Jacob sat across from Julia in their cozy apartment, putting on his most dashing smile amidst the pain that crept in every now and then. His medication was beginning to wear off, but the day had been a success, and tonight was going so well that he didn't want to spoil it. The table spread was filled with their favorite foods and drink, prepped by his very own hands. The illness may have stolen the refined palette from his chef days, but it spared his wit in the culinary arts. At least he hoped. He surveyed her beautiful face in search of approval.

"Well, I see you haven't vomited," His British accent was hoarse, but endearing. A boyish smile surfaced his frail lips, "...so we can say that at the very least, it is digestible." It was a rare occasion for Jacob to be so radiant. Most days were spent bedridden, or attached to his hover chair. Every once in awhile he will brace the outside world of The Fortress with Julia, frequenting viewpoint park that overlooked the valley of clouds, or embark on random adventures in the city like giddy teenagers.

While Jacob might chalk it up to his sickness, it was really the lack of social human interaction, ironically enough, that made him want to stay indoors most days. Since the conversion 5 years ago, everything felt far too mechanical, both in the figurative and literal sense. The colonist they all once knew and loved exchanged their humanity for longevity. Androids with manicured faces that look more like masks, emote with the expression of puppets dangling on the grandest stage in the sky. Jacob and Julia were thoroughly convinced that that was no way to live. Despite the colony's relentless efforts to convert them, despite the disease that seeks to disintegrate their bodies, they were going to live on for humanity - no matter the cost.

Jacob stared at the dying sun from the large windows of the dining room. He watched the last sliver of its orange hues peaking out, wishing for them to stay just a lifetime longer. When they vanished, his heart sank low. This would be their last night before their daring quest. The coming days were going to be a trial on both fronts, but they were going to get through it together - just not in the way Jacob wanted. Enough. He cursed at himself for wasting precious moments brooding on things that cannot be undone. He looked up and stared into her eyes, entranced by her essence as if it were the first time he laid eyes on her.

"Do you remember when we first met?" It was a nonsensical question that he already knew the answer to, but loved teasing her as if she forgot. Though in truth, his mind was becoming more hazy these days, so he recounted their story for his memory's sake. "At the food court of an abandoned shopping mall; you thought I was a marauder trying to have my way with you." His eyes looked up at the ceiling, projecting his thoughts on its blank white canvas. "You nearly took my head off with a spell and said something along the lines of: 'I wouldn't sleep with you if you were the last man on this earth.'" He laughed. "Funny how it all panned out, eh?"

Tomorrow I'll be down there. Tomorrow... Julia thought as she browsed through pictures of the land they had once called home. Millions of possible scenarios ran through her head. Trying to outrun creatures out to kill her, foraging through the ruins of what were once cities, finding shelter from the harsh rays of a dying sun... This quest to find a cure had been a desperate idea, one that she had time and again discussed with Jacob. But they had both put it off, hoping that medicine and magic may somehow be able to wipe off the virus that raged through both of their systems.

But no cure came. Only The Conversion. To all, it was the cure, the perfect solution. Transferring the consciousness from an imperfect, diseased human body to a machine. There would no longer be pain or hunger. There would no longer be diseases that threatened extinction. It was perfection. It was the solution. It was immortality. And it was something both she and Jacob will never be willing to go through.

Julia paged through images after images. A scorched landscape, buildings that had fallen upon themselves, mutated creatures... even the vegetation were mutated. She sighed. Finding a cure in the wasteland would be like finding a needle in a haystack. But Jacob's illness had taken a turn for the worst the past few weeks. He had begun to have memory lapses and had completely lost control over half of his body. By the rate it was going, he might die in less than a year...

Julia closed her eyes and tried to erase the thought from her head. No, no, no. Jacob can't die. He won't die. I'll find that cure even if it kills me. She thought of all the virulent pathogens that have spread through the human population in the past. AIDS, MCV, ZIV, BFV, ACDV... This virus... Progressive Degenerative Viral Disease or PDVD was something different. It was human made... a violent mutation from the common flu vaccine. It targets the neural system and causes progressive debilitation. The first to be affected is the patient's motor and sensory control. Cognitive function follows to deteriorate, then vital organ functions and then eventual death.

Humans were able to eradicate the viruses of the past, why is PVDV any different?

She felt that familiar desperation claw through her. She will be able to find a cure. She will eradicate it the way the other viruses have been and she will save Jacob. She tried to calm herself by taking slow, deep breaths. She was a researcher with a background in medicine, developing a cure would be easy. All she had to do was find a starting point.

When she heard him call to her for dinner, she forced the thoughts out of her head and headed out to their small dining room. The table was filled with food, the sight of which making her stomach grumble. The lines of worry on her face relaxed into a smile. Jacob was an excellent chef. Although he had lost the ability to walk, he could still whip up a magnificent spread like this. She crossed the distance between them and pressed a kiss on his forehead. "This is... magnificent," she said approvingly before she sat down and began to eat. She laughed when he commented on the food. "The food is digestible and really really good. I don't know why you would think otherwise." She met his gaze and noted the distracted look in them as he looked out the window. She knew what he was thinking about and she felt fear pull at her heart again.

She was glad when he began speaking again. Hearing his voice relaxed her and made he feel safe. He spoke of how they met, a favorite topic of his. Julia knew that the memory lapses were taking a toll on him and reminiscing with her helped him have that sense of security back. What happens when I leave him here tomorrow? she thought in a panic despite knowing that Jacob will be with her every step of the way through Matax. I won't be able to touch him... to hug or kiss him... Her thoughts weighed down on her like a ton of bricks. What if... what if I fail? That single thought that she refused to put into words erupted in her head. And she knew the answer to it.

"I actually meant what I said then. You looked like you crawled out of a grave by the amount of dirt that was on you that I wouldn't dream of touching you with a 10-foot pole," she laughed, once again forcing all thoughts of the journey ahead out of her mind. "But you clean up very nice. Handsome even," she kidded.