Have you ever been knocked unconscious? If you ever have, most would probably agree that being knocked out is painless, however the waking up part sucks. First comes the disorientation and then once you sit up to get your bearings, that results in a headache that splits your skull like a ripe cantaloupe. I experienced the skull-splitting part as I sat there. I had difficulty figuring out where I was located. My eyes didn’t seem to want to work long enough to focus on my surroundings. The nausea that rose in my chest into my throat didn’t make the process any easier. As I sat there I begin the process that people go through when trying to figure out what is going on. I began by going through every body part attempting to figure out what injuries had been sustained. Due to the pain that racked my head, I could tell that the topmost part of my body had been rendered pretty much mush. With this in mind, I decided it would be best to start at the bottom and work my way up.
I felt that my feet worked but the pain that radiated caused difficulties when I moved them. My legs were still attached however my left leg seemed to be a bit damaged. My waist seemed a bit off which caused additional worry. As I attempted to shift my weight, a vast amount of pain blossomed worse than my head. I had only checked half my body yet I firmly believed the worst still awaited. My chest felt as though a baby elephant had chosen to use my rib cage as a stool. I found that my breathing remained labored and difficult. Apparently, my headache remained the least of my worries.
"Ahhhh,” I moaned softly.
"Sir, please stay still. You are severely injured but we are going to take care of you. Don't worry. Can you tell me your name?” A man's voice asked. I didn’t recognize the voice but care emanated like silk on the air and yet worry invaded his tone like poison.
"… I don't...” I hissed as pain ripped through me threatening to drown me in darkness. “Where am I? Where is this?” I asked with confusion as I attempted to sit up. Pain split my body open like salt in an open wound.
"Sir. Sir, please lay still. You may injure yourself worse. What do you remember?” came the man's voice.
"Nothing. I don't remember anything". I managed to get out through gritted teeth.
"Ok, what is the last thing that you remember?” he gently prodded.
"I left work. I was crossing the street or something. I have no memory after that.” I wheezed out through the pain.
"That is to be expected with your head injury. We are going to give you something to help with the pain while we fix you up,” he said.
I see them inject something into my arm. The world swam for only a moment before returning to a peaceful blackness.
——————
The difference when waking from a drug rather than head trauma was apparent almost immediately. I woke up with much less difficulty the second time. I noticed right away a big difference in the pain level as well. This time I felt no clever in my skull. My body’s response to a request to move generated much less protest.
As I opened my eyes, I found myself in what appeared to be a hotel room. At least on the surface, the room had the appearance of a hotel room until I looked back at the beeping monitors that show life still resided within my body. I laid in a bed that felt much more comfortable than any hospital bed. Paintings and pictures hung on the walls around me. A lamp that looked very ornate sat on a bedside table to my left. About the same time, I came to the conclusion that this was not the hospital, what I assumed was a nurse walked in the room. She wore a uniform that did not conform to any nurse that I have seen. Don't get me wrong, her attire was appropriate however it looked more like a uniform that a server or attendant would be wearing.
"Ah, you are awake after all. That is wonderful. How do you feel? Any pain, nausea, or headaches?” the nurse asked in an extremely perky voice.
"A bit of pain in my head and chest but not as much as I thought I would have. ,” I said with a small grogginess in my voice.
"That is to be expected with your level of injuries. The doctor will be in shortly to visit with you. Is there anything you need in the meantime?” she asked politely.
"No thank you ma'am,” I said.
She left just as smoothly as she arrived. I realized that I didn't get her name while she was here. I was still feeling the drugs a small amount so I probably wouldn't have remembered it anyway. I started to look around a bit more and found the room to be pleasant. It really was just like a hotel room. It smelled like a hotel and had carpet on the floor. Carpet? Why would anyone put carpet on the floor? Fireplace? Seriously? Something just isn't right with this room. I decided to get up and explore a bit. Yeah that wasn’t going to happen. The first move I made put pressure on my hips and legs which apparently didn't appreciate it. I quickly decided that moving wasn't a good idea just yet.
