Malign Effect

Chapter 3

I didn't get the chance to regain my wits before I was kicked out on my ass. Hospitals were as crowded then as they were in the 21st century, and they couldn't keep me in Huerta Memorial for long. There were always new patients coming in; since I wasn't actually injured, they'd needed my room sooner rather than later. Danvers had actually protested my eviction rather vehemently, to my astonishment and gratitude. He'd declared me 'his patient' and railed that I was 'in no shape to be thrown into another unfamiliar environment.'

The human tourist that was dying from a massive allergic reaction to dextro food ran roughshod over his arguments, though. Doc had still looked apologetic as I was ushered from my corner.

Of course, a deranged lunatic like myself wouldn't simply be thrown back out on the streets. Rather, I'd been transferred to another facility - one with a dedicated psych ward. I found myself in another windowless, white room, only this one didn't have a VI. I supposed I could always throw myself into the padded walls for fun if I got really bored.

I'd calmed down again during the ride over. While the men who'd picked me up were, in fact, wearing white coats, they didn't wrap me in a straightjacket. I'd been quietly escorted to a skycar, enjoyed a short flight to a different arm of the station, and then been just as quietly escorted to a nondescript care center where I'd been assigned a room and promptly fell asleep on my new, not-sticky bed.

Sometime after, I awoke from my blissfully dreamless sleep. The very first thing I'd done was attempt to activate a VI like the one at Huerta Memorial. My groan of disappointment was probably heard in the next room over. After that spectacular letdown, I had nothing to do but sit on my bed and think. It sucked massively.

That was because I had two conflicting sets of memories. The first and decidedly more prominent set was from the 21st century, on Earth. In this set, I'd gone through my schooling and dealt with all of the ridiculous challenges and insane life experiences that were typical for a student of the times, gathered several quirky friends for life, met my wife, eventually graduated from college with a degree in computer science and found my place in the chaotic world I lived in. Altogether, a normal but fulfilling life.

The second set, despite taking place in the far future, somehow managed to be more mundane. Again, I'd went through my schooling, only without the quirky teachers, crazy friends, and odd experiences. I'd kept to myself, focusing only on my studies. I moved from Earth when I finished high school to study at a prestigious college on the Citadel, majoring in computer science and engineering. In the process, I lost contact with my already distant parents, leaving me completely alone in the universe. After college, I made a living off of freelance work, making enough of a name for myself to live comfortably, if not extravagantly.

As I sat on that bed in my padded room, my mouth curled into a sneer. There was no way I could be so boring. Delving deeper into my future identity, I grew more disgusted. This man had no dreams. His goals were pathetic. His life was focused on the acquisition of material wealth. He worked only to expand his business so that he could have more credits. The meaninglessness of it nearly made me nauseous; that was when I realized that there was no way I could be that person. I could never be content with that existence.

The relief hit me so suddenly and heavily that I actually giggled out loud. I wasn't that man. Which, by process of elimination, meant that I was Tre Shaffer - from the 21st century. I nearly broke down crying again, but managed to settle for quiet, hysterical giggles instead.

I was real. I was fucking real. She was real. Nothing was ever going to take that from me again.

"Mr. Shaffer?" I glanced up at the sound of a voice. A white-garbed orderly stood in the doorway to my room, watching me carefully.

"Sorry," I said, "I didn't hear the hydraulics when you came in."

"Hydraulics?" he asked, professional caution melting into slight confusion.

"In the door. You know, whoosh?" I elaborated. He blinked at me.

"They're… magnetic, actually," he said. I tilted my head for a moment, sifting through memories before nodding.

"So they are," I chirped. My good mood must have seemed pretty strange to the poor guy. The grin on my face just grew wider; it was fun, watching people react to my eccentrics. He actually looked nervous for a second before that professional look came over his face again.

"The doctor's ready for you," he said, then gestured for me to follow him. A small ball of anxiety formed in my chest as I stood and walked behind him. I had to get out of here if I wanted to look for her, which meant convincing this doctor that I wasn't actually insane. I just set my shoulders and reinforced my smile before it could fall. It'd work out, because I wouldn't let it go any other way.

As we walked, I noted that there weren't many rooms in the area I'd been housed in. There was no way this wing housed regular patients, with so little living space. Maybe I wasn't supposed to be a long-term resident? The thought gave me a little more hope than I had before.

"This ward is for short-term patients, isn't it?" I asked. My voice nearly cracked. I was more anxious than I'd thought. The orderly gave me a practiced smile.

"You're right. Newcomers who aren't apparently violent are housed here until they're evaluated. After that, you'll either go through a court hearing or be allowed to leave," he explained. There was a short silence as I contemplated his words. At least I had a chance.

