“Here,” Rosalyn said, pulling a folded piece of paper from her pocket and showing him. It was covered in what looked like scribbles and tiny drawings, one of a fairly standard rectangle, another that was labeled as a close-up and a cutaway. Underneath were lists of chemicals and compounds, some crossed out, some with question marks next to them.

“What am I looking at here?” he asked, adjusting his spectacles.

She chuckled and started pointing to random elements. “It’s a modified version of the chip tech we used at Belrose. We were using a chemical coating to encourage protein production on a cellular level, which keeps your body from deteriorating. It’s meant to help with longer and longer space travel when Ionese ore can’t jump us quickly enough,” she explained.

“That makes a little more sense,” Edison said softly, touching his bruised throat. “I think.”

“Rayan tried to break down the fungus at a molecular level,” Rosalyn went on. “I’ll skip a lot of the technical stuff, but in theory we can find a chemical coating that will bond to those molecules. We’ve had success with other coated chips attracting unwanted pathogens. When the blood tests come back clean, the chip is removed. It’s like . . . it’s like if you stick a magnet into a bunch of metal filings and pull it out. Find the right coating, and the Foxfire molecules bond to it, then boop.” She mimicked pulling a magnet out of her palm. “No more Foxfire.”

Edison stared down at the schematic, the corner of his lips twitching. “This is amazing.”

“It isn’t amazing yet,” she said softly. “Not until I find the right coating and the right lab to run tests, but I’m hoping—if you’re right and CDAS is still functioning—that they’d have the proper equipment to work out a solution. If not, I know we have it back in Montreal. Time isn’t on our side, but it’s better than giving up.”

“Look at you,” he said softly, handing her the tablet. “Suddenly Little Miss Optimistic.”

He noticed a dark blush creep across her cheeks. “I want to help you. If my family’s company had anything to do with releasing Foxfire, then, God, it’s the least I could do.”

“Not to ruin the moment, but don’t you think I’m probably too far gone for this?”

Rosalyn stared at where he was still touching his neck. “I hoped you wouldn’t bring that up.”

“It’s . . . Still. It’s still something. It’s hope. Thank you.”