She's had her own incurable condition to know the frustrations of dragging your friends along for the painful ride of futile efforts. Not wanting to deny them the chance as you get your hopes up again and again. Not wanting to give up and admit defeat because the outcome is so much worse.

But Ava grits her teeth because she didn't want to have to sympathize with yet another victim of circumstances beyond their control as they cause harm to everyone around them.

"I wanted to blame you," Ava says with resignation. "It'd be easier to finally have somebody to be mad at, for how unfair all this is. But I really am here to try to help you," she insists.

"Injected inside your brain?" she asks, wondering if she could reach inside and pluck it out. "How small?"