同章对照

Psychos had been a fact of life for fifteen years.

Ryan had visited hundreds, if not thousands of communities through his long existence, and almost all of them shared the same tales. Maddened monsters attacking them at night, mutants hiding in sewers, raiders attacking their Genome defenders, or fools trying to imitate Augustus only to come up short.

Psychos had collectively killed the courier many times, coming in as a close second behind traffic accidents. His adoptive father Bloodstream had caused his very first death, and it still gave Ryan headaches to remember it.

Nobody could imagine a world without Psychos...

Until today.

The refurbished laboratory of Station Orpheon was far lighter and warmer than the Alchemist’s, with white walls, glowing bars in the ceiling casting a pleasing light, and the sweet, sweet smell of morning coffee permeating the air. Ryan’s host of Geniuses, namely Shortie, Alchemo, and Stitch, had gathered behind control panels and thrumming computers. Meanwhile, the Panda happily cleaned up a large vat in the northern corner of the room with a sanitizer.

All were gearing up for an experiment that might change the world’s face forever, though their patient lacked their enthusiasm.

“I don’t want to go inside,” sweet Sarin grumbled at Ryan’s side, arms crossed. “Find another way, nerd.”

“There isn’t,” Ryan replied. Truth be told, nothing guaranteed that the operation would work at all. Even though they had copied the Alchemist’s research data before destroying her base, the group didn’t have her wealth of alien technology. “Come on, you fought aliens and you’re afraid of a glass tube?”

Instead of blasting him where he stood, Sarin let out a grunt. “It’s not the vat,” she said. “It’s…”

“Getting out of that suit?” Ryan guessed, avoiding any joke or jab. The woman had suffered for years from her condition, never feeling anything nor experiencing joy. Taunting her on that front, especially now, would feel like kicking a cancer patient.

Sarin shook her head. “Doesn’t matter.”

“You wouldn’t bring this up if it didn’t,” Ryan replied. “You know, I’m a certified therapist and I’ve seen everything. I’m here if you need an ear.”

“I ain’t like your princess,” Sarin scoffed. “I don’t need a white knight. You think I’m that weak?”

“I don’t think you’re weak, just alone.” Though the Psycho didn’t answer, Ryan could tell from her posture that he had nailed it. “And even that is a thing of the past. I mean, we had a good time raiding drug churches, exploring new continents, freeing the government from both the reptilians and the Illuminati...”

“It was nice,” the Psycho agreed, looking away at the Geniuses toiling away behind their computers. “And you’re following up with your promise, which is more I can say from Adam. You ain’t a fink.”

“See?” Ryan decided to share some wisdom accumulated over centuries of time travel. “If you keep all your feelings for yourself, you’re never going to get over your fears and neuroses. Either you become more open with others, or you need to blow off steam. If you want to follow the latter path, I would suggest bullying Ghoul.”

“I would rather hit Adam,” Sarin replied, before raising her hands and moving her fingers. The movements were unnatural, gas pushing cloth from the inside. “Every time I get out of my suit, I fear getting scattered to the winds. Stretching for miles, feeling my mind slip away with the distance. You can’t imagine how it feels, nerd.”

“No, I can’t,” the courier admitted. “Though you already left your suit behind once, when we made an FBI raid on Ischia.”

“I know that the experiment is as safe as it can be around you.” Sarin sighed. “But I still feel weak, and I hate it.”

Ryan crossed his arms, meditated on what to say next, and then uttered a single word.

“Bianca?”

Sarin bristled at her true name being spoken, as if she had forgotten it.

“Being vulnerable is... never easy,” Ryan said, trying to find the right words. “Especially not with others. After building strong and thick walls around ourselves, it’s difficult to tear them down.”

Sarin snickered. “Easy for you to say, Mr. Time-Traveler.”

“It’s not as perfect a crutch as it seems.”

At this point, Ryan had decided to fully come clean to everyone not in the know yet among his group. Sarin had been the first, but the courier hoped to have a discussion with Felix and especially Mr. Wave. The former already suspected something was up, and the latter…

Ryan owed him much more than his love of cashmere.

“You know, when Livia and I…” Ryan took a deep breath, before speaking his mind. “I was scared of her, at first. Very few things scared me since I got my power, but she topped all of them. She could remember.”

“She could kill you for good,” Sarin guessed. “Throw her daddy at you?”

“That and worse.” Ryan shuddered at what Livia could have done, if she had taken more after her thunderous father. “For the first time in many, many years, I had to be honest with someone that wasn’t my best friend. Like a bear cornered in his cave. It was… it was difficult. I mean, yeah, now she’s my First Lady, but she could have easily been my Lee Harvey Oswald too.”