The door swung open and the man that walked in I assumed was the doctor. He was wearing a lab coat with an access badge. He looked in his mid-40s and his hairline was in a high-speed chase in the wrong direction. He wasn't really overweight but you could tell that he had a large build.
"Good day to you sir. How are we feeling?” his jolly voice rolled over me.
"I have been worse but much better than I was. Still having a bit of pain when I move but nothing like I had when I first came in.,” I said.
"Well that is excellent,” he says as he walks up to the bed and extends his hand. "I am doctor Ralinsky. I am the main physician overseeing your care. You came to us with some rather severe injuries. First, you had a broken ankle on your left leg as well as a broken tibia. Also, your pelvis was fractured, and left hip socket shattered. If those weren't bad enough, we found you had also punctured a lung because you had broken two ribs. One of those ribs pierced your left lung and caused you to have a pneumothorax. Finally, we found a severe concussion with a brain bleed that was putting intracranial pressure on your brain."
With a slightly sarcastic tone, I said, "That is all? I was worried that I might have hurt myself badly. ". I smiled as I said this to let him know that I was joking.
"You are lucky that you survived. Most people would have died before they even made it to a hospital for medical care," he said seriously. "Luckily for you one of the people that were first too you works for us and was able to get you here almost immediately. That alone probably saved your life. "
"Well please pass my thanks to him or her for getting me the care I needed." My thoughts were confused. After he described all my injuries, I can't figure out why I am not in worse condition. I mean in most cases with all those injuries would require weeks of healing to allow me to even sit up. I should still be on major pain medications and have a cast on my leg. Something is just not adding up here. "So, can you answer a few questions for me, like what happened to me? How am I healed this much?"
"Well officially you have been unconscious for two days but you are very correct in the fact that you should be far less healed than you are in such a short time. ". Doctor Ralinsky agreed. "However, you had help most do not. "
"Oh?” I inquired.
"We have access to advanced technology that others do not. We felt that your injuries were so severe that you would not have survived without technologically advanced treatments. You were injected with zeptobots or zbots for short. They are small enough to fix even the tiniest injury. ". he explained, "they were able to go into your brain the repair the tiny vessels that had been damaged by your accident. The zbots reknitted your bones together and repaired your lungs. I can have an engineer explain the technical specifications of the zbots if you wish but suffice it to say that they did their job.”
"Seems that way. So, do they just turn off or do I need to do something to get them out?" I inquired.
"Why would you want them gone? You need to understand what we have given you. Let me get one of the specialists in here to help,” he says as he pushes a call button on the wall and then speaks into the device. "Can we get Shandra down here?"
"Yes doctor. I will have her report to you immediately.” a voice responds.
The doctor turns back to me and says, "In the meantime, let me check your vitals.".
"OK,” I said.
I waited as he took my pulse and checked my other vitals. I had a chance to think about the fact that I had little robot thingies in my body. I honestly didn't know what to think.
In the end, I decided to wait for more information. If they can help finish healing me, what harm could it be to keep them around for a day or so?
There is a knock on the door within just a few minutes and women walks into the room. She has very large thick glasses on but very attractive facial features. She has a rather short stature but seems athletic by nature. "Hello, my name is Shandra McClurre. I am the head scientist over the Z Project. I see that they have done wonders for your injuries. Are you having any issues that we should be aware of? Any tingling of your nose? How about itching inside your eyes?" She asks.
"Uh, no. Should I be?,” I ask.
"Oh no, but I was just curious,” she smiled back.
"Right. What exactly did you put in me?" I asked.
"They are version 3.2 zeptobots. They are designed for repair and enhancement of the human biological architecture. We have been working on them for some time now and these are the best version by far. They have a new logic structure and can communicate with each other for coordination of repair. Before we used a series of nano processors embedded in the brain to act as a hub for communication and coordination but that proved hard to maintain and was too slow for serious injuries. Now that the zeptobots can decide for themselves what they need to repair first, they can send each other a priority list. They know how many of them it will take to fix the damaged tissue or stimulate growth for repair. They are almost completely autonomous. " she said so fast that keeping up was like trying to hold on to bullet as it is shot from a gun. Needless to say though, I understood enough to know my body had these things that decided what to do by themselves. It was kinda unnerving.
