‘What'd you do? Why won't you let me on board the ship?’
She finally found him. Enough of him anyway. Enough of his particles to make a new one, an approximation. She could alter the size and scale of his next incarnation once they landed in the next world. But this corner of the galaxy was closing and closing fast. She couldn't bring him on board or risk contaminating the vessel. She set the machine to work. ‘Hold tight,’ she said. ‘This won't hurt, it'll tingle, and then it's-’ she left off there. He’d already disintegrated. ‘Did you get the reading?’ she asked the ship.
The lights buzzed in response. His soul onboarded, and his genetic map complete, they could finally leave this sector.