“Who?” Sarin asked, showing an absolute lack of culture.

That inane question was proof that anyone could become Ryan’s vice-president these days, which he took as a badge of honor. The courier prided himself on his government’s inclusivity.

“All of this to say that it took me a while to trust Livia, and even longer to feel at ease around her,” the courier explained his point. “We struggled to conquer our fear of the other, but in the end, it was worth it. All the pain and the fear led to something better. Do you see my point?”

“No.”

“Oh well, then you’re on your own.”

Sarin chuckled. “Seriously, I get it,” she said. “That day is going to make all the efforts and struggle worth it. Maybe I’ll get diabetes with my new body.”

“Genomes can’t develop diabetes,” Ryan said absentmindedly.

“My life has been a long string of frustration and disappointments, smartass.” He could almost taste the bitterness in his ally’s voice. “Even before Adam. Each time I hope it will change, and I’m always left disappointed.”

“Not anymore. Taking that leap of faith might sound hard, but it will be rewarding.”

“Really?” she asked. “You know, I agreed to follow you on this stupid mission because part of me hoped that the Alchemist had a plan for us. That what I went through had a purpose. Well, as it turned out, I was just experimental junk.”

“That’s the thing with life, we have no purpose, and we are completely free,” Ryan said. “Free to change, and live as we want.”

“You know what’s the worst part, nerd?” Sarin asked with sorrow. “I’ve spent so much time looking for a cure, I’m not sure what I will do with my life if your idea works.”

“You could start with community service. You worked with Adam for years, so you’ve got a lot to answer for.”

“I’ll leave the Circus to the explosion brat.” Sarin glanced at the vat, seeing her gas mask’s reflection in the glass. “What will you do after you’re done with all our messes?”

“I’m not sure yet.” Like Sarin, Ryan hadn’t planned anything beyond completing his Perfect Run. “At first, I thought I would drive into the sunset towards new adventures, hopefully with Shortie in the backseat.”

“If you leave New Rome, would there be room for one more? Your car ain’t that big.”

“I always have room for more minions,” Ryan replied. “But only if you call me Mr. President in public.”

“Don’t push it,” Sarin replied with amusement, while the Panda emerged from the cleaned vat.

“What’s up, Doc?” Ryan asked his pandawan.

“It’s all good, Sifu!” The Panda declared with a raised paw. “I removed all the germs from my fur too!”

Sarin hesitated for a few more minutes, before finally deciding to take the leap of faith. She opened her hazmat suit, and let her gaseous body leak out. A cloud of alien chemicals emerged from the suit, and moved into the vat.

“It’s going to be alright, Bianca,” Ryan promised, as he and the Panda closed the glass door behind her. “This time, it will work. I swear.”

The gaseous cloud briefly took a vaguely humanoid shape, before turning back into formless mist.

“Of course it will be alright,” Alchemo grumbled, while Len typed on the computer panel. “You made us work day and night on this, you meatbag slavedriver.”

“I would be willing to keep this up for weeks,” Dr. Stitch replied. “This will change everything.”

“We are ready to begin, Riri,” Len said, barely staying in place. No doubt a part of her still hoped that if this experiment worked, it might help her father.

The courier nodded, giving his assent. Cables linking the computers to the vat activated, while a plastic lamp projected a blue light above Sarin’s gas form.

The Panda, thanks to his multiple fields of expertise, had managed to translate the Elixirs’ Flux language based on the Alchemist’s notes. The process would be simple, in theory. The group would use a system based on the Chronoradio to send signals to Sarin’s Elixirs, guiding them into rewriting her DNA based on a new paradigm. One that followed Livia’s ratio of Homo Sapiens and Neanderthal genes, cleanly separating the Psycho’s powers.

“I worry about her mind, however,” Dr. Stitch said. “Modifying her body on such a deep level will give her a brand new brain.”

“She will remember,” Alchemo replied absentmindedly.

In fact, she would remember everything.

“When the Elixirs bond with us, they see our thoughts and wishes, and translate them into Flux,” Ryan whispered, remembering what he had read from the Alchemist’s data. “True Genomes exist on two levels. The biological, and the immaterial.”

Ryan should have realized it before. Of all people in the room, he alone existed in two places and eras at once. Two brains separated across the timestream, yet sharing a single consciousness. Henceforth, his neurons weren’t the full seat of his intellect.

If a host’s consciousness partly existed in Flux form, then it would also explain cases like Mr. Wave, Sunshine, Geist, and Sarin in particular. And in time, that ethereal consciousness grew in power, in wisdom, and strength, eventually becoming something too powerful for a body of flesh to contain.

It would ascend into a greater form of existence.