"So, I am not going to turn into a cyborg or something am I?,” I tentatively asked.
"Oh no. They are not capable of doing that. This particular batch is programmed for repair and enhancement only. They have no other purpose. When you are fully healed, they will simply lay dormant until they are needed again. We have other programming we can add to them later that can benefit you further but at this point we are focusing only on your injuries. ,” she said.
"Ok. So how long doc before I am well and can get out of this bed?, I asked as I shifted in bed more toward the doctor.
"Even with the accelerated healing from the zbots, it will still be several days before you are back up to normal. During that time, we will just monitor your progress and then go from there. There is one other person that wants to speak with you but that will probably not happen till tomorrow. He is very busy and not available today. ,” he explained.
"Alright, well I guess my job is to just lay here.,” I joked.
"Exactly. I will visit you again tomorrow. " he said and headed out the door.
Everyone left with him and I found myself alone in this room that acts like a hospital room but looks like a hotel room. I laid back and got more comfortable. Moving still sent pain running along my hips and legs but it was tolerable. As I lay there contemplating everything that I just heard, I kept coming back to the fact that I had robots in me. I had no control over them and they were so small I couldn't see them. As I dosed back off, my last thought was that I might have died if it weren't for the zbots so obviously they can't be that bad.
_______________________
I awoke as someone was slowly opening my door. It was another attendant. I really couldn't see them as nurses because they had on such a formal uniform. She walked slowly up to the bed and was peering at the monitors.
"I am awake. What time is it?,” I asked.
"I show that it is 7:30 am." she said with a glance at her watch. "Would you like me to turn on the lights?
"Yes please." I responded.
I managed to sit up without any major pain and was able to move my legs normally. Well, as normally as a person could only three days after almost dying. The nurse helped me get to the edge of the bed.
"Do you want to try and stand sir? " she asked.
"Sure, why not. What is the worst that could happen? " I laughed.
I began to put weight on my legs gradually and found them to be fairly steady. No real pain either which was a bigger surprise to me than being able to support my own weight. I tentatively took a few steps. I was wobbly but could do it. I headed for the bathroom because I had not used the facilities yet this morning. I let go of the nurse and began to walk solo. This was not too bad actually. I handled my business in the bathroom and came back into room. The nurse politely walked beside me back to the bed and helped me lay back into place. The pain was tolerable and easily handled. After she left, I dosed a bit and began to have some very weird dreams. I felt like I was on a large construction site. I didn't know what was being built but I could see thousands and thousands of workers moving around doing various tasks. I didn't know exactly what was going on but I could sense them talking to each other. The longer I watched the workers, the more patterns I could see in their actions. Groups of workers would move around in a coordinated dance. I called out to the nearest group of workers to get their attention. I wanted to know what they were doing. All the sudden the entire group stopped their action and turned to face me. It was almost like they were waiting for something from me. I opened my mouth to form the words of my question and...
I was jolted awake by the knock of a set of large knuckles on my door. I experienced an adrenaline rush just as I woke up.
I said, "Come in." A six-foot tall man in a formal dress uniform entered the room followed by my doctor and the technician.
"Good evening. My name is Major-General Thornton. I am the commander of the local contingent of armed guards protecting this facility. It is my duty to maintain order and discipline among the guards and ensure that all staff and patients are properly protected. I also encourage some patients to join the contingent depending upon the need and the perspective patient." he said.
"Nice to meet you sir. Is there something that I can do for you?,” I asked.
"Not at this time sir, I just like to meet the patients and get to know them as they come through the hospital. This allows me to assess their abilities and aptitudes for further consideration. The doctor here tells me that you're making a rapid recovery and that you should be back to normal functionality within a couple days. He explained that this is not abnormal with this treatment but seems to be slightly faster for you than most." He explained.
Stolen story; please report.
