20012001

Aki:
I was infected by a Phantom during an experiment. Normally no one could have survived.

Gray:
How did you?

Aki:
Dr. Sid created a membrane around the infection, keeping me alive. So the first spirit wave was me. The second was a fish.

Gray:
A fish?

Aki:
The third was a deer I found in a wildlife preserve outside of Moscow. The fourth was a bird. Ever try to track a sparrow from outer space? It's no fun. What am I saying; you probably would love that.

Gray:
You're right, I probably would.

Aki:
And then there was that plant I collected from Times Square.

Gray:
I thought that was number six.

Aki:
What?

Gray:
You skipped one.

Aki:
[Quietly] The fifth was a little girl, dying in a hospital emergency room. I retrieved the sample in time, but she, uh… I told her everything had a spirit. Dogs, cats, trees, little girls, even the Earth. I told her that she wasn't dying, just returning to the Earth's spirit. To Gaia. She, uh, told me that she was ready to die. She said I didn't have to make up stories to make her feel better. [Pause] Only seven years old and ready to die.