And since Ryan had safeguarded a copy of Bianca’s molecular structure from his Meta-Gang loop, then they could ask her Elixirs to reshape her current self while taking this information into account. Sarin would regain her lost memories as she underwent her transformation. Hopefully.

“We’re getting a signal,” Len said, as the lamp changed color, from blue to red, from orange to yellow. “The Elixirs are communicating.”

“Can you put on the loudspeaker?” Ryan asked, curious.

He wondered how Elixirs discussed inside their host. Perhaps they were trying and failing to repair the damage they had caused to their host, unable to understand what they were dealing with. Maybe they casually divulged ancient secrets of the universe, like one would discuss pop culture.

Len put on the loudspeakers, and an alien gargle quickly transformed into two digitized, and yet audible voices.

“—and I say more hydrogen!” Ryan winced at the words, though the voice sounded inhuman, the tone reminded of a hyperactive child.

“But that will make it more difficult to vibrate!” Another answered, and didn’t sound any more mature. “How can our Homo Sapien defend herself otherwise if she cannot project energy? She’s almost died too many times already!”

“You Reds, it’s all about energy with you! She wouldn’t need your shockwaves if you let me do my work!”

“If I let you act without supervision, you would have turned her into a cumulonimbus!”

“Look, our host wants to be free. Mastery of the gaseous state will fill her with happiness!”

“You don’t understand our host’s feelings! She wanted to be strong to defend herself, to shake down everyone who could threaten her! She doesn't want to be free, she wants to be powerful!”

“Power is all you care about! Never us! I’m the one trying to make this situation work!”

A difficult, awkward silence settled among the researchers, as the Elixirs’ debate grew more heated and bitter.

“You Oranges don’t get Homo Sapiens at all, and you are ruining our host’s ascension!”

“You take that back, you heartless battery! I was here first! We were happy before you came into her life!”

“Of course I came in, she’s my Homo Sapien, and you completely misunderstood her wish! She would never ascend under your care! Why can’t you let me fix this?”

“The Panda…” The manbear coughed. “The Panda is having a tough family flashback.”

“Me too,” Len said, biting her lower lip.

Hanlon’s razor.

Never attribute to malice, what can be explained by incompetence.

“I think your Elixirs should get a divorce,” Ryan told Sarin. The cloud inside the vat briefly took a humanoid shape, hand raised with the middle finger upward.

“I have heard enough,” Alchemo said, connecting to the control panel with neural links embedded in his syringe-finger. The light show inside the vat intensified, causing the Elixirs to interrupt their debate.

“Huh?” an Elixir said, the Red one from what Ryan had understood. “We’re receiving a transmission!”

“Is that Eva? I hope it’s Eva! Let me check…”

“It’s an instruction,” the Red Elixir said, sounding astonished. “Oh, we… we made a mistake?”

“There are… two Homo Sapiens? Two Homo Sapiens in one flesh vessel? And we…” The Orange Elixir’s voice turned from confusion to horror. “And we ruined them?”

The other, like any good partner, immediately blamed its fellow. “No way, you didn’t notice?”

“I didn’t notice because you distracted me!” The Orange Elixir fell silent an instant, before speaking up again. “Aww, we favored our main host so much, that we completely forgot about the other one. The Ultimate Ones won’t be happy.”

“Eva said humans often divide into ‘twins’... but I never thought our host could too! Their flesh vessels are so weird!”

Unlike Ryan’s own Elixir, these ones certainly couldn’t read their host’s thoughts very well, and their understanding of human biology left much to be desired. It said something that an anti-life entity from the void like Darkling had a better grasp of the human condition than these two.

“So we each get custody of one Homo Sapiens?”

“I’m taking the younger one,” the Red Elixir said, immediately chastising its kindred. “You neglected her!”

“If you hadn’t ruined our main host’s ascension, I would have noticed the twin earlier! I’m sure you will ruin her too!”

“I will show you! My Homo Sapiens will ascend before yours!”

And so, the divorce was consummated, each Elixir taking custody of a share of Bianca’s DNA. The results immediately showed.

Ryan looked on with amazement, as Sarin’s gas cloud body started to condense. Her substance grew dense, orange chemicals were shaken by reddish vibrations. When her gaseous body had occupied the entire vat a few seconds before, it visibly shrank at a quick pace.

The cloud took a humanoid shape smaller than Ryan himself…

And then the bones appeared.

“It’s happening,” Dr. Stitch muttered to himself, astonished. “It’s… it’s working.”

The others watched the scene in mesmerized silence, Ryan included. No joke came to his mind, as layers of flesh built upon the marrow, followed by a mantle of skin. Nails, hair, and eyes followed, one by one.

When the process ended and the light died out, a man and a woman stared at each other, separated only by a door of glass.

