1

July 20, 2025
10:35 a.m.
Antarctica

She woke with a start, the pale artificial sunlight seeping in through her eyelids. She had slept better than usual, but still not well. Her head ached. She looked down at Julia curled up on the floor, envious of the youthful glow she maintained even in slumber. Stepping into her slippers, she shuffled out through the doorway. She peeked into William’s room, sure she would catch him snoozing, but all she saw was an empty cot. She quickly concluded that he must have fallen asleep on the couch again. It was only as she began to wander toward the lab that a terrible thought crossed her mind. Her pace hastened as she considered the other reasons he might not be in his room. She pulled open the red door and burst into the lab.

There he was, sitting and smiling like he had been waiting for her. “Good morning, Emery.”

“Hi, William.” She was relieved to see him alive, but something felt amiss. “What are you doing up so early?”

He laughed warmly, his eyes aglow with raving jubilance. “Based on your face, I think you might have already guessed.”

“You... no, you couldn’t have... no...” She faltered, searching for words, unable to process the reality of the situation.

He stood up and put his hand on her shoulder. “We did it, Em. It works.”

She shook her head. “You didn’t... how... no...”

“I did, and I survived! Made it through without a scratch!” He jumped in the air and kicked his feet together like a leprechaun.

Feeling a sudden rush of gratitude that he had not died, she embraced him, her arms wrapping tightly around his torso. A moment later, she pushed away as she remembered the possible ramifications of his actions. She slapped him across the face, wiping away his grin for at least a moment. “How could you be so stupid?!”

He rubbed his jaw as the smile returned to his lips. “What? I’m still standing here, the pooch is still fine. It worked! Your algorithm made it possible!”

Her eyes narrowed as she leaned into him. “I told you, we were nowhere near ready. You trust my algorithm, but you couldn’t trust me? I knew you were rash, but I didn’t think you were completely and utterly senseless! You have no idea what will happen to you now! You jeopardized the entire project!”

She had not noticed Julia walk through the door, blinking the sleep from her eyes as she wandered into the lab. When the tirade had ended, Julia approached the two doctors hesitantly.

“I heard yelling. What happened?”

William hid his ardor under a sly, affable simper. “Good morning, Phillips. How did you sleep?”

“I slept fine. What happened?”

He paused for a moment, letting the tension build as he took a breath. “I went through.”

Julia erupted in a blind fury. “How could you do that?!” She smacked him, her eyes watering, her glasses fogging up from the heat of her face. “You are so stupid!”

She continued to thrash at him, throwing her arms like a petulant child. The blows grew weaker until eventually she crumbled, her wrath subsiding into tender fondness. “You are so stupid,” she repeated softly, now clutching the sleeve of his coat.

He held her hand in his as he looked into her eyes. “It worked. I’m fine. You don’t need to worry.” He pulled her close, holding her head against his chest. “I’m still here.”

Alison could not help but roll her eyes at this maudlin sentimentality. “Give me a break,” she muttered under her breath. She never understood Julia’s affection for the man. She wondered if Julia herself understood it. She watched them cling to each other like twins in the womb and felt nothing but apathy.

As Julia’s tears subsided, she peered up at William with reverent curiosity.

“What?” he asked.

She blushed, her admiration so saccharine that Alison could barely stand it. “What did it feel like?”

“It felt like...” A puzzled look crossed his face. “It felt like death. Death, and rebirth.”

Julia swooned, almost fainting as she marveled at him with open-mouthed awe. That was enough for Alison.

“Just keep fawning over him like a teenager. I’m going to see if I can figure out what actually happened when the idiot went through.”

William chuckled. “I know what happened. I went in in one piece, and I came out in one piece. What more do you need to know?”

Alison was already walking over to her workstation. “I’m still not sure we aren’t missing anything. I’m going to check exactly what went in and what came out.”

She fell into her chair and logged onto her computer. Adrenaline cleared her head as she dove into the data, carefully scrutinizing each point with half-spiteful, half-fearful intent. She almost wanted him to have made a mistake; she wanted to know that her caution had been the correct approach. On the other hand, deep down she knew she would miss him if he disintegrated. Whatever her motivation, she was rigorous in her examination. After a few hours, she was ready to report her findings.

She strolled over to the common area, where she found William and Julia basking in the glory of their assumed victory. She also found Sam, sitting on the floor in the corner. They must have told him what had happened. He watched her expectantly as she approached, terrified of what she might have found.

He stood up, shivering like a prospective student opening a decision letter from their top choice university. “So?”

She glanced at each member of the team, unsure how to deliver the news. She decided she might as well just say it. “Everything checked out.”

Sam gave a huge sigh of relief while the other two cheered. William looked about as smug as she had ever seen him. “See? I told you.”

She shook her head. “I suppose you were right. If anything did go wrong, there isn’t any evidence of it.”

Her doubt lingered, but she could not argue with the facts. Every molecule, every atom, every tiny bit of him had made it through to the other side. Nothing of William’s physical form had been left behind. She looked at him in a new way; this man who had become data, who had traveled through electricity, who had been reincarnated as new matter. She found it difficult to believe that he was the same person, but she did not doubt that he had all the same parts.

William caught her staring at him, completely enraptured as she contemplated the implications of his survival. “You believe me now, don’t you?”

She snapped out of her trance in an instant. “I believe the evidence. It seems pretty irrefutable.”

He clapped his hands together. “Good. Are we ready to share our good news then?”

