The intranet had proven useful for more than simulated socialization -- it had made her think of something. Sort of. That man... She couldn't remember his name now... Had mentioned the concept of a hivemind, which to Ellie had deferred simply to "mind", and then to... Brain.
She was no virologist. She had general knowledge of biology, cells, genetics -- and her specialised knowledge fell in a subset, a child of all these and other things. She couldn't claim to be the kind of person who'd be able to singlehandedly understand something complex enough to overturn and control an entire human body. But she could investigate. Being honest, Ellie wanted very much to feel useful -- and she wanted to feel as though her schooling was useful for more now than just helping nurses and what handful of doctors remained remember their anatomy. Eloise wouldn't be doing brain surgery any time soon, but she did want to do some comparisons -- she knew what a normal system of neurons did, how it functioned, what it looked like. She knew what a normal, healthy brain ought to resemble as well. It stood to reason that she could make fairly intelligent observations about infected brains.
It was just that immunes didn't really take scientific proposals. Eloise wasn't sure she had the skill to convince other people that this was interesting, or might be a good thing to do. She'd go it alone if she could, of course, but she'd lost the key to the NYU Neural Sciences Center a long time ago, and she needed someone with muscle to help her get in if she wanted any supplies or files.
Providing those supplies and files were even still there. Ellie had hope that they would be.
She just had to find help. Had to ask for help. It was really just a supply run at the core of things, wasn't it? Just like any other. People did things like this all the time; it didn't have to be a production.
Eloise was mapping out the route in her head when she saw what looked like the perfect candidate for a companion on this trip. The Public Library had its own small handful of immunes, of course, but she'd not wanted to bother them -- they all seemed to have their own concerns. But this person... She'd never seen him before, but his demeanor seemed to advertise that he was at least confident. He looked like he could break down doors. She ought to ask him.
So that's what she did. She walked to him quickly, dodging the crowd, and before there was any time to second guess (or maybe make a better decision) Ellie said:
"Sorry to bother you, mister."
She blinked up at him, observing the gear he wore, his tired expression. Maybe she should have found someone with more energy; science never slept, as evidenced by her own dark circles. "I was wondering -- have you ever kicked down a door? Smashed in a window?"
Good. Straightforward opening. "I need someone to help me. Do those things."