"You can’t do anything," Alex told her. "I signed all the clinic papers ... they’ve got lawyers." He cleared his throat, with a long rasping ache. Returning to full alertness was far from pleasant; variant parts of his carcass—upper spine, ankles, sinuses, diaphragm—registered sharp aching protests and a deep reluctance to function. "I want to sleep," he said. "I came here to rest."