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January 11, 2026
3:29 p.m.
Cambridge, MA

She darted up the carpeted stairs, clearing two steps with every stride. When she reached the third floor, she paused for a moment to catch her breath. There was so much urgency in the journey to her destination, but now that she had arrived, she hesitated. The dark green door stood before her like the edge of a cliff. She inhaled deeply, attempting to clear her mind as she rapped on the heavy wood three times.

“One second!” his muffled voice rang through the hallway. She heard him shuffling around inside. A few seconds later, the dull brass doorknob began to rattle. The door flew open to reveal William, slouching in his bathrobe, his unkempt hair expanding out in all directions.

“Emery!” he beamed at her, standing up a little straighter. “What a pleasant surprise. Come in, come in.”

“Thank you.” She shuffled past him into the sparsely appointed apartment. Empty cans and bags lined the hardwood floor, no doubt organized by some strange logic. His two pieces of furniture, an old leather couch and a TV stand, rested cheerlessly on opposite sides of the room.

“What brings you to my humble residence this afternoon?” he inquired, grabbing an orange mug and filling it from an energy drink can. He took a seat on the worn leather and invited Alison to join.

She sat down next to him on the edge of the cushion, fidgeting, unsure how to begin. She had rehearsed the words on the train ride over, but they vanished from her mind as she looked into his eyes. “I... I have something I need to tell you...”

“What?” he chuckled lightly. “Come on Emery, out with it!”

She grabbed his left hand with her right, squeezing it tightly. Her face was hard as stone, her gaze quickly oscillating between the two black pupils of his eyes. “The data transfer process...” She inhaled, centering herself. “Sam and I discovered a malfunction in the data transfer process. The deep scan does not fully capture the subject.”

William laughed, a cold, cocksure laugh. “Don’t be silly, Em. At this point, we’ve tested the thing a hundred times. It works!”

“I am not being silly.” She tightened her grip on his hand. “It does not work.”

He rolled his eyes, pulling his hand away from hers. “Alright, I’ll humor you. What did you find?”

“We were able to see beyond the four dimensions of our reality. Particles in superposition, only measurable in quantum space. We scanned a mouse and detected extraplanar energy within it.” She pulled the visualization disk out of her purse and turned it on. The red mouse floated up from the bottom, one yellow point shimmering near its eyes.

“After the mouse travelled through the system, the energy was gone.” She pressed another button, and the yellow light disappeared.

William scoffed. “Preposterous. The only malfunction there is your scanning operation, picking up noise. It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. We ran Wilbur through, too.”

“And? What did you see?”

“There was no signal from the quantum particles during intake. Nothing. Any extradimensional energy he may have had was removed the first time he went through.”

He shook his head. “No. You must be mistaken. Anything you saw must have been a fluke.”

Alison dug her fingernails into her palms, trying to keep herself from screaming. “How can you say that? You are a man of science. You must know there is more to life than that which we can measure in our universe. We know it exists... I have glimpsed it! Just because we cannot understand it completely does not mean it does not exist!”

William did not seem convinced. “So you’re saying our physicalist approach was wrong?”

“Maybe our definition of physical reality was wrong.”

He ground his teeth, sneering. “Alright, say you’re right. Some super-physical non-matter is lost during the transfer process. What’s the harm? I assume that mouse you sent through survived. I’m sure Wilbur is still hopping along happily. I know I am still here, more alive than ever. What does it matter?”

She looked away from him. This was the part she had been afraid to say. “I think that super-physical non-matter is more important than you may believe.”

“What’s your theory?”

She paused. “I think it is life itself. I think it is awareness.”

He laughed aggressively, his demeanor completely devoid of levity. “Preposterous. Completely preposterous. You’re telling me that I am not alive? Wilbur is not alive?”

Tears dabbed her eyelashes. “I don’t know. I’m not sure.”

“You don’t know? Come on, Emery. Don’t be stupid. He still breathes, does he not? His heart still pumps blood, does it not? He must be alive.”

She hung her head, frustration bubbling in her chest. “You really want to hear what I think?”

He nodded, and she continued.

“He’s as alive as a robotic vacuum cleaner or an animatronic pirate. He’s the same rabbit he always was... but he has no perception.”

William exhaled snidely. “But if he can’t perceive anything, how does he see and hear?”

“He still senses, and responds to stimulus, just like any rabbit would, but no part of him is actually experiencing what happens in his brain. He still has thoughts; his neurons still fire, the chemicals still react; but there is no actual awareness. He has feelings but does not feel them. He has lost his consciousness.”

William rolled his eyes. “I guess that means you think I’ve lost my consciousness too, then?”

She looked away, saying nothing.

“How could you possibly believe that?” he snickered. “I’m right here in front of you. I am alive. I am experiencing life. I think, therefore I am, right?”

She stared into the middle distance, her whole body shaking. “You think, but is there anything there to listen to those thoughts?”

The question lingered in her mind. She wanted to believe that there was something there, that William was more alive than ever, but she could not. She wiped a tear from her cheek.

“Completely preposterous. Of course there is something there to listen to those thoughts. Me!” He shook his head. “I can’t listen to this anymore. Please, just go.” He stood up and gestured to the door with his arm, liquid spilling out of his mug.

At that, Alison’s emotions overtook her. She leapt off the couch and came within an inch of his face. Staring at him, red-cheeked, openly weeping, she said nothing. She reached out her arm and ripped the ceramic cup from his hand, gripping the handle tightly.

“This is you,” she said through clenched teeth, holding it up between them for a long moment, her hand shaking. As she saw his eyes lock onto it, she flung it as hard as she could onto the floor. Pieces flew in all directions, liquid splashing both of their legs as it exploded beneath them.

William fell back, his hands lifted in defense. Alison inhaled and exhaled heavily, her chest expanding and contracting. She looked at the shards on the ground.

“You can put this mug back together. You can reassemble it, piece-by-piece. You can perfectly place each and every part and stick them back where they belong. You may even be able to drink out of it again. But it has changed, inalterably. Something will always be missing. It will never be the same mug.” She blinked. “You will never be the same man.”

William clutched his forehead, scanning the floor with wide eyes. “That was my favorite mug!” He dropped to his knees and began collecting the wet remnants.

Alison hung her head, her rage subsiding. “I’m sorry, William. I just need you to understand. This is real.”

He scoffed and looked up at her. “If this is real...” He looked back down. “Dozens of people have gone through. I’ve gone through, several times. It’s too late already.”

“It’s not too late for the thousands of others lining up to die.”

“Die?” He stood up and glared directly into her eyes. “I am not dead.”

“Come on William, think about it. Take yourself out of the equation. Isn’t it worth more research at least?”

“What’s the point? It’s too late.”

“I thought you would care a little more about the technology you created. I guess I was wrong.”

His eyes fell back to the floor. “Even if I did believe you... there’s nothing I can do. Everything is already in motion. The public launch is in two days.”

“Two days?!” She flexed her arm muscles, attempting to control the fear and ire coursing through her arteries. “Well, if you’re not willing to help, I’ll go to Jorgensen. Maybe he’ll actually listen to what I’m saying.”

“I doubt you’ll be met with a warm reception. But go ahead, see what he thinks of your little discovery.”

She looked at him blankly, all of her energy evaporated. He stared back at her. They lingered there for a moment, watching each other breathe. Finally, Alison broke the silence. “Goodbye, William.”

Swiftly, quietly, she turned and made her way to the exit. Without looking back, she shuffled out into the hallway and closed the door softly. As she stepped down the stairs, she heard the lock click behind her.