I joked, "I have always been extraordinary. Just asked my mother."
"I am sure she would say that about her son no matter what. It was nice to meet you and I'm sure I will see you sometime in the future.” he responded.
"It was nice to meet you too sir. Feel free to stop by anytime." I said.
The general walked out of the room and closed the door behind him. The doctor smiled and started to check my vitals on the monitors.
The technician walked to the other side of the bed to speak with me and asked, "how are you feeling today. The zbots report great progress in your healing."
"I'm feeling much better today and am able to walk around on my own with limited support. The pain level that I experience is minimal at this time and much better than what it was a day ago. I appreciate the work that you have put into my treatment." I said.
"Good I am glad to hear it. Are you experiencing any side effects? It has been reported sometimes there is tingling or an itch that just doesn't go away." She asked.
"Nope, not a thing. No itches, tingles, or anything. The only thing that is abnormal is my dreams and that is my subconscious that is just strange." I chortled.
"Dreams? What kind of dream?" she asked with a genuine concern.
"Nothing horrid or anything I assure you." I said, "just some weird dreams that I have never had before." I proceeded to explain about the construction site and all the workers. I also told her about me yelling at them and some workers stopped and looked at me.
"That is really abnormal. Let me check your zbot’s logs to see if there is anything out of the ordinary that was done to your brain when they repaired the damage." She said as she walked over to a wall station with a screen on it. She detached the screen from the wall, which I didn't know could be done, and proceeded to start tapping out all sorts of things. She read for several minutes and then frowned. "Nothing happened during the repair. It was all routine. Hmmm. Let me run a diagnostic on your zbots to make sure they are working ok." And again, she started tapping out different things on the screen. She had obviously done it before because her fingers were almost nothing but a blur of motion at times. "Oh this is odd. Very odd indeed. It shows here that there was a three point seven second interruption in the command pathways of several million zbots. They actually stopped processing commands or coordinating with any of the other zbots. It is almost like they were put in an unprogrammed status for a few seconds." She looked back up at me and asked, "you said you yelled at a group of workers and they just stared at you like they were waiting for you to do something?"
"Yep. I felt like they wanted something from me. They were simply waiting for me to give it to them." I said.
"I wonder. Doctor, can you run an advanced neural pathway scan on him for me? I want to make sure that the zbots didn't cross wire him." she said. She looked at me and said, "only joking on that one sir. However, I don't want to take any chances that something went wrong with the zbots."
"I understand. How long with that take?" I asked as I turned to the doctor.
"Oh, not that long. About ten minutes or so." He said.
"Ok then. I guess I am in your capable hands again doc." I laughed.
"Ok, lets see here." He pulled out a hand-held devices with a small screen on it. Much like a cell phone but much more plain and benign looking. "Activate the scanner. Lower the arm. Calibrate the EM field." the doctor muttered as he worked and continued to do so as I watched the ceiling actually part above me like a sea of panels. They simply retreated to the sides of the room like a wave of the ocean retreating back into the sea. As I watched, a large arm began to unfold and lower itself from the ceiling. A large red lens was glowing at the end of the arm. It almost looked like an eye. It was set into a metallic box with multiple status lights blinking. Once it was facing me and was even with my head, it simply stopped and waited. The doctor continued to mutter several different things as he finished calibrating the machine.
"Now if you'll just simply sit still for a few moments this will scan your neural pathways to determine if there is any deviation from a standard human pattern." He said.
"Will I need to sit still for the entire 10 minutes?" I asked.
"No only for the initial scan will you require to be still. Once the initial scan is complete the data will take about 10 minutes to actually analyze and produce a valid report." He answered.
"Alright then. I think I can handle being still for a moment." I responded.
Although there was an eye looking at me, or at least that's the way it felt, I did not have any feeling during the scan itself. There was a red mesh like light that was emitted by the scanner and surrounded my head. Various lines embedded from that web were pointed at my skull and brain and seem to pass through without any resulting sensation. The actual scan process only took about two minutes but of course it seemed like longer because I had to sit still. Of course, the remaining eight minutes that it took to actually create the report and analyze the information gathered, seemed like an eternity. At the end of this eternity the doctor borrowed the screen from the technician and was able to load the report and corresponding results on the handheld device.
