
Deedran nodded in understanding. "I have just the tool," he said as he led them to the far side of the lab. He moved to a computer screen and tapped in some commands. Next to him, a panel opened in the wall, and a large piece of equipment studded with lenses and multi-jointed arms slid out. "A beta ray scanner," he said proudly. "It is capable of scanning almost anything on a subatomic level. We'll be able to learn everything there is to know about your photonic resonator."
"Wonderful," Trance said. "How long will it take before we get any results?"
Deedran shook his head and shrugged. "Hmm, hard to say. It's highly experimental technology, developed by the late Technical Director Hohne. Your guess is as good as mine."
"Man, I hope it's not long," Harper complained, "'cause I am starting to get some really weird vibes going on with all this stuff running around inside my brain."
Trance smacked the back of his head. "Harper," she warned.
"What?" he protested. "I wasn't gonna say anything!"
"Just don't think about it."
"I'm doin' the best I can, ok?" He rubbed the back of his head ruefully. "Just hurry up, would ya, Prof?"
Deedran nodded and grinned. "As they say, I am on it!"
Harper was tired, but despite the fact that he was sitting on a large, very comfortable padded bench outside the analysis lab, he didn't feel like sleeping. Maybe it was just that his mind was tired, while Trance's body wasn't. Either way, he was too restless to even close his eyes for more than a few seconds at a time.
Next to him, Trance looked like one of the walking dead. Her face – his face, he remembered with a grimace – was haggard and pale, and her eyes were half closed. She was dead tired, that much he could tell, but she was doing her best to stay awake.
"Hey," he said gently, just loud enough to get her attention. "Why don't you try to get some sleep? I'll wake you if Deedran comes up with anything."
She didn't look at him. "I can't," she replied, shaking her head. "I'm too restless."
He hesitated. "Are you scared?" he asked after a moment.
She glanced at him briefly, then looked away. "Yes," she admitted. "A little."
Harper tried to grin, but the effort was largely a failure. "Just a little?" he echoed.
For a long minute, she stared straight ahead, and he thought she wasn't going to answer. But then she looked at him. "Don't get me wrong, Harper," she said softly. "It's not that I think you're a bad person or anything, but I really don't want to be stuck in your place for the rest of my life. If I lose my identity, if I lose who I am, it will spell disaster for the future. And that is what is happening. Bit by bit, I'm beginning to forget things I could once recall in a second, and in their place I'm starting to find memories that are not my own." She hesitated and took a deep breath, and he thought she was going to cry. "Harper... I'm afraid that if I fall asleep... I won't be me anymore when I wake up."
He nodded, and he suddenly realized that he could understand what she was saying. He didn't want to lose who he was for the rest of his life, either. He watched as a single tear rolled down her cheek, and then, before he knew what he was doing, he put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close. "Hey," he said soothingly, "it'll be all right. Don't worry. Deedran's going as fast as he can, and as soon as he's done, it shouldn't take us very long at all to get that new teseract generator up and running. Once we're through with that, we'll be back to ourselves in no time."
She didn't answer, but rested her chin on one of his arms.
"In the meantime," he went on, "we need to keep you from falling asleep. Talk to me about something."
"Like what?" she asked.
He shrugged. "I don't know. Anything. I promise I won't tell anyone. About what you talk to me about, about your memories or your nightmares, about anything. You can tell me whatever you want."
She took a deep breath. "Anything, huh?" She grinned. "Well, there was this one time..."
They were still talking an hour later when Deedran finally called them back into the analysis lab.
"Well, there's good news and bad new," the Perseid told them. "The good news is that I think I've figured out what caused you to switch bodies. The bad news is that it's an impurity in one of the elements you used to construct the photonic resonator, Mr. Harper."
Harper sighed. "That's what I was afraid of. I'm sure I can replicate it, but it's going to take some time." He glanced over his shoulder at Trance, who looked like she was about to fall asleep on her feet, and lowered his voice as he looked back to the Professor. "Time that I'm not so sure we have."
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Deedran asked.
Harper thought for a moment. "Actually, there just might be one thing you can do. Any chance some of your science buddies are still interested in helping us out?"
Deedran nodded eagerly. "I'm positive they still are!"
"Good. Get them in here. You guys can start working on rebuilding the rest of the generator while Trance and I get the photonic resonator finished. I figure that'll save us an hour or two."
"I'll summon them right away!" The Professor suited action to words, and hurried out of the lab, leaving Harper and Trance with the Assistant Professor.
"I've taken the liberty to assemble the materials you'll need to build a new photonic resonator," she told Harper as she showed him what she had gathered. "I'll be happy to help you in any way I can!"
"Why, thank you," Harper said with exaggerated enthusiasm. "I may refrain from smacking you yet. Trance, let's get to work."
There was no response.
He turned to see Trance lying face down on the floor. He hurried over and knelt beside her. "She's out cold," he told the Assistant Professor. He tried to shake Trance, but there was no response.
"Is she unconscious?"
"She's asleep. But that could be worse than being unconscious right now." After several attempts, he managed to pick her up and carry her to one of the chairs. He set her down gently, then turned back to the waiting Perseid. "Come on, we don't have much time left. We've got to get this thing finished."