Somehow, Ryan had imagined Bianca as Vulcan’s long-lost cousin, but he couldn’t have been farther from the truth. His former vice-president was thin and small, no taller than one meter fifty and no older than thirty. Her hair was short and messy, a dark shade of green with an orange shade at the tip; her teary eyes a deep shade of gray. She looked as if she hadn’t eaten in years either.

Bianca didn’t open the vat’s door from her side. She raised her hands and looked at them, as if they were foreign transplants. Her fingers then moved to her smooth white skin, brushing against her waist, her breasts, her neck, and shoulders… Bianca rediscovered her body, taking breath after breath like a newborn.

“Get that meatbag a dress,” Alchemo all but ordered his colleagues.

“Y-yes!” The Panda immediately bolted out of the laboratory room to look for clothes.

Ryan softly opened the vat’s door, letting fresh, conditioned air in. “Do you feel alright?” the courier asked, half-expecting the woman to turn back into gas any moment. Considering the Elixirs’ behavior, they might realize their ‘mistake’ and undo the cure.

“What’s this thing?” Bianca asked, eyes closed as she hummed the air. Even her voice sounded different, deeper, and all so human. “That… that stuff.”

“It’s called smell,” Ryan replied, making use of his nose. “The Panda’s. He has quite the powerful presence.”

“I had forgotten I had a nose,” she replied, before kissing her own shoulder to taste the sweat. “I had forgotten so much.”

Before Ryan knew what hit him, Bianca opened her arms and hugged him tightly. She buried her head on his shoulder, holding him close.

“Fuck,” Bianca said, tears pouring down her cheeks. “Fuck… fuck…”

“It’s alright,” Ryan said, letting her cry to her heart’s content and returning the hug. Many times he wished he had a friendly shoulder too. Len watched on from the control panel with a bright smile, Alchemo turned away from the scene, and Stitch examined the data while muttering to himself.

“You fulfilled your promise,” Bianca whispered so low the others didn’t hear her, squeezing the courier tightly. “You remembered. You time-traveling asshole, you did it.”

“If you remember too,” Ryan said, stroking her hair kindly, “then you should know I always fulfill my campaign promises.”

“How did you learn my name, jackass?” she asked upon breaking the hug, wiping away the tears. Her smile was awkward, but felt so raw and real. “I didn’t tell you before that tin can of a Genius took a sample.”

Yeah, he could see it in her eyes.

This was the same Bianca who had sacrificed herself to delay Alphonse ‘Fallout’ Manada and give Ryan time. The transfer had worked, and another friend had followed the courier through time.

“Let’s say the Dynamis raid didn’t go as planned,” Ryan replied, as the Panda returned with a basic shirt and pants. “But we can discuss that around a coffee cup.”

“I won’t need clothes,” Bianca replied, before glancing at the location of Ryan’s most powerful weapon. “Undress.”

The courier blinked, while the Panda covered his mouth in shock. “What?” the courier asked.

“You’re deaf? I told you back then, the first thing I would do after getting my life back would be to jump someone.”

“Hey, just because all my predecessors conquered the secretariat pool doesn't mean that I have to do the same!”

“This offer comes with a limited time, ‘Mr. President,’ so you better get decided within the next five minutes or reload.”

Dr. Stitch’s head perked up when he heard the last part, but Ryan remained firm in his devotion to Livia. “I’m sorry, but I’m married,” the courier replied. “I have a spare cashmere suit though, which is the next best thing in the world!”

Bianca shrugged, finally grabbing the clothes offered to her. “You’ve got cigarettes? Alcohol?” She asked, as she put pants on. “Because I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.”

It had taken many loops and years of suffering, but the Psycho condition finally had a cure.

十五年来，疯魔一直是人们生活中无法回避的现实。

在漫长的人生中，瑞恩走访过的聚居地即便没有上千，也有几百，而几乎每个地方都流传着同样的故事。发狂的怪物趁夜袭来，变种人藏匿在下水道里，劫掠者袭击守护当地的基因者，或者有蠢货妄图效仿奥古斯都，结果却没能成功。

算在一起，疯魔已经杀死这位快递员很多次了，次数仅以微弱差距落后于交通事故，排名第二。他的养父血流造成了他的第一次死亡，直到现在，回想起来仍让瑞恩头疼。

没有人能想象一个不存在疯魔的世界……

直到今天。

奥菲昂站翻新后的实验室，比炼金术师的实验室明亮、温暖得多。墙壁洁白，天花板上的灯条洒下宜人的光，晨间咖啡那美妙无比的香气弥漫在空气中。瑞恩麾下的几位天才——小矮个、阿尔凯莫和斯蒂奇——都聚在控制台和嗡嗡运转的电脑后方。与此同时，熊猫正在房间北侧的角落里，兴高采烈地用消毒剂清洗一个大罐子。