"If I am reading this correctly, your scans show up as almost completely normal. However, I do is see a slight increase in a part of your brain that would normally be used as an interface for the zbots. That is unusual due to the fact that these zbots are programmed to repair only. No other instructions were input so repair was the only objective,” said the doctor with a strained perplexing vision on his face.
I looked at the doctor and thought to myself, ‘with a worried look such as that on the face of the person healing me, what exactly have I gotten into?’ Although no technician could outright explain what the issue was, no one seemed overly concerned with the results of the scan or the end result of my healing. I continued to rest through the day and was told that they would rescan my body the following morning. I was constantly being assured that there was nothing wrong and that although the results of my initial scan were interesting, no harm had befallen me from the small anomaly in the results.
I found myself walking through a strange yet familiar building. Many walls and doors surrounded me with each turn I made. I felt neither danger nor fear. I was looking for a specific door and each passage I traversed made me feel closer to a goal I was unaware of. The lighting was bright and artificial with an occasional flicker from the bulbs that passed overhead. The further my path took me, the higher tech the doorways and displays lining the passage became. I stopped for a moment to examine one of the displays upon the wall. A language completely unknown to me appeared to be scrolling vertically within the display. A twinge of curiosity crossed my mind as to what was being output but at the same time an itch was beginning to make itself prominent inside my mind. Although I desperately wanted to find out more in regards to what was being displayed, I couldn’t take the incessant need to keep moving any longer.
I began to ignore the displays and look for a doorway that was armored and high security. I just had a feeling that this passage would end at a door. Sure enough, I had traversed only a few more steps when this door came into view. As I approached, I became faced with an overwhelming feeling that I was being looked at with intense scrutiny. I could see no obvious person or being looking at me but somehow, I simply knew that an examination was being performed. I stood waiting in front of the door for an eternity. A wave of acceptance washed across me like a tide flowing back to the sea. I was not aware of what this meant however the door split asunder before me.
I walked through the arched doorway with a minor amount of apprehension but I also felt no danger or malice coming from within the room. The lights within flared to life as I entered. To my left was more panels that were dark and to my right were tube shapes displays. All were empty except for a single silky black suit. I felt as though this suit was something of great interest and great importance. Suddenly the screens that were now behind me as I faced the suit lit up. I could see a image of myself semitransparent. Displayed on the screen was my vitals, and a progress bar. The progress bar was slowly moving closer and closer to completion. I didn’t know what the bar meant but obviously it was something of importance.
As I stood there watching the the progress reach one hundred percent, a subtle change happened even though I had no idea what it was at the time. Something drove my curiosity and so I turned back to the suit. The transparent front of the tube was no longer there to act as a barrier. I approached carefully and ending at a distance that allowed me close inspection of the material that appeared suspended with nothing visibly holding in place. From the shine and texture, I thought the material appeared like a velvet that was hard and soft at the same time. Although this appearance confused me, I felt as though it was safe to touch.
I reached out a hand to ever so lightly brush against the material and find out if the appearance was deceiving. As my hand brush against the material the suit gave to my touch and ripples as though the material was a flag suspended in space. I pulled back my hand but the material followed as though glue was binding the suit to my hand. I did not understand nor panic as I watched the black material begin to cover my hand and rise up my arm. Again, I felt no fear or malice, however my human nature began to kick back in as over ninety percent of my body was covered and I felt the darkness of the material creeping up my neck. As it reached up the back of my head devouring my skull, true panic set in and I screamed for help. Blackness took over my vision.
I awoke to a nurse looking distinctly disheveled bent over my bed talking into the microphone that I would normally use to communicate with her.
“…care what the technician said. I know what I saw and they need to get their technical butt up here. Page the doctor too and let him know that we need to have another scan of this patient done immediately.”
As she laid the microphone down again on the bedside table she noticed that was now awake and looking at her.
