Ward stood just outside the glassed-in workroom, chart tucked under his arm, waiting for a pause that never quite came. Monitors chirped softly inside. Someone laughed at something unrelated. Life, continuing.
When he finally spoke, it was careful. Measured.
“I’ve been seeing changes in her EEG.”
One of the attending physicians glanced up, already skeptical but polite. “Changes how?”
Ward stepped closer, lowered his voice. “Stimulus-based. I played audio. Music first. That’s when the flickers started. Then I tried something more specific.” That got their attention, at least a little. “Voices,” Ward said. “Recordings. People she knows.”
Another doctor leaned back in their chair. “And?”
“With one voice,” Ward said, choosing his words precisely, “her EEG activity increased across multip
