Of course, he had to break the barrier to creating selective brain degeneration,

there was no way he could test the current serum,

which could cause total regression, on an actual person.

It was a week after he had his medical that Eric received an e-mail from the New Zealand Immigration Service telling him he was now also required to have a dental check-up.

Well, that was really too much.

But he couldn’t very well refuse.

So Eric made a note in his schedule for the next day at two and returned to his work.

He took a small white mouse,

one he had named Neville, because it looked kind of British to him for some reason, and prepared to shave a small area on its belly.

For most of his research, Eric had been careful not to name the mice because he couldn’t name something he was planning to infect with a terrible fatal disease.

They went by their numbers only.

Now, though, he gave them all names because his current serum didn’t really hurt them,

it just gave them a fresh start and it wasn’t like a mouse would miss their memories,

they were only mice after all.

Eric shaved away a bit of Neville’s hair and held him tight as the little mouse squirmed.

Then Eric dipped the fingers of his double latex-gloved hand into a small dish of white ointment and massaged it onto the bald spot.

The mouse stayed still as he did so.

Then Eric replaced the mouse in his cage and watched as the serum worked.

It was hard to tell with a mouse how much had changed until he put it in the maze.

It had run this maze dozens of times and currently, it took it 55 seconds to reach the end.

But five minutes after massaging the drug in, Eric put Neville in the maze and hit the start button on his watch.

The mouse was totally lost.

It took over 5 minutes to find the cheese and then only by accident.

After several other tests it was clear the mouse had regressed, but otherwise had no ill side effects,

no twitching or agitation, nothing.

Eric took down his notes and forwarded them to Dr. Tyler then left for the night.

Eric was surprised to find the dentist’s office was empty when he arrived the next day.

Usually, this place would be filled with angry and anxious students

However, now the waiting room was empty,

The magazines lay neatly in a stack on the table and there was no receptionist.

Eric was about to leave, figuring he got the time wrong or the office wrong when an Asian woman popped her head out from behind the reception desk area.

“Oh hello, you here for a check-up?”

“Oh, um, yes I am.”

She nodded,

“Yes you can come right back, the doctor is out today, no patients, but the assistant will help you.”

Eric nodded and followed the woman back to a dentist’s chair.

She got him seated and then assured him the assistant would be right in.

Eric always felt uncomfortable at the dentist’s,

the room was so empty and uninviting and there were so many sharp tools,

he could understand how a mouse in his lab must feel.

A short blonde woman in pink scrubs walked in behind him carrying a clipboard,

she wore a spit visor over her face.

“Hello Mr. Daniels, we just need to check your teeth and make sure everything is all normal

We will also do a little cleaning first so we can see it well.

Then we’ll do some x-rays and you’ll be all set.”

Eric nodded, “That’s fine.”

She sat on a stool to his right and readied some tools.

“I’m Christie by the way, sorry the doctor wasn’t able to be here to do this but no worries

I’ll take good care of you.

I promise to be gentle.”