“Yeah,” said Calix, and knocked on the door. A gruff voice on the other side shouted for them to come in, and they followed Calix through. Dr. Vale was short and average-looking, old but healthy; Kira couldn’t actually tell if he was older than Dr. Skousen or not, and wondered if he’d had any of the longevity gene mods that some of the older, richer people had gotten before the Break. If he had, there’d be no real way to guess his age—he could be anywhere from sixty to a hundred and twenty. Samm stared at him a moment, and Kira couldn’t help but feel a faint wave of suspicion wash through her. Samm didn’t like the doctor, she didn’t even need the link to tell her that. Kira cleared her mind and prepared herself for the conversation, ready for whatever happened.

“Please sit down,” said Dr. Vale, gesturing at the chairs in front of his desk. Calix began to sit with them, but Vale stopped her with a kind smile and a gesture toward the door. “Would you be so kind as to wait outside, dear? Our guests are going to have a lot of questions, and I want to make sure we’re not disturbed.”

Calix seemed none too pleased about this, but sighed and left the room—making sure to flash Samm a quick smile on her way out. Samm didn’t even seem to notice, focusing all his attention on Vale, and Kira felt a glow of inexplicable satisfaction.

Calix closed the door behind her, and Vale looked at Samm and Kira. “So,” he said. “You’re the two wanderers from across the Badlands.”

“Yes, sir,” said Kira. “We came here looking for . . . answers. And we need to find a cure for RM, and we understand you’ve synthesized one.”

“That I have,” said the doctor, “that I have. Tell me, how many of you did you say there are?”

“Humans or Partials?” asked Kira.

Vale smiled. “Both.”

“Thirty-five thousand humans,” said Kira. “Roughly. And about half a million Partials.”

Vale practically beamed. “Then this is a bittersweet meeting, isn’t it? To learn in one short second that one’s entire picture of the world is obsolete. I admit I’m not prepared for this revelation, and I pride myself in being prepared for everything.”

“Please, sir,” said Kira. “Tell me about the cure.”