She nodded. The team stepped into the conference room and huddled around the computer as William pulled up the video-conferencing software. “Here we go!”

It took a few moments for Jorgensen to appear on the screen, his bald head shining under the warm light of his office. His eyes revealed a trace of irritation, but his tone was as amiable as ever. “Dr. Silberman! Do you have any idea what time it is here?”

William chuckled. “I barely have any idea what time it is here, let alone there. This couldn’t wait.”

Jorgensen popped an eyebrow. “Go on.”

“We sent a person through.”

Jorgensen froze, possibly due to the tremendously poor internet connection, possibly due to the impossible nature of what he had just heard. Soon he was back with them, a mix of anger and excitement emanating from his two-dimensional visage. “And?!”

William paused for a second as a sly smile crept across his face. “They survived the process completely unscathed.”

“Wonderful!” The screen resolution fell as Jorgensen applauded raucously. It was hard to tell, but Alison thought she saw him spin around in his chair. His cheers came through the speakers like electronic screams, collapsing into degradation as they traveled through miles and miles of space to reach the frozen continent.

After the initial celebration had passed, he pivoted. “When did this happen? Who did you send through? How?!”

Julia looked over at William with a heap of adoration. “It happened last night. Dr. Silberman made the maiden voyage.”

William took the third question. “It was really Dr. Emery’s algorithm that made it possible. We were able to capture every data point and send it successfully because of her.”

Alison could not help feeling a tinge of pride, muffled by her standard mountain of forced humility. “It was a team effort, really,” she added reticently.

Jorgensen was beside himself with joy. “Splendid! Marvelous work, all of you. Of course, this goes against every protocol, but what a remarkable job! Legal will have our heads for it, but no matter! Once they see what’s possible... no one will be able to stop us. The investors will be most pleased, most pleased...”

Alison squinted. “Investors? Since when do we have investors?”

“I was waiting for the right moment to tell you. Our funding has gone through the roof! We can move forward with a substantial expansion of the project now. Isn’t that magnificent?”

Her face went blank. “Funding from private investors.”

“We always knew that was an option,” William said. He never really cared about the funding, not like she did. He hardly even cared about the application of their research.

“Money’s money, right?” Jorgensen said dismissively. Alison tightened her hands into fists, doing her best to control her temper.

“We were going to use this technology to revolutionize public transportation and emergency medical services. That’s the whole reason I joined the team. Private investment completely shifts the focus from public good to profit!”

Jorgensen’s grin flattened into a blank veneer. “You need not worry yourself, Dr. Emery. Your focus is science, nothing more.”

She had to stop herself from storming out of the room. She glared at the screen, unable to formulate an appropriate response. Jorgensen continued, the facade of friendliness returning to his face. “Besides, this will lead to public good. In fact, it will probably lead to more good! The private investors can operate more efficiently and implement what people really want.”

Alison was silent. She knew it would not be worth debating him. She crossed her arms and looked away. William laughed awkwardly and responded in her stead. “Sounds like it’s good news all around, then.”

“Indeed,” Jorgensen said. “I’m sure you’ll all be happy to come home and continue your work in a more comfortable setting.”

That was one point on which Alison could agree. The thought of going home was almost enough to make her forget the new purpose of their work. The edges of her lips curled into a curt expression of empty congeniality. “Yes, thank you. Goodbye, Dr. Jorgensen.” She cut the call short in the middle of his farewell, still seething as his picture dissolved on the screen.

After a moment, Sam emerged from the background where he had been blending in with the furniture. “What does this mean for us?”

“Nothing,” said William. “We will continue with phase three of the project, as intended.”

The tension from the call lingered as the group stood in silence. Alison contemplated her role in the project, her ability to carry on with her work. She was unable to imagine leaving the team, but she was also unable to imagine staying on it. As she questioned her future, she heard a knock on the door that broke her concentration. Sam lumbered over and opened it, letting Smirk into the room.

“Hey everybody, I just wanted to check on ya and see how things were going in here,” he said, his demeanor sobering as he scanned the room and observed the team’s uneasiness.

William smiled at him. “Everything is going well, thank you.”

In spite of herself, Julia could not contain her excitement. Her eyes lit up as she prattled on like a boy band fan. “Dr. Silberman went through and survived! The first human to ever do it! Can you believe it?”

Her enthusiasm must have been contagious, because Smirk looked even more thrilled than she did. “That’s amazing!”

Alison scoffed. “Yes, quite amazing.”

“Wow! The first human to telep-,” he caught himself, “to travel electronically, and I know him!” He went around the room and high-fived each of them. “Great job, everybody. So, what’s next?”

“It looks like we’ll be leaving you a little sooner than we anticipated,” said William, almost wistfully.

Smirk’s eyes fell for a split-second, but in an instant he was back to his chipper self. “That figures. No one stays here long. I bet you’re glad to head back to warmth and daylight, huh?”

The group consensus was clear; they were glad to go home, but it would be bittersweet to say goodbye.

“We’re going to miss you,” said Alison. The team nodded along in agreement. Each of them hugged him, one by one, some showing more emotion than others. Julia bawled, Sam wept softly, William’s eyes shimmered with budding tears. Alison managed to hold her own tears in like she always did. They all felt it. Part of it was Smirk, but a lot of it was everything else. They were sad and happy and excited and afraid, still processing all of it all at once.

William stepped forward to address the team with somber strength. They watched him reverently as he spoke. “Start packing. It’s time to begin planning for phase three.”

They went back to their rooms and gathered their things, the unknowable future stretching out before them.