[Ellie is so damn young, Tess thinks. She doesn't know what it was like to see Infection for the first time, never experienced the panic of this previously unknown terror. She had thought science fiction was the future once, too, like flying cars and Minority Report and i, Robot were the future. As a teenager, she'd never expected to spend her adult years rationing electricity just to have a lightbulb on after dark.

Even if she could believe in other worlds...]

Ellie, no. [It comes out harsher than she expected, even from herself.] The military in our world knows what to expect and they still put down Infected... [Her. People like her.] They put down Infected even knowing there's time left. People who don't know are just going to panic more, and if it spreads...

Ellie, I am NOT gonna risk spreading it here. Go back to Joel, do what I fucking told you to do just ten minutes ago in Boston. Don't tell him you saw me. Now GO.