Elena arrived at the lab one minute early. Pierre was already there, waiting by the door. She didn't need to ask—his slightly rumpled shirt and the faint shadows under his eyes told her everything. He'd slept in his office again.
"Good morning," he said, his tone as composed as ever.
"Good morning, Pierre," she replied with her usual playful tone. Then, with a trace of sharpness behind her smile, she added, "Sleep well last night?"
Pierre gave a small nod. "Yeah. A little exercise before bed helps a lot."
His voice was calm – too calm. She knew him well enough to hear what was behind his words.
Without hesitation, she reached out, wrapping her arms around him, pressing gently with her head resting against his chest. Pierre noticed the unusual gesture.
"Elena?"
"I'm just glad you're safe," she mumbled.
Pierre couldn't hide the truth of last night from her. "That man made you hurt. I just wanted to make sure it wouldn't happen again." His voice was steady but firm.
Pierre patted her gently to calm her, "I'm alright—no wounds, no pain." He locked eyes with her, sensing the weight behind her worry. Tears welled in Elena's eyes, the silent expression of how deeply concerned she was.
Pierre gently brushed her tears away. "Elena, your makeup will run. Let's go inside." His smile was soft, meant to soothe.
Elena took a steadying breath, trying to calm herself before the day ahead. Tears this early wouldn't help.
Noticing something, Pierre leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper. "By the way, are you wearing…" His left hand drifted lower, brushing her waist, then lingering at her thigh, subtly untying what lay beneath her skirt.
Elena's face flushed instantly, warmth rushing to her cheeks. She lost her composure as her underwear slipped to the polished floor.
Though she'd dressed intentionally, Pierre's bold move caught her off guard. He knelt to retrieve the garment, swiftly tucking it into his pocket. Her bare skin met the cool air of the building, sending a shiver through her trembling legs. Her knee-length skirt, fortunately, concealed what needed to remain hidden.
Her earlier worries faded, replaced by a mix of hesitation and exhilaration at her sudden vulnerability. Pierre smirked, showing no trace of regret for exposing her. Elena, momentarily powerless, could only press forward. She cleared her throat softly to steady herself before stepping inside.
Then, she moved to the console, entering her password—face, eyes, and fingerprint all scanned in. The door slid open. Taking Pierre's hand, she led him inside.
A chilled mist escaped as the door slid open, swirling in the temperature difference. Elena stepped inside first, Pierre following closely. The cold air made her legs tremble today.
The lab was filled with delicate, high-tech equipment requiring careful handling. Three or four scientists were already at work, engrossed in measurements and data analysis. Some glanced up to greet them, while others remained focused, unaware of their arrival.
Pierre noticed two male colleagues stealing longer glances at Elena, perhaps caught off guard by her different outfit or her trembling legs. Unfazed, Elena began her tour of the lab, introducing its instruments.
"We have liquid nitrogen and liquid helium tanks here, used for the initial cooling process," she explained, gesturing to the two towering cylinders. "These allow us to reach temperatures around 77 Kelvin, then down to 4 Kelvin."
She then led Pierre deeper into the lab, stopping before a steel-like chamber with a small glass window. Inside, an oval-shaped object—clearly a brain—rested on a tray, surrounded by a faint mist of chilled air.
"This is my current project—brain preservation," Elena said. "We're working on methods to preserve brains and later revive them with minimal, if any, tissue damage."
"In this chamber is a rabbit brain, preserved at 4 Kelvin." She glanced at Pierre, noting his curiosity.
Pierre peered through the glass, spotting tiny ice crystals forming on the brain's surface. "Wouldn't that be a problem?" he asked.
Elena's expression tightened with concern. "That was our biggest issue." She stepped to a nearby console, pulling up a detailed 3D image of the brain, alongside several panels displaying its current status. Moving the cursor over the tissue, she highlighted areas in blue.