所有人都在为一场或许会永远改变世界面貌的实验做准备，只是他们的病人没那么热情。

“我不想进去。”亲爱的沙林抱着双臂，在瑞恩身边嘟囔，“另想个办法，书呆子。”

“没有别的办法。”瑞恩答道。说实话，这次治疗究竟能不能成功，根本没有保证。尽管他们在摧毁炼金术师的基地前复制了她的研究资料，可他们手头并没有她那一大堆外星科技。“得了吧，你连外星人都打过，还怕一根玻璃管？”

沙林没有当场轰他，只是哼了一声。“不是罐子的问题，”她说，“是……”

“要从那身防护服里出来？”瑞恩猜道，没开玩笑，也没挖苦她。这个女人已经被自己的状况折磨了多年，什么也感觉不到，更没有快乐可言。拿这件事嘲讽她，尤其是在现在，无异于踹一个癌症病人。

沙林摇了摇头。“不重要。”

“要是真不重要，你就不会提了。”瑞恩答道，“要知道，我可是有执照的心理治疗师，什么没见过。你要是想找个人听你说说，我就在这儿。”

“我可不像你那位公主。”沙林嗤道，“我不需要骑士来救。你觉得我有那么软弱？”

“我不觉得你软弱，只觉得你很孤独。”疯魔没有回答，但从她的姿态，瑞恩就知道自己说中了。“而且就连孤独，也已经是过去的事了。你看，我们一起突袭毒品教堂，探索新大陆，还把政府从蜥蜴人和光明会手里解救了出来……不是挺开心的吗？”

“是挺不错。”疯魔承认，目光转向那些在电脑后忙碌的天才。“而且你确实在兑现承诺，亚当就没做到。你不是那种烂人。”

“这不就对了？”瑞恩决定分享一点自己在数百年时间旅行中积累的智慧。“把什么感受都憋在心里，你就永远走不出恐惧和心结。要么对别人敞开心扉，要么就得找个地方发泄一下。要是想选后者，我建议你去欺负食尸鬼。”

“我更想揍亚当。”沙林说着举起双手，活动了一下手指。那动作并不自然，是气体在从内部推动布料。“每次离开防护服，我都害怕自己会被风吹散。蔓延出去好几英里，感觉自己的意识也随着距离一点点散掉。你想象不出那是什么滋味，书呆子。”

“确实，想象不出。”快递员承认，“不过，我们以联邦调查局的名义突袭伊斯基亚时，你已经脱下过一次防护服了。”

“我知道，有你在，这场实验已经安全得不能再安全了。”沙林叹了口气，“可我还是觉得自己很脆弱，我讨厌这种感觉。”

瑞恩抱起双臂，思索着接下来该说什么，最后只唤了一声。

“比安卡？”

听见自己的真名，沙林浑身一紧，仿佛连她自己都已经忘了这个名字。

“坦露自己的脆弱……从来都不容易。”瑞恩斟酌着措辞，“尤其是在别人面前。我们在自己周围筑起了又厚又牢的高墙，再想把它们拆掉，就很难了。”

沙林嗤笑了一声。“你说得倒轻巧，时间旅行者先生。”

“这根拐杖并不像看上去那么好用。”

事到如今，瑞恩已经决定，向队伍中所有还不知情的人彻底坦白。沙林是第一个，而快递员还希望能跟菲利克斯和波动先生谈谈，尤其是后者。前者已经察觉到不对劲，至于后者……

他得感谢波动先生的，可远不止让自己爱上羊绒这一件事。

“你知道吗，当初莉维娅和我……”瑞恩深吸一口气，才说出了心里话。“一开始，我很怕她。得到能力以后，能让我害怕的东西已经很少了，可她比那些都可怕。她能记住。”

“她能彻底杀了你，”沙林猜道，“把她老爸放出来对付你？”

“还可能比那更糟。”想到莉维娅如果更像她那位雷霆老爸，会做出什么事，瑞恩不禁打了个寒战。“那么多年来，我头一次不得不对最好的朋友以外的人坦诚相待。就像一头被堵在自己洞穴里的熊。那……那真的很难。是啊，她现在是我的第一夫人，可她也完全有可能成为我的李·哈维·奥斯瓦尔德。”

“谁？”沙林问道，充分暴露了她毫无文化素养的事实。

这个蠢问题证明，如今真是什么人都能当瑞恩的副总统，而他还为此颇感光荣。快递员一向以自己政府的包容性为傲。

“说这么多，就是想告诉你，我花了好一段时间才信任莉维娅，又花了更久，才能在她身边放松下来。”快递员解释自己的意思，“我们费了不少劲，才克服了对彼此的恐惧，但最后，一切都值得。所有的痛苦和恐惧，都把我们带向了更好的结果。明白我的意思了吗？”

