But it was a heartbeat.

And then — gradually, over hours — the heartbeat began to change.

The rate began to increase.

Slowly, haltingly, in fits that caused the medical team to fear that each increase might precede a collapse, Jean Hilliard’s cardiovascular system began to find something like its normal rhythm.

Her muscles began to lose their rigidity.

The frozen stiffness that had made it impossible to move her limbs or inject her skin slowly gave way as the temperature in the tissues rose above the freezing point and then above it.

She was no longer a piece of frozen meat.