“Sorry if I woke you sir. I was just relaying some information to our technical team and requesting further instructions in regards to your care,” she smiled sweetly as the words rolled from her lips. However, that confident smile did not hide the worry or fear reflected in her eyes.
I opened my mouth to ask a question but never got the actual opportunity to vocalize the words. An interruption in the form of a doctor and two technicians deep in a semi heated discussion boiled into the room.
“…understand what the nurse claims to have seen sir but it is impossible. There is simply no way it can happen spontaneously. The programming and logistical data required have never been loaded into these zbots.” Said one of the technicians hot on the heels of the man I knew as my doctor.
“I hear what you are saying but the facts are still the same. It happened. Now find out why so we can fix it.” , the doctor said in a slightly terse tone. The doctor then proceeded over to my bed and looked at me. Then took the tablet from the wall and began tapping rapidly on it inputting multiple things. As I watched, the roof began to move and part like the sea and the large red eyed scanner descended back into place over my bed.
“We were planning to run another scan today anyway but due to what happened, we are going to scan you a bit sooner than originally planned. It also will take a little longer than before. This will be a much more detailed scan than the last one. Please try and remain still for at least 6 or 7 minutes,” said the doctor.
“I think I can manage that,” I said.
As the time passed my imagination continued to dream up all sorts of syndromes and problems. No one had explained exactly what was seen and why the rush to have me rescanned, but I was alive and that was more than most could expect when receiving such grievous injuries. The glow of the red lens on the scanner almost looked like an evil eye glaring into my soul. I could almost feel the wisps of malicious energy emanating from the deepest parts of the machine slowly entwining me within the grasp.
“Thank you sir, the scan is complete. If you give us a few minutes we can let the computer finish the analysis and then the results will be available” said the nurse.
I sat back and simply watched the nurse, technician and doctor get deeply engrossed in a discussion obviously pertaining to me but I awaited the resolution of the conversation before asking more questions. Putting undue pressure on the people that saved my life would seem very ungrateful.
“…possibly but how?” The nurse ask.
“…not possible. It just is not possible.” Interrupted the technician.
“Both of you just wait a minute for the analysis and then the discussion of possibilities can take place. Whatever the nurse saw can be explained one way or another. “ The doctor calmly but firmly stated. Just as he was finishing his sentence, the computer unit chirped and started to display results.
“I told you I was not crazy!,” the nurse exclaimed.
“This is just not possible. In all the years I have been working with these units, they have never programmed themselves. They may be so small but they are still just computers.” The technician insisted.
I piped up about now and began requesting information. “So now that the results are back, do you mind explaining what all the fuss is about?”
The three other people in the room stopped and stared at me as though they had forgotten I even existed even though they were talking about the scan results from me.
The doctor regained his composure first and began walking toward my bed. “Let me start at the beginning and see if this makes any sense to you. First off, the zbots that we have used to repair your damaged tissues and mend your body have exhibited some strange behavior. An anomaly showed up in your first scan but I was not concerned about it because the scan was not comprehensive. Think of it as taking a technological equivalent to an X-ray. I can see the basics but the detail is limited. However, while you were sleeping recently the nurse came in to check on you in person because the remote monitoring system was displaying values that were considered abnormal.”
“Abnormal!!! He was dead based on those readings. You call that ‘abnormal’??,” the nurse burst out.
The doctor patiently waited for her to finish and simply returned his attention back to me. “As I was saying, the nurse decided that based on those readings, she needed to check on you. When she entered the room and looked into the bed where you lay now, she found that you slowly being covered by what she described as a ‘black liquid”. This foreign substance was slowly creeping up your chest and had already covered your lower body completely. She immediately engaged our alert system at which point I was paged to your room. By the time I arrived however, you were conscious and mobile as you are now.”
He looked at the nurse and she continued with the story, “You were almost completely covered in that liquid goo. It was like you were being eaten by liquid tar. I was really worried about what would happen when this stuff reached your airway. As I watched you being consumed, your face was finally completely covered. I will be honest, I had no idea what to do for you at this point. All of the sudden the liquid turned into some form of suit. Just as fast as it happened, the entire thing vanished and you woke up suddenly.”