“没有。”

“哦，那好吧，你自求多福。”

沙林轻笑起来。“说真的，我懂，”她说，“等到了那一天，一切努力和挣扎就都值得了。没准这副新身体还会得糖尿病呢。”

“基因者不会得糖尿病。”瑞恩随口说道。

“我这辈子就是一连串的挫折和失望，自作聪明的家伙。”同伴话里的苦涩，他几乎都能尝出来。“遇到亚当之前也是。每回我都盼着事情能有转机，最后却总是失望。”

“以后不会了。豁出去相信一次，听着也许很难，但一定会有回报。”

“真的？”她问，“你知道吗，我答应跟你来做这个蠢任务，是因为心里多少还盼着，炼金术师对我们另有安排。我遭的那些罪，总该有个意义。结果呢，我不过是实验废料。”

“人生就是这么回事。我们没有什么既定的使命，却也完全自由。”瑞恩说，“我们可以自由地改变，按自己想要的方式生活。”

“你知道最糟的是什么吗，书呆子？”沙林悲伤地问，“我花了太多时间寻找治疗办法，现在都不知道，要是你的主意真管用，往后的人生我该拿来干什么。”

“你可以先从社区服务开始。你替亚当干了那么多年，要偿还的债可不少。”

“马戏团那一套，还是留给玩爆炸的小鬼吧。”沙林瞥向罐子，看到了玻璃上倒映出的防毒面具。“等收拾完我们所有人的烂摊子，你打算干什么？”

“我也还没想好。”和沙林一样，瑞恩对完成完美通关之后的事没有任何打算。“一开始，我想着开车迎着夕阳，踏上新的冒险旅程，最好小矮个就坐在后座。”

“要是你离开新罗马，还能再带一个人吗？你那辆车可不大。”

“不管来多少小弟，我总能腾出位置。”瑞恩答道，“不过你得在公共场合叫我总统先生。”

“别得寸进尺。”沙林好笑地答道。这时，熊猫从洗干净的罐子里钻了出来。

“怎么样，博士？”瑞恩问他的熊猫绝地学徒。

“一切就绪，师父！”熊猫举起一只爪子宣布，“我还把毛上的细菌全都清掉了！”

沙林又犹豫了几分钟，终于决定豁出去相信一次。她打开防化服，让气态的身体流了出来。一团由异样化学物质组成的气云从衣服里涌出，飘进了罐子。

“不会有事的，比安卡。”瑞恩和熊猫在她身后关上玻璃门，他向她保证，“这回一定能成。我发誓。”

那团气云短暂地聚成了一个模糊的人形，随即又化作无形的雾气。

“当然不会有事。”蕾恩在电脑面板上输入指令时，阿尔凯莫抱怨道，“你逼着我们没日没夜地干这个，你这肉袋子奴隶主。”

“就算再这样干上几个星期，我也愿意。”斯蒂奇医生答道，“这会改变一切。”

“可以开始了，瑞瑞。”蕾恩说，几乎按捺不住自己。毫无疑问，她心里仍有一部分在盼望，这次实验要是成功，也许就能帮到她父亲。

快递员点头同意。连接电脑与罐子的线缆启动了，一盏塑料灯从沙林的气态身体上方投下蓝光。

凭借在多个领域的专业知识，熊猫已经根据炼金术师的笔记，解译出了灵药的通量语言。理论上，这个过程很简单。他们会用一套以时空收音机为基础的系统，向沙林体内的灵药发送信号，引导它们依照一种新的范式改写她的DNA。这套范式遵循莉维娅体内智人和尼安德特人的基因比例，将疯魔的两种能力彻底分开。

“不过，我担心她的心智会受影响。”斯蒂奇医生说，“对她的身体进行如此深层的改造，会给她造出一颗全新的大脑。”

“她会记得的。”阿尔凯莫心不在焉地答道。

事实上，她会记起一切。

“灵药与我们结合时，会看见我们的思想和愿望，再把它们转化为通量。”瑞恩想起炼金术师资料里的内容，低声说道，“真正的基因者同时存在于两个层面。生物层面，以及非物质层面。”

瑞恩早该意识到这一点。屋里所有人中，只有他同时存在于两个地点、两个时代。两颗大脑分处时间长河中的不同位置，却共享同一个意识。因此，他的神经元并不是承载他心智的唯一所在。