"This is where the ice crystals form and damage the brain," Elena said, moving the cursor over the blue-highlighted areas, which covered much of the brain's outer surface and even some deeper layers.
"Most vertebrate brains contain around 70 to 80 percent water—a very high water content. That makes it incredibly difficult to prevent ice crystal formation during cooling," she explained.
"To successfully preserve and later revive the brain, we have to prevent ice crystals from forming both inside and outside the cells. Also, the cell membranes must remain intact—without them, the cells wouldn't survive," she continued, opening a 3D brain simulation to illustrate her point.
Pierre listened closely, then asked, "What about perfusing with a cryoprotectant? That should lower the freezing point of water and prevent ice formation."
Elena smiled, pleased that Pierre was following her explanation, "Exactly, that's our approach." She led him to another chamber. "This is also a rabbit brain. We treated it with a combination of cryoprotectants and then cooled it down." She opened the console, showing a much smaller area covered in blue. "As you can see, the ice crystals are almost absent."
Her voice brimmed with pride. "This brain can be rewarmed with minimal damage. The tissue integrity is preserved, and it remains functional."
She entered a few commands, and the chilling mist around the brain slowly dissipated. The screen displayed electrical signals and other data. Elena moved a tip over the brain, triggering a small electrical spark, which caused corresponding signals to appear on the monitor.
Pierre was clearly impressed. "Brilliant, Elena. You've found a non-toxic cryoprotectant."
Elena flushed slightly at the compliment. "For now, it's only effective for rabbit-sized brains."
Elena led him to the final chamber. "This one is for the human brain." She repeated her gesture, bringing up the 3D image. The preserved brain tissue looked cryogenically well-maintained but showed noticeably more damage than the rabbit's.
"We've added a cryoprotectant mixed with trehalose to improve vitrification. It's also much less toxic, even at relatively high doses," Elena explained with pride. Pierre smiled in appreciation. But then a shadow of concern crossed her face. "Because trehalose is an organic substance, and it helps vitrification water, mixing it with our cryoprotectant, allows us to perfuse the brain cell at high dose."
"However, the human brain is much larger, so uniformly perfusing the protective substances throughout the tissue is challenging. That's why you see more damaged areas in preservation."
Pierre glanced at the image. "These damaged areas are only about 10 percent? That seems small."
Elena nodded but hesitated. "It's about 10 percent during preservation, but..." She paused and tapped a command on the console. The brain sample began to warm, and the 3D image shifted. This time, large swaths—nearly half the brain—appeared in gray.
Pierre lifted his brow. "What do the gray regions mean?"
"They indicate dead brain cells and tissue," Elena said quietly. "As the brain warms, the damaged areas spread, now covering around 50 percent of the volume." Her voice displayed a hint of disappointment. "Some neurons die during preservation, but many more are lost during rewarming."
Pierre nodded thoughtfully. "So, even though the structure is preserved, the brain's electrochemical functions still fail."
"Exactly," Elena replied. Pierre smiled slightly at the analogy,
"It's like a battery in winter."
"Yes," she continued, "at this scale, the neuron's complexity means the brain behaves like a single-use battery—it loses its charge more easily during cold exposure. Once the charge is gone, it's extremely difficult to restore."
Her voice held a note of concern, underscoring the challenge they still faced.
"Brilliant, Elena—you've even managed to preserve the human brain!" Pierre summed up with admiration.
"Thanks, Pierre," Elena replied, though her concern lingered. "We still need to find ways to recover or prevent damage to the brain's neural activity." She nodded, the weight of the challenge evident on her face.
Pierre gave her a reassuring pat. "You and your team have come so far. It's impressive."
Elena flushed slightly as some colleagues glanced their way. She cleared her throat softly. Pierre noticed and gently withdrew his hand.
Turning back to the work, Elena addressed a few more issues her team was tackling. "There's still a long way to go before we can make any announcements." Pierre simply nodded, understanding the pressure.
