Read: Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Part 8 - Part 9

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Silence.

River floated in a sensationless void. She could not feel her own pulse, could not hear her own breath.

…persistent cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions…

River had often pilfered medical texts from her brother’s library. Not that she was terribly interested in the topic; she just liked keeping tabs on what her brother was up to. But the clarity of the memory surprised River. She had not been alone with her own thoughts for a long time.

Odd, though. She would have expected more to death than just this…emptiness.

She could feel nothing...

Could see nothing...

Could hear...

Laughter?

River tried to turn towards the source, but was unable to even orient herself.

…positional indeterminism in early quantum state phenomenon…

Simon had given her the treatise on theoretical physics for her seventh birthday; she had spent a happy afternoon disproving it.

The laughter seemed to be growing louder. Not the carefree laughter of a young child, but the mildly mocking laughter of an elder brother.

Her elder brother.

"Simon?"

"Don’t start, River.”

The voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once. River wondered if this was some kind of sensory deprivation-induced hallucination. Or just the last random firings of neurons in a dying brain.

"YOU were the one who insisted on going to the academy in the first place, sha gua!"

River remembered the affectionate insult; Simon had often called her that during their youth. It was appropriate that he had last used it on the final day of her childhood.

"No, I won't stop teasing you River! You've been acting like a brat for months, pestering Mom and Dad into letting you study off-planet, and NOW you get cold feet?"

River had fled from Simon's taunts that day, so she had not noticed the slight catch in his voice that now gave him away. He had been holding back tears.

"Don't be such a sissy. We'll see each other soon."

She had never given her older brother enough credit. Had never fully appreciated what Simon had taught her about loyalty. About courage.

"I'm ready, Simon. I won't be scared. I promise."

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Continue to Part 11