如果宿主的意识有一部分以通量形式存在，那么波动先生、阳光、幽魂，尤其是沙林这样的情况，就都能解释了。而随着时间推移，那份无形的意识会逐渐积累力量与智慧，愈发强大，最终强大到血肉之躯再也无法容纳。

它将升格为更高的存在形态。

而且，瑞恩一直妥善保存着一份比安卡的分子结构副本，那是在加入超能帮的那一轮里得到的。因此，他们可以让她的灵药在重塑现在的她时，参考这份信息。沙林会在转化的过程中找回失去的记忆。但愿如此。

“收到信号了。”蕾恩说。灯光变换着颜色，由蓝转红，由橙转黄。“灵药正在交流。”

“能打开扬声器吗？”瑞恩好奇地问。

他很想知道，灵药在宿主体内是怎么讨论的。也许它们正努力修复自己给宿主造成的损伤，却始终无能为力，无法理解自己面对的究竟是什么。也许它们会像聊流行文化一样，随口谈起宇宙的古老秘密。

蕾恩打开扬声器，异样的咕噜声很快转化成两道数字合成的嗓音，却清晰可辨。

“——可我说了，得多加点氢！”瑞恩听得皱起眉头。那声音虽然不像人类，语气却让他想起一个精力过剩的小孩。

“可那样就更难振动了！”另一个回答，听起来也没成熟多少。“我们的智人要是不能释放能量，还能怎么保护自己？她差点死掉的次数已经够多了！”

“你们红色灵药，满脑子都是能量！要是你肯让我好好干活，她根本就不需要你那些冲击波！”

“要是我不看着你，任由你胡来，你早把她变成积雨云了！”

“听着，我们的宿主想要自由。掌控气态会让她充满幸福！”

“你根本不懂我们宿主的感受！她想变强，想保护自己，震慑所有可能威胁她的人！她不是想要自由，她想要的是强大！”

“你只在乎力量！从来不在乎我们！一直努力维持这个局面的是我！”

随着灵药间的争论愈发激烈、尖刻，一阵令人难受的尴尬沉默笼罩了研究人员。

“你们橙色灵药根本不懂智人，而你正在毁掉我们宿主的升格！”

“把这话收回去，你这块没心没肺的电池！是我先来的！你闯进她生活之前，我们过得好好的！”

“我当然得进来，她是我的智人，而你完全误解了她的愿望！交给你照顾，她永远都别想升格！你为什么就不能让我把事情纠正过来？”

“熊猫……”熊人咳了一声，“熊猫想起了一些痛苦的家庭往事。”

“我也是。”蕾恩咬着下唇说。

汉隆剃刀。

凡是能用无能解释的事，就不要归咎于恶意。

“我觉得你的灵药该离婚了。”瑞恩对沙林说。罐子里的气云短暂地化作人形，举起一只手，朝上竖起中指。

“我听够了。”阿尔凯莫用嵌在针筒手指里的神经接口接上控制台。罐子里的灯光秀愈发强烈，两份灵药也因此中断了争吵。

“咦？”一份灵药说道。照瑞恩听到的来看，这应该是红色的那份。“我们收到了一条传讯！”

“是伊娃吗？希望是伊娃！让我看看……”

“是一条指令。”红色灵药听起来很惊讶。“哦，我们……我们弄错了？”

“这里有……两个智人？一个血肉容器里有两个智人？而我们……”橙色灵药的声音从困惑转为惊恐。“而我们毁了她们？”

另一个像所有好伴侣一样，立刻把责任推给了对方。“不是吧，你居然没发现？”

“我没发现是因为你一直在让我分心！”橙色灵药沉默片刻，才又开口。“哎呀，我们太偏爱主宿主，完全把另一个给忘了。终极者会不高兴的。”

“伊娃说过，人类经常会分裂成‘双胞胎’……可我从没想过，我们的宿主也会！他们的血肉容器真奇怪！”

和瑞恩自己的灵药不同，这两个显然不太会读取宿主的思想，对人类生物学的理解也实在不怎么样。暗灵这种来自虚空的反生命实体，居然都比它们更懂人类，这本身就够说明问题了。

“所以，我们各分到一个智人的监护权？”

“我要小的那个。”红色灵药说道，立刻责备起同类。“你忽视了她！”

“要不是你毁了主宿主的升格，我早就注意到她的双胞胎姐妹了！你肯定也会把她毁掉！”

“你等着瞧！我的智人一定比你的先升格！”

就这样，离婚手续办妥了，两份灵药各自取得了比安卡一部分DNA的监护权。效果立刻显现。

瑞恩惊叹地看着沙林的气云之躯开始凝聚。构成她身体的物质越来越稠密，橙色的化学物质在泛红的振动中摇颤。几秒前还占满整个罐子的气态身体，正以肉眼可见的速度飞快缩小。

气云凝聚成了一个比瑞恩矮小的人形……

随后，骨骼出现了。

“开始了。”斯蒂奇医生惊愕地喃喃自语，“有效……真的有效。”