"Thanks," I finally said, "for saying more than you had to." He gave me an odd look for that one. We walked for some time without speaking again. It didn't take long for the quiet to unsettle me. It started to hit me that I was actually being isolated from the outside… well, galaxy. The feeling wasn't a nice one. I was relieved when someone finally interrupted it.

"Hey, Bro," she said, tapping my shoulder from behind. I actually jumped in surprise, I was so wrapped up in my nerves by that point. I laughed it off a second later, though, and turned around. My eyes found long, brunette hair and icy-grey irises. I was hit with the strongest feeling of déjà vu I'd ever experienced.

"Ee, you're not supposed to be here," the orderly scolded, putting himself between the two of us. His posture was tense - afraid, even - as he stared down at her. I wondered why.

"Relax," Ee said, brushing my hair from my face, "I'm not here to hurt him." The orderly spun back around.

"How did you do that?" he whispered, face paling. Ee ignored the question in favor of studying me. My breath quivered as I began to recognize her.

"You don't look right without your glasses," she told me, smiling. I pulled her into the tightest hug I could muster.

"DON'T! SHE'LL -" my escort cut himself off with a choking noise as she wrapped her arms around me and rested her head on my shoulder.

"I've missed you, Sis," I muttered into her hair. Her fingers bunched in my shirt, and she just nodded into my shoulder. I watched through half-lidded eyes as the orderly stumbled backward away from us.

"Her brother," he choked out, "You're her brother?!" Ee giggled into my ear.

"It's cute how they always get so scared, isn't it?" she asked. Before I could answer, she tore down the hallway at full tilt. It was all I could do not to lose my footing as she dragged me along by my wrist. A few short moments later, I was leaning against a wall and trying my damnedest to catch my breath. Ee just watched amusedly, arms folded over her chest.

"It'll be a little bit before they find us," she said, "I'm pretty hard to keep track of." I didn't have enough air in my aching lungs to answer yet, so I just nodded. She waited patiently.

"What'd you do to scare that guy so badly?" I asked. She snorted, pushing her bangs behind her ear.

"Hospitalized him," she answered. I just watched her expectantly. She started caving, like always.

"He was trying to force medicine on me! You know how I feel about medicine!" she tensed up like an angry cat. I just kept up the look. After a moment, her shoulders sagged and she chewed her lip, not meeting my eyes. I let my expression melt into concern. This wasn't normal.

"Look, I don't want to talk about what I really did, okay? There's more important stuff, anyway," she muttered. The anxiety in my chest came back in full force. Ee had never held anything back from me before. Of course, I'd never backed down when I was worried about her, either.

"You're not going to start this now," I said as evenly as I could. She jerked her head up, growling. I rolled my eyes.

"Tre, I'm serious, okay? This isn't some stupid teenage angst thing," she said. I set my shoulders, pushing off the wall to stand at my full height.

"I don't care. I can't help if I don't know, Sis," I told her.

"You couldn't help even if you did know," she countered, raising her voice. Her arms fell to her sides, fists clenched.

"Bullshit. I'll find a way. You know how this goes, Ee. All I have to do is keep trying until it works," I moved closer. She twitched, wanting to lash out, but she wouldn't. As soon as she realized that, she'd have to give in.

"You didn't help when they threw me into this place!" She screamed, glaring into my eyes. I almost flinched; she'd never screamed at me like that before. I pulled off a smile anyway and pulled her into another hug.

"I'm here now, okay?" I had her. I just had to remind her that she couldn't lose me. That was why we'd started calling each other by "Bro" and "Sis." We had each other's backs, no matter what. Right or wrong, we supported each other. There were no secrets, because we didn't need any. We were each other's safety zone. Unconditional friendship. Unconditional trust. We'd been through too much to care about petty things like mistakes.

Which is why it hurt so much when she tore out of my arms and left me alone in that hallway.


"Mr. Shaffer, are you okay?" my escort asked when he found me sitting against the wall. I laughed at that. I'd always had a bad habit of laughing at painful things, as if it made it more bearable somehow. It didn't.

"I'm fine," I sighed, pushing myself up. He started to move as if he wanted to help me, but stopped with a strange look on his face. I laughed again.

"Afraid of me too, now?" I asked, brushing dust off of my pants. He took a step back.

"Should I be?" he asked. I rolled my eyes. As if I could inspire fear in anyone.

"No. I've probably kept the good doctor waiting long enough, you agree?"


A/N: Ee isn't my wife, just to clarify. I just realized that I described them near-identically. Made a small change to help differentiate. Sorry about that.