Elena led Pierre to explore other ongoing projects, and they remained engrossed in discussion until noon. She was visibly delighted by his interest—his questions and engagement fueled her enthusiasm.
She then pulled him deeper into the lab, to a secluded corner where her colleagues couldn't see.
"Will you give me back my underwear? I'm cold down there," Elena said, her voice bold yet hushed.
"I thought you liked it," Pierre teased.
Elena didn't reply, instead glaring at him, her eyes demanding its return. Pierre was about to comply when an alarm blared in the lab.
(ALARM)
An alarm blared, and Elena rushed to the front of the lab, Pierre close behind. There, she saw two colleagues collapsed on the floor, crying out in pain. Cold vapor was escaping from a chamber, while another colleague, Dora, stood stunned near the tank. A fourth colleague hurried to assist Elena and assess the victims.
"Valve the tank!" Elena ordered. Dora snapped into action, shutting off the leak, and the cold vapor ceased.
"Someone get warm water!" Elena called. Pierre quickly returned with two buckets of warm water and cold-resistant gloves.
"Thank you. Now, everyone, help me!" Elena and Dora began rinsing one victim, while Pierre and the other colleague tended to the second.
The cold burns from liquid nitrogen had caused partial skin cell death, but their swift action helped preserve the affected tissue.
"This is all we can do for now," Elena said, exhaling heavily.
By the time they finished rinsing, the medical team arrived and transported the victims to the infirmary.
"Thank you, Dora, and you too, Pierre," Elena said gratefully.
While Pierre and another colleague investigated the chamber's leak, Elena bent down to pick up a water bucket, unaware of a colleague behind her. Her skirt lifted slightly, briefly revealing her unshaven zone. Dora, standing behind her, saw it clearly. Elena sensed the cold air against her skin and quickly pulled down her skirt, covering herself. Turning around, she saw Dora blushing.
Elena's face burned with embarrassment. The two stared at each other, frozen. Dora seemed stunned to see this side of Elena, while Elena was at a loss for what to do.
Pierre broke the silence. Glancing at his smartwatch, where a small red light blinked slowly, he said, "I'll tell an engineering team to fix the chamber and check for other leaks."
Elena's mind was blank; she caught only fragments of Pierre's words before responding, "Uh… um, yes, please."
Pierre, puzzled by her distracted response, pressed on. "Thank you so much for this morning, Elena."
"Uh… no problem at all—I'd love to show you more," she replied, struggling to regain her composure. Gradually, Elena refocused.
Pierre smiled. "It's noon already. How about lunch? You two should come too." He glanced around and added, "The appelflap at the Dytch café sounds perfect for everyone."
Elena's thoughts cleared as she recalled the comforting scent of cinnamon and apples from her morning jog. The two remaining colleagues eagerly agreed.
"Looks like our boss is learning to socialize," Elena teased, closing the distance between them as she handed Pierre a bucket.
"Alright, let me put these buckets away," she said with a sharp glare. Pierre couldn't help but follow her, carrying the two buckets to a nearby restroom.
Inside the restroom, Elena's tone softened. "Please give it back," she said, her voice hushed but serious.
Pierre, sensing her sincerity, handed over her underwear. Elena quickly took it, retying the side ties and slipping it on. Hesitantly, she spoke again.
"She saw it…"
"Who?" Pierre asked.
"Dora. She was staring at me back there," Elena admitted.
Pierre raised an eyebrow. "Do you like it? Being seen in public?" he asked playfully.
"No! I'm so embarrassed now. She saw my…" Elena trailed off, unable to finish.
"Are you sure?" Pierre teased, his hand brushing her thigh.
They lingered in the restroom for about ten minutes before returning to the lab. Elena's colleagues noticed her ponytail now hung loose over her shoulder, while Pierre, with one hand in his pocket, had an untidy, folded shirt hem.
Pierre's smartwatch blinked green steadily.