“I don’t understand. If it keeps us in a sleep state then how will we be able to come out of it?” Zoë asks.
“The herbal remedy will only effect you for the first eight to twelve hours. It basically ensures that you have time to fully enter yourself into your travels. After that point, your body will continue on its own.”
“What if something goes wrong? What if we are captured?” I ask.
“We have a way to monitor your brain activity,” Dr. Edwards explains. “You will have several small patches that will adhere to your scalp. Those patches will receive electrical-like transmissions from your brain, very much like an EEG. Our computer system will be able to interpret the information and tell us if you are in some type of advanced distress. Should the distress elevate to a dangerous point, we do have a way to wake you up. It is not the most pleasant of ways and it is very stressful on your body. We will do everything we can to avoid using it, but please understand that your safety is our utmost concern.”
I interrupt. “This entire mission that we are going on is likely to be full of distress. If you are going to be pulling us out of our walk when we are about to reach our goal, how will we ever complete it?”
“The distress call that your brain waves will emit is not simply a ‘there is danger near’ call. It is more like your main bodily functions—breathing, heartbeat—are in danger of shutting down; your brain stem is nearing failure. If we can wake you up before it reaches that extreme level, we may be able to save you. But there are many factors that it is dependent upon.”
“So if we die on this walk, that’s it? We die in real life too?” Zoë asks.
“We will do everything to prevent that from happening, but I cannot lie to you. It is extremely likely, yes.”
I had never really given much thought to the connection between dying on a walk and dying in my physical body. On any walk I have ever taken, I had always steered clear of danger. Now, I am walking right into it with reckless abandon.
“Ah, look at the time,” Dr. Milton exclaims. “I must be getting Miss Owens and Miss Carver to their dressing rooms in preparation for tonight’s gala. We shall see you at dinner this evening, Dr. Edwards. Thank you for your time this afternoon.”
“My pleasure. I look forward to seeing you ladies this evening.”
“Wait, that’s it? I have so many more questions, we can’t be done already—”
“Miss Carver, I assure you that you are in the best of hands. There will be time tomorrow after your physical for more questions. Right now, you have other business to attend to.”
I muster up as much of a smile as I am capable of for Dr. Edwards. “Thank you for the information and your honesty.”
“You’re welcome, Miss Owens.”
“Please call me Emma.”
“You’re welcome, Emma.” Elation sweeps across her face as she calls me by my first name. I am overwhelmed by the uneasy feeling I have as the reality of how important I am to these people sets in.
Dr. Milton leads us out of the pod room through the same door we entered, but this time we head down a different corridor. He begins giving us mundane details of the gala that we will be attending this evening.
I have a difficult time listening to him blabber on about menu choices and who will be in attendance, but I manage to catch a few words here and there just in case I need to remember them later. I stop dead in my tracks when I hear a dreaded phrase escape his mouth. “Did you just say that I'll need to stand up in front of everyone and speak?”
“Yes, of course. Is that a problem?”
“I’m not much of a public speaker. And I have no idea what to say.”
“This entire facility was constructed because of the promise of your arrival, Miss Owens. Every person who has dedicated his or her life and career to us has done so because of that same promise. But I suppose our speech writers can come up with something for you if you feel uninspired by your surroundings and your upcoming epic journey.”
I feel put in my place.
“There are people here who have been waiting their entire lives for this moment. I hardly think a few moments