Chapter 6
Six
Kass did not, in fact, message her later. Nor did he write her the following morning, even though Dani checked her quartzpad obsessively every three minutes. She wished she’d gotten his QID, too, but she’d been too caught up in the moment.
He invited you to his birthday party, she told herself in the afternoon as she made her way through the drizzly campus to the OS building. He wouldn’t have done that if he wasn’t interested.
Those thoughts fizzled from her brain when she found herself in front of Silva’s door once again, before the OneiroLabs interview.
She didn’t exactly feel prepared for the task ahead.
It was the promise of the remaining one hundred and fifty dollars that lifted her fist to the door—but she paused when she heard voices from the other side.
Who else had Silva invited to this little tête-à-tête?
“Come in,” Silva called when Dani finally worked up the courage to knock. She opened the door to see Oliver sitting in front of Silva’s desk. They gave her a friendly wave. “Close the door behind you, please, Miss Lionet.”
“What’s going on?” Dani asked as she obeyed.
“I decided I had to do something,” Oliver said. “NDA or no NDA, I just couldn’t take it anymore. So I followed your advice and came to Professor Silva.”
“And I’m glad you did,” Silva said. “You shouldn’t have to go through this alone. OneiroLabs abandoned you, knowing full well what they were doing. I shudder to think how many other people walked away from that trial with the wires crossed in their brain.”
Dani wifted to the vacant chair next to Oliver and perched on the edge. “Do you think everyone who did the study is having the same side effects?”
“I don’t know,” Oliver said. “I can only speak for myself, and—and it’s bad.
” They glanced at Silva, who gave them an encouraging nod.
Oliver turned toward Dani and addressed her straight on.
“I told you at the café that I’ve been getting trapped in my dreams. That was putting it lightly.
They’re the most vivid nightmares I’ve ever had.
They start out like a normal day, but then get twisted fast. It’s different every time, but usually ends with shadow creatures coming out of the walls, demons possessing my siblings, shit like that.
It’s like something out of a horror movie, or a video game I can’t control. ”
Silva snorted. “Ironic, considering that the whole point of the product is to control your dreams.”
“For real,” Oliver said. “The only time the product worked for me was the night I took it. My dream was pretty cool at first, I’m not going to lie.
I was exploring this city that looked a lot like ancient Rome—I don’t know if that came from my subconscious or if it’s baked into the product.
I could go where I wanted in the city for a while.
Then I lost control, and they brought me out of it.
Their lab assistant said I wasn’t a good candidate for the full trial and sent me home.
My dreams started going wonky, like, two days later. ”
“How long ago was that?” Dani asked.
Oliver closed one eye as they calculated. “I signed up as soon as I saw the flyer around the beginning of the month. They called me after less than a week. I wish I had given it a little more thought, but I didn’t want to miss my chance in case they had too much interest.”
“It isn’t your fault,” Silva said with an edge that clearly wasn’t meant for them. “It should have been a safe environment for you, no matter how much thought you put into it.”
“Exactly.” Dani paused. “So how do you wake up when you’re in one of the dreams?”
“My roommate Sadie managed to wake me up the first couple of times,” Oliver said.
“But it’s been getting progressively worse.
She had to call campus security one night because I broke the window in our room while I was sleeping.
They took me to the clinic, and the doctors had to wake me with a spell.
They did a scan of my brain, but they couldn’t see anything and said it was probably stress.
Or that I could try a sleep specialist, which I can’t afford.
They tried to call my brother, but I didn’t want to bother him, so I—” Oliver cut themself off as a trickle of blue crept into, then retreated from, Dani’s mind. “So here I am.”
“Hecate’s bones,” Dani said, shaken. That could have so easily been her if she’d never spoken to Silva. “That’s pretty fucked up.”
“Yeah. So I can only nap for about an hour at a time, and I have to set, like, a thousand alarms to wake up even then. Sadie’s been super nice about it, but I know it’s been rough for her, too.”
“No wonder you don’t want to sleep,” Dani said.
“It’s genuinely awful,” Oliver said, “and I’m scared if it keeps getting worse, I’ll have to drop out and move back home.”
“This might be a silly question,” Dani said, “but have you told OneiroLabs what’s going on?” She glanced at Silva. “I mean, what if they just don’t know?”
“I tried,” Oliver said. “I called the number on the flyer and left a voicemail that was never returned. Then I messaged a customer service address I found online. I got a reply that quoted the details of the waiver I signed and reminded me of the NDA. I didn’t read the fine print,” they said, embarrassed, “but basically it says they aren’t responsible and could sue the shit out of me if I say anything. ”
“Typical legal protections,” Silva said, “though highly unethical. From what I understand, Miss Lionet, they are well aware of what’s going on, and perfectly comfortable abdicating responsibility for it.”
“So can you help Oliver?” Dani asked the professor. “Can you make their nightmares go away?”
Silva shook her head. “I can make a charm that may soften the intensity of the dreams, but a true antidote isn’t possible without knowing the poison, so to speak. That’s what we’re setting out to learn,” she said to Oliver. “We’re going to figure out how to fix this. Prometto.”
“Thanks,” Oliver said. “It’s really good to know I’m not alone.” They smiled at Dani wearily.
“In exchange for our help,” Silva said, “Mx. Izumi has agreed to assist us with our endeavor this afternoon.”
“You mean you’re coming with me on the tour?” Dani asked Oliver. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Not that I don’t want you to. It’s just—could it violate your NDA, or something?”
“I don’t think so,” Oliver said. “Even if someone recognizes me, I won’t say anything about the trial, and I doubt they’ll want to bring it up, either.
” Apparently noticing her skepticism, they added, “I want to do it. I don’t know how to tell you exactly how much this sucks.
And I’m sure I’m not the only person who really needs a cure right now.
I’d like to help those people, too, if I can. ”
“Which is precisely what we’re here to do today,” Silva said. She cleared her throat. “Mx. Izumi has been able to answer one of my questions already—the product doesn’t exist in pill form, like DreamRite or DreamLite.”
“It was a little potion,” Oliver said. “It tasted like cotton candy that had blood in it.”
“Gross,” Dani said, wrinkling her nose.
“The best information you could get is what ingredients have gone into the formula, but that may prove difficult. It would help to know more about what’s going on with the trials, too.
Here, I’ve come up with a list of questions for you to ask.
” Silva handed a slim notebook to Dani and checked her watch.
“Your car will be arriving at any moment. It’ll bring you straight back here when you’re done and we can debrief.
Then I’ll give you your payment. Any last questions? ”
Dani and Oliver both shook their heads.
“Excellent,” the professor said. “Good luck, and remember—this is for the greater good.”