“This is it.” she said, a mischievous gleam in her eye.  It seemed to reflect off the machine. “Finally.”

A blue light lit up and began blinking in time with her heart, it seemed.  It was ready. She opened the hatch and stepped inside.

“All good?” her assistant asked from the other side of the thick glass.

She strapped herself in.  “As good as its gonna get, Murphy!” she responded.  “Fire her up!”

Nodding, Dr. Murphy pressed a button.  The blue light turned red and the time machine started to shake violently.

“Oh, and Vanessa!” Murphy added almost as an afterthought, yelling over the ruckus.  “I suspect I'll see you again, very soon!”

Dr. Vanessa was confused by her assistant’s comment, but she had no time to ponder it.  A white light blinded her. The shaking stopped.

Then she woke up.

“Nice to meet you, Doctor Vanessa!  I'm your new assistant, Gabby Murphy.”  Strangely dazed, Vanessa smiled at the woman in front of her.  

Dr. Murphy walked back to her new desk.  Clutching a small recording device, she spoke softly to herself.

“Third lifetime, and the subject still has no clue.  I must continue on working on preserving the memory.”