其他人全都屏息凝神，默默看着这一幕，瑞恩也不例外。他想不出任何笑话，只见一层层血肉在骨髓外生长，随后覆上一层皮肤。指甲、头发和眼睛，也一个接一个地出现了。

当变化结束，灯光熄灭，一男一女隔着一扇玻璃门，凝望着彼此。

不知怎么，瑞恩一直把比安卡想象成伏尔甘失散多年的表姐妹，可事实与他的想象相去甚远。他昔日的副总统身材瘦小，身高不超过一米五，看上去最多三十岁。她的短发乱糟糟的，呈深绿色，发梢泛着橙色；噙着泪水的双眼则是深灰色。她看起来还像是好多年没吃过东西。

比安卡没有从里面打开罐门。她举起双手，仔细端详，仿佛那是从别处移植过来的东西。随后，手指抚上光滑白皙的皮肤，掠过腰际、乳房、脖颈和肩膀……比安卡重新认识着自己的身体，像个初生的婴儿，一口接一口地呼吸。

“给那个肉袋子拿条裙子来。”阿尔凯莫几乎是在命令同事们。

“好、好的！”熊猫立刻冲出实验室，去找衣服。

瑞恩轻轻打开罐门，让经过空调调节的新鲜空气流了进去。“感觉还好吗？”快递员问道，心里仍觉得这个女人随时可能重新变成气体。以那两份灵药的作风，它们说不定会意识到自己的“错误”，把治疗效果给撤销了。

“这是什么？”比安卡闭着眼睛，嗅着空气，低低地哼了一声。就连她的声音也变了，更低沉，完完全全是人类的声音。“那个……那个东西。”

“这叫气味。”瑞恩动用了一下自己的鼻子，答道，“熊猫的。他的存在感相当强烈。”

“我都忘了自己还有鼻子。”她说着吻了一下自己的肩膀，尝了尝汗水的味道。“我忘了太多东西。”

瑞恩还没反应过来，比安卡就张开双臂，紧紧抱住了他。她把头埋在他的肩上，将他搂得很紧。

“操。”比安卡说，泪水顺着脸颊滚落。“操……操……”

“没事了。”瑞恩回抱住她，任她哭个痛快。多少次，他也曾盼望有个朋友的肩膀可以依靠。蕾恩在控制台旁看着他们，笑容灿烂；阿尔凯莫转过身去，不再看这一幕；斯蒂奇则一边检查数据，一边喃喃自语。

“你兑现了承诺。”比安卡把快递员抱得紧紧的，声音低得其他人都听不见。“你记得。你这个穿越时间的混蛋，你做到了。”

“如果你也记得，”瑞恩温柔地抚摸着她的头发说，“那你就该知道，我一向都会兑现自己的竞选承诺。”

“你怎么知道我名字的，混球？”她松开怀抱，擦去眼泪。她的笑容有些生疏，却无比真切，毫无掩饰。“那个铁罐头天才取样之前，我可没告诉过你。”

是的，他能从她眼里看出来。

她就是那个牺牲自己、拖住阿尔方斯·“辐尘”·马纳达，为瑞恩争取时间的比安卡。转移成功了，又一位朋友跟随快递员跨越了时间。

“就说突袭迪纳米斯那回，事情没按计划发展吧。”瑞恩答道。此时熊猫拿着一件普通衬衫和一条裤子回来了。“不过，我们可以喝杯咖啡，慢慢聊。”

“我用不着衣服。”比安卡说，瞥了一眼瑞恩最强武器所在的位置。“脱。”

快递员眨了眨眼，熊猫则惊得捂住了嘴。“什么？”快递员问。

“你聋了？我那时就告诉过你，找回自己的人生以后，第一件事就是找个人上床。”

“喂，不能因为我的前任们全都征服过秘书处，就要求我也照着做吧！”

“这份邀约限时有效，‘总统先生’。你最好在五分钟内拿定主意，不然就读档吧。”

听见最后那句话，斯蒂奇医生抬起了头，但瑞恩对莉维娅的忠诚依然坚定不移。“抱歉，我已经结婚了。”快递员答道，“不过，我还有一套备用羊绒西装，那可是世上仅次于这件事的好东西！”

比安卡耸耸肩，终于接过递来的衣服。“你有烟吗？酒呢？”她一边穿裤子一边问，“我可有一大堆欠账要补上。”

历经多次循环，多年苦难，治愈疯魔的办法终于诞生了。