The doctor clears his throat and speaks up over the growing background hum. “Who here recognizes this machine?”

I can’t say the sight was drumming up anything but a headache. I take wild guess, “An MRI?”

But the doctor gazes above me…to Riley, sheepishly raising her hand.

“Don’t tell me,” I say, voice deflating, “This machine is supposed to be the Brain Washer 5000?”

The doctor nods, “It’s quite alright, you can tell her-errr, the patient.”

“Alexa, this thing…” Riley trails off. “It erases memories.”

“Ah-ah-ah,” the doctor chimes in, “This miracle of modern medicine does not erase anything.”

Is he bragging? “The Gamma Knife suppresses a patient’s memories, quite efficiently, too.”