“That’s not proven,” Park said, finally breaking eye contact with Sagara. It was hard, staring at those flinty black eyes, like a shark’s. Even harder for her to back down. But she said to Wick, trying to maintain some semblance of professionalism: “I would label them—vivid nightmares, at least. That’s how Holt described them. He said he was taking a nap when he first experienced them.” She cast a wary glance over at Sagara; she didn’t know how much of this next part he knew. “And in his nightmare, he claimed to feel—not in control of himself. And also as if he were dead.”

“Great,” Wick said, rubbing his face. “And then Elly Ma had a nightmare that same night—of the same thing?”

“In essence. She described similar sensations, the same kind of paralysis. The same sensation of not being in control.”

“Didn’t she also injure herself?” Sagara asked.

“Yes. That’s not terribly uncommon, but the context is . . . alarming. She might have scratched herself in her sleep in an attempt to wake up—like pinching yourself in a dream. But that’s only a hypothesis.”

“And now Chanur’s put her on ice, too, scared that she’ll go the same way as Holt,” Wick finished, resigned. “And Keller . . . ?”

“Chanur said she was having nightmares, too.” Park kept her voice and expression steady, despite her dry-ice anger, her hatred of the doctor. “She also gave me the impression that it was none of my damn business.”

To her gratification, even Sagara looked a little disconcerted by that. “She didn’t say if Keller engaged in any odd behavior? Just that she had nightmares?”

She shrugged. “She claimed confidentiality issues before I could ask any more.”

He cocked his head. “And did Keller say anything about it to you beforehand? Did she indicate that anything was out of the ordinary?”

“No,” Park answered, “but I hadn’t seen her in over a day. She’d been away, working on this mysterious project. Only Chanur claims to know what happened to her next.”

“That warrants looking into,” Sagara said with a grim look.

“My thoughts exactly.” She was reluctant to share even a moment of alliance with him—but at least he wasn’t denying that something was fishy about the whole thing. But Wick said, looking uneasy: “Keller’s project had nothing to do with it. She was just helping with research for the expedition, as we all are. Nothing more, nothing less.” Then he shook his head. “Plus, she’s almost sixty. And there was the radiation storm. That could have had an effect.”

“An effect on all of them?” Park asked. “Even Holt, who had his nightmares before the storm ever hit?”