Chapter Ten
"Elder Brother… If I may have your company in my room?" Lisa asked. Lincoln nodded, going into Lisa's room. Lisa waited until he was sitting down.
"Lynn… May I have your presence as well?" Lisa