She can try.

June turned to Meredith, her anger instantly melting into a sorrowful regret. "Jesus, Meredith, I'm so sorry. I thought the worst they would do was call the cops. I never thought..."

"That they'd help me so much?" Meredith finished. "June, it's fine! You don't need to apologize. I'm happier than I've ever been. I wish you could try it so you'd see how nice it is."

"We'll see if you still feel that way when it wears off," June said bitterly.

"Why do you think it would wear off?" Meredith asked, genuinely puzzled. "June, I'm not drunk or **** or anything! I'm... good. I'm fine. I'm finally ok."

"You're being illegally detained by a private corporation to be their guinea pig!" June shouted. "You're not ok! The fact that you even think you're ok proves that you're not! And it's going to wear off and you're going to be-"

"It's not," interrupted a voice from above their heads. "Meredith's right, it's not a ****. It's based on prions, but it isn't a prion exactly. It has fundamentally altered the chemistry of her brain."

June sank onto the bed and put her face in her hands. "...oh God," she said softly. "I don't know how, but we're gonna reverse this. You'll see. We'll get out of here, and, and. and-"

Her speech trailed off into a loud sob and then she was weeping. Meredith sat next to her and put a hand on her back. "It's ok," she whispered. "Please don't be sad, June. I'm ok. We're gonna be ok. I just know it's all gonna work out."

June didn't respond, just continued to sob. Meredith hugged her tightly and she hugged back, her face pressed into her intern's chest. Their relationship till now had been strained at best, characterized by a simmering resentment on both sides. Now June sobbed into the ample bosom of her employee, who placidly stroked her hair. They had become this now.

"You weren't like this before," June sobbed. "You changed."

Meredith sighed. "I was bitter and angry before. I was jealous and petty and I hated you more than anyone. I used to say the worst things about you to my friends."

"But now you're just this," June said.

"I like being like this. I think you would too. I'm gonna try to convince them to give you ataraxia. Seriously, June, you have no idea what you're missing," Meredith replied softly. "It's not like **** or sex or anything else I've experienced. It's like..."

"...being in a cult," June said and sat up, her eyes red and face wet. "Listen to yourself, Mere! You're babbling about how great this is while you're trapped in some kind of evil **** dungeon! Do you even care if we get out of here?"

Meredith stroked the back of her head and June felt a strange twinge. "Of course I do. I want to get out of here and back to my normal life as much as you. I just don't feel worried or scared. I'd rather be home than in this prison, but I can accept-"

"You can accept being a fucking brain-damaged ****?" June interrupted.

Meredith continued, pulling June's head slowly back to her chest. "...I can accept that there's nothing we can do about it now. We need to talk, to think. We can't do that if we're panicking. For example: Earlier they spoke to us through a speaker. What does that tell you?"

"They're listening," June said. "Obviously."

"Obviously," Meredith repeated patiently. "So what's the first thing you would do if you wanted to convey a message secretly?" She smiled toward the ceiling.

"I'd... hm," June replied. "I, um, I guess I'd start by designing a new alphabet."

It was a terrible idea, and she hoped Meredith realized she knew that. "Good idea! Now, I don't think I can really lie or deceive right now. I just feel like the truth is more important than what's happening to two people."

June rolled her eyes, but got the message. It would be a one-way street. Now she needed to think, so she tried to indicate that. "That would be a problem. Another is how long it would take to create a new alphabet in one's mind. It might take quite a while."

Meredith nodded, barely suppressing a chuckle. June hoped that these psychiatrists got bored of her ataraxia babble and stopped paying attention. Speaking of which...

"So let's pass the time," she said after a moment. "I don't see any board games or books, and I'm sure they have more than one cell. They probably want to see how we interact. So, Meredith, can you describe exactly what you feel is different about you right now?"