Time passed, but how much? It could have been hours, days, perhaps even weeks, but once Keman woke again it was much dimmer, the light low enough that again he couldn't see much around him but this time for the opposite reason. The harshly bright whiteness of the overhead light had been replaced by a faint, apparently sourceless blue-green illumination that allowed him to see himself and little else. Something about this felt different, however. More closed-in, or confined, like a small cave.

He was still on what seemed to be the same table, but the IV was gone and a bright neon pink wrapping left around his elbow where it had been. The reek of ozone was even stronger now, strong enough to taste, and the humming had grown to an almost bone-rattling buzz. Otherwise, again, it was silent. No sign of the doctor, or anyone else for that matter. To all appearances he was alone.