This is when the technician finally took over the conversation. You could tell through the entire rendition of the previous two people, the technician was dying to put their two cents in. “As the nurse describes, it is just simply not possible. What she is describing is your is Zbots using advanced technology and advanced programming to create a form of armor that is used by only the most elite soldiers. That is but one of many functions that they can serve but I assure you, these were programmed to only heal your body, nothing more. With that being said we have run multiple scans on you and have found that the original anomaly has progressed into a node within your cerebral cortex. The location and advanced connections to this area of the brain would indicate that you should have the ability to control the multitude of bots that are within your body. This is something that the soldiers also have however yours seem to have spontaneously been created and is wired slightly differently to your brain. Normally the entity in which the bots reside do not have direct control of any one function. Think of it as a remote controlled TV. You can do the basics such as turning the volume up and down to changing the channel, however you cannot change the basic programming with in the actual TV itself nor would you be able to interact even at the most advanced level of the programming because you would be limited to what the TV construction company provided you with in the remote itself. After saying all of this, I have come to realize that you have the ability to interact directly with the bots that are within you. This also presents a problem because of the fact that we do not understand the complexity in which your brain has been rewired and to what degree they can communicate to you and you to them. This will take further investigation and testing. “
It took me a few moments to ponder this and what the repercussions might be in store for my future. “Well this would actually explain a couple of things with better clarity. You see before I was abruptly woken I was having a dream I would not consider interesting nor pleasureful. “. I then relayed the dream that I had and explained how it made me afraid.
“Most interesting. And you knew not what was happening to your physical body during the dream?” Asked the doctor
“Nope. Not a clue. Should I have?” I asked with apprehension.
“Of course not,” the technician interjected and then stepped between the doctor and myself continuing on as though nothing in regards to social cues or manners, “let’s try this. If you do have this supposed ability to communicate with your zbots, close your eyes. Now imagine that suit you saw. Now imagine you putting on the suit.” He simply waited for several minutes and the declared “see what I said was right. This subject should be able to reproduce the armor at will and he can’t. “
“You may be one of the leading technology specialists of your time but you have a lot to learn about patient care and empathy” the nurse said as she gently usher the technician out of her way. She brought a rolling stool with her as she slide smoothly on to the seat and coming to a rest in front me. “Now honey just relax. There is nothing to be afraid of.” She laughed at my look of astonishment and incredulity “seriously honey, there is nothing that is going to happen to you while you are here with us. This is the top physician on this world and as I previously mentioned we also have one of the leading technicians. Now, let’s take a deep breathe and let the air out slowly. Within the air, let your tension, questions and fear escape all at the same time. “. As I did so she smiled approvingly.
“You are doing wonderful. Now close your eyes and continue to breathe deeply and slowly. Do you remember how the suit felt against your fingers? Good, now imagine touching this suit with your whole hand. Let the feel of the material fill you with comfort and wrap around your hand as though it was a glove caressing a baby.” She continued. “You are doing wonderfully honey. Now let that comfort of the material rise up your arm gradually. As it rises, don’t fear the caress. Let your whole body enjoy the feeling of the material if it wants to. Don’t hold back. “
As she spoke each instruction soft as silk upon my ear, I could feel the material. It was soft and wonderfully comfortable and yet I knew it was also unyielding. After a moment of silence she continued.
“Honey you are doing great. I want you to open your eyes. “. She said kindly.
I opened each eye slowly and looked at her. She was beaming brightly. As I focused just behind her, I saw a look of complete shock on the technician’s face. I glanced to the left and saw the look of passive interest from the doctor. Soon everything became clear however. I focused back on the nurse but she was no longer looking into my face. She had focused on my body.
“I knew I wasn’t crazy,” she said over her shoulder.
I glanced at my body and found not my patient gown and pajamas but a shiny suit made of a material I could not readily identify. Perplexed I looked at the others in the room. “ well isn’t that interesting.”