Augmentation

Day 35

Project – Subject: N-12

The subject has been prepared. The augmentation has been prepared. Muscles and nerves have been fitted to the mechanical socket. Their connection will be more sensitive than my own. This will allow the augmentation to move more closely to a natural limb. I will monitor subject N-12's recovery closely. If this proves to be as successful as I intended it to be, aspects of this design will be incorporated into future limbs, including my own.

Ren was blissfully under the effects of anesthesia. Viktor examined his body with approval. After a month of intensive care and physical therapy, Ren was far from the half-dead boy Viktor had scooped out of the Sump. The tenacity the kid displayed during his recovery had surprised even Viktor. Rarely had he complained about pain, choosing instead to fight through the discomfort so he could keep practicing and rebuilding his strength. Some would say that it was Ren's desire to live and spry personality that helped him bounce back, but Viktor didn't believe in such foolish nonsense. He knew Ren's recovery was due to his young body's fresh cells healing him quickly. Whatever the reason, Ren's body was healthy enough to receive its augmentation, and that was all that mattered to Viktor.

Viktor cradled the new limb in his hands. It was another beautiful creation. Its shell was made of titanium that shone sleek silver, while the pylon of carbon fiber and aluminum gave the augmentation a light-weight center. A faint chemical odor clung to the limb. This smell always caused the slightest stirring of excitement in Viktor's stomach. It was an excitement that only grew as he placed the augmentation alongside Ren.

Ren's stump was unrecognizable from what it had been a month ago. Its base, rather than freshly healed flesh, was now an intricate mechanical socket. There were latches and gears to help hold the augmentation in place, and ports for where its wiring would connect with his nerves. Unlike the peg and sock he had been wearing, this base was intended to become a permanent fixture to Ren's anatomy.

With a steady hand, Viktor locked the limb into place, his mechanical fingers easily manipulating the small parts that organic fingers may have fumbled with. It was a delicate process, but one which he had years of experience with. For a moment he considered quickly replacing several of the adolescent's fingers so that he may be able to perform the task with similar ease, but abandoned the idea almost as quickly as it had sprung up.

"It would he dangerous for him to have such autonomy," Viktor reasoned to himself.

At last, it was time to place the hexcrystal into the augmentation. Viktor opened a small container and pulled the artificial hexcrystal from inside. At his touch, it shone a bright blue color like lightning. Though it would not be as powerful as a true crystal, this manmade one would be more than enough to power the limb. One might even call the amount of power stored in the crystal excessive for powering a single augmentation; after all, a single crystal could power an entire automaton. But the people who would say that were not Viktor. For what he intended this augmentation to be capable of, he knew it would need more than a simple chem-battery.

The crystal was placed into its power cell and securely attached into the augmentation. The access panel on the back of the limb was tightly shut by more than half a dozen screws and, with a dull whir, the augmentation became active, as though the limb were taking its first breath. Ren twitched in his sleep, but remained under the effect of the anesthetic.

"New machinery. A beautiful sound."

A small remote waited beside Viktor's other tools. The device had been paired to Ren's augmentation and, with the touch of a button, it activated it. The augmentation began to cycle through basic movements. Every few seconds, Viktor glanced at Ren's face, checking for any signs of discomfort or warnings that he might be coming out of anesthesia. Much to his delight, the leg finished its demo without any hindrance. Only one great snore, that was more akin to a hog's grunt, was an indication that Ren had felt anything.

Viktor gave a nod of approval and placed the remote in his pocket. Though he would likely never have to have the limb perform its demo movements again, the remote was built with a second purpose in mind. It was the emergency shut off switch for the augmentation. He hoped his subject would remain obedient out of a sense of obligation or gratitude, but he refused to risk losing the augmentation to the moodiness of a teenager. If Ren were to attempt to flee or attack him, one flip of a switch would be all it would take to cut the power to augmentation, an act that could only be reversed by manually reactivating the crystal.

"Success."

Satisfied that his creation was safeguarded against Ren's actions and that it was properly installed on the boy, Viktor set himself to cleaning his surgical equipment and checking that Ren was still properly connected IVs. Now all that was left was to wait for the boy to wake up so that the next phase of his recovery could begin.