A wave strikes the cliff, and the mist rises to my face as light refracts through the droplets, creating a ghostly rainbow. The edge of the wave turns to lacy foam and fades into deep azure. Seaweed tumbles in the water, adding a green depth to the expansive blue.
Mussels and barnacles cling to the cliff both above and below the waterline, and a seabird hops from small ledge to ledge, picking at shells here and there. A little tidal pool nestles in the cliff, and with every wash of the waves, the crevice fills with water. It drains out slowly as the water retreats, then fills again with the next wave.
It’s beautiful.
I hardly notice any of it because Morgan’s hand presses against my chest, warm with her strength and steadiness, and I have an insane impulse to throw myself over the edge just to feel her arms wrap around me.
“I’ve always loved the ocean.” Her voice falls close to my ear, sending a shiver down my spine. “Humans have conquered plains, mountains, rivers, even space. But the ocean remains utterly untamed.”
I huff a laugh.
“What?” Morgan’s breath sets the hairs at the back of my neck on end.
“Sorry, just… promise me you don’t have any plans to go on a crank submersible any time soon.”
Morgan chuckles. “I may be a billionaire, but I’m not an idiot. I don’t take it personally that nature outranks me.”
I lean back from the railing, and Morgan’s hand lingers on my chest.
Something clicks in my brain, and my eyes widen. “Wait, I figured it out!”
“Finally,” Morgan teases. “I was wondering how I could make it any more obvious.”
I blink. “Wait, you know already?”
She gives me an odd look. “Somewhat by definition.”
“So it was a test?”
“That’s an… odd perspective. But, sure.”
“Wait, what are you talking about?”
“What areyoutalking about?”
“The… the data you gave me. The case study.”
Morgan bursts into a deep, sincere laugh, and it’s good that I love the sound so much because I’m reeling otherwise. She straightens my jacket and smooths the lapel, and I shiver.
“Please,” she says. “Tell me about the data.”
I really want to know whatshewas talking about, but my excitement about the epiphany wins out.
“It’s a leaky bucket problem,” I explain. “Sort of. The more you put in, the more has to be cleared out.”
Morgan raises an eyebrow.
“Sorry, um… so, one of the serum biomarkers that was tested, that was high in the case study.”
“Likely a secondary effect. That market doesn’t elevate in the longitudinal study.”
“It doesn’t in a statistically significant way,” I correct. “But I always like to compare a few different confidence thresholds. It was about a seventy-five percent chance ofelevation overall. But we should dig into the individual data. Because the other thing I noticed about that biomarker is it has a few structures similar to the docking proteins the suppressants target.”
“You’re saying that biomarker could be part of a resistance pathway?”
“Precisely.”
“Veryinteresting…”
