a pigtail and put the end in her mouth, sucking on it.
“I dunno. Maybe in the bathroom.”
Wes leaned forward. None of the others had mentioned finding a bathroom.
“There was a mirror in the bathroom?” Elizabeth asked.
“I dunno,” Anita said. “Maybe. I can’t see that high.”
“Okay, Anita. You said there was no way off the ship. Have you ever thought of jumping over the side?” Monica asked.
Anita’s mother reached over and took the pigtail out of the little girl’s mouth. Unconsciously, Anita’s right hand put her other pigtail in.
“It’s pretty far,” Anita said.
“It’s only a dream,” Monica said. “You wouldn’t get hurt.”
“If I jump will the dream go away?” Anita wanted to know.
Monica looked to Wes and Elizabeth, then said, “No, but it might help us figure out a way to stop the dream.”
Anita put her head down and said, “I’d be too scared.”
Elizabeth walked over and sat next to her on the sofa. With her arm around Anita’s shoulders, she said, “Would you be too scared if I went with you?”
Anita looked up, hopeful but confused.
“Jump off the ship with me?” Anita said. “You’ll be in my dream?”
“Yes, I’ll jump with you,” Elizabeth said, looking at Wes.
“I don’t know,” Wes started, remembering the disaster that had resulted the last time he integrated multiple minds. Then he saw Anita and her mother staring at him, the mother’s eyes pleading, the little girl’s hopeful look coming from eyes that hadn’t had a normal night’s rest in months.
“All right, we’ll try,” he said.
Elizabeth smiled triumphantly.
With her mother’s permission, Anita spent the night in the university’s sleep lab, wearing a nightgown covered with pink bunnies and one of Wes’s scalp caps while her brain waves were broadcast through fiber optic cables to the computer with the supercooled processor. At the corner of her eyes were tiny sensors that would pick up muscle contractions indicating eye
movement. Len, Wes, and Shamita were at their terminals, Monica looking over Wes’s shoulder. Elizabeth sat on the edge of her cot, scalp cap in place, waiting her turn.
It wasn’t a full mind meld since they needed only to let Anita’s brain dream for both of them, but Wes was nervous, having pushed the envelope of neuroscience before and paid the price for it.
“That’s one tired little girl,” Len said. “Her alpha waves are desynchronizing land we have six cps.”
“Cps?” Monica questioned.
“Cycles per second,” Wes explained. “Alpha waves characterize relaxation. When they slow and desynchronize, you are in light sleep. If Anita follows a normal sleep pattern her brain waves will continue to slow, and then we’ll get sleep spindles—bursts of electrical activity.”
“There we go,” Len said a few minutes later, “our first spindle—fourteen cps.”
Monica left Wes to stand behind Len, who was monitoring Anita while Shamita mapped Elizabeth’s brain.
“I knew I’d interest you eventually,” Len said to Monica.
“Your monitor interests me,” Monica said.
“Yeah. My monitor is bigger than Wes’s.”
“Quiet, you’ll wake Anita,” Shamita scolded.
“I don’t think a bomb would wake that little girl,” Len said, whispering now. “I’ve got fifty percent delta waves at two cps and it looks like she’s cycling back up to light sleep. We should get rapid eye movement any second now.” Then a minute later he said, “I’ve got REM sleep—she’s dreaming.”
Elizabeth lay down, while Wes called up her brain wave pattern, waiting while she settled into a comfortable position. In a minute Len indicated that he had clear physiological readings on both subjects. As usual Shamita took longer, processing more slowly, making fewer errors but using more time.
“Frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital, all clear and nominal,” Shamita said finally.
“Elizabeth, we’re going to put you under now,” Wes told
“I dunno. Maybe in the bathroom.”
Wes leaned forward. None of the others had mentioned finding a bathroom.
“There was a mirror in the bathroom?” Elizabeth asked.
“I dunno,” Anita said. “Maybe. I can’t see that high.”
“Okay, Anita. You said there was no way off the ship. Have you ever thought of jumping over the side?” Monica asked.
Anita’s mother reached over and took the pigtail out of the little girl’s mouth. Unconsciously, Anita’s right hand put her other pigtail in.
“It’s pretty far,” Anita said.
“It’s only a dream,” Monica said. “You wouldn’t get hurt.”
“If I jump will the dream go away?” Anita wanted to know.
Monica looked to Wes and Elizabeth, then said, “No, but it might help us figure out a way to stop the dream.”
Anita put her head down and said, “I’d be too scared.”
Elizabeth walked over and sat next to her on the sofa. With her arm around Anita’s shoulders, she said, “Would you be too scared if I went with you?”
Anita looked up, hopeful but confused.
“Jump off the ship with me?” Anita said. “You’ll be in my dream?”
“Yes, I’ll jump with you,” Elizabeth said, looking at Wes.
“I don’t know,” Wes started, remembering the disaster that had resulted the last time he integrated multiple minds. Then he saw Anita and her mother staring at him, the mother’s eyes pleading, the little girl’s hopeful look coming from eyes that hadn’t had a normal night’s rest in months.
“All right, we’ll try,” he said.
Elizabeth smiled triumphantly.
With her mother’s permission, Anita spent the night in the university’s sleep lab, wearing a nightgown covered with pink bunnies and one of Wes’s scalp caps while her brain waves were broadcast through fiber optic cables to the computer with the supercooled processor. At the corner of her eyes were tiny sensors that would pick up muscle contractions indicating eye
movement. Len, Wes, and Shamita were at their terminals, Monica looking over Wes’s shoulder. Elizabeth sat on the edge of her cot, scalp cap in place, waiting her turn.
It wasn’t a full mind meld since they needed only to let Anita’s brain dream for both of them, but Wes was nervous, having pushed the envelope of neuroscience before and paid the price for it.
“That’s one tired little girl,” Len said. “Her alpha waves are desynchronizing land we have six cps.”
“Cps?” Monica questioned.
“Cycles per second,” Wes explained. “Alpha waves characterize relaxation. When they slow and desynchronize, you are in light sleep. If Anita follows a normal sleep pattern her brain waves will continue to slow, and then we’ll get sleep spindles—bursts of electrical activity.”
“There we go,” Len said a few minutes later, “our first spindle—fourteen cps.”
Monica left Wes to stand behind Len, who was monitoring Anita while Shamita mapped Elizabeth’s brain.
“I knew I’d interest you eventually,” Len said to Monica.
“Your monitor interests me,” Monica said.
“Yeah. My monitor is bigger than Wes’s.”
“Quiet, you’ll wake Anita,” Shamita scolded.
“I don’t think a bomb would wake that little girl,” Len said, whispering now. “I’ve got fifty percent delta waves at two cps and it looks like she’s cycling back up to light sleep. We should get rapid eye movement any second now.” Then a minute later he said, “I’ve got REM sleep—she’s dreaming.”
Elizabeth lay down, while Wes called up her brain wave pattern, waiting while she settled into a comfortable position. In a minute Len indicated that he had clear physiological readings on both subjects. As usual Shamita took longer, processing more slowly, making fewer errors but using more time.
“Frontal, temporal, parietal, occipital, all clear and nominal,” Shamita said finally.
“Elizabeth, we’re going to put you under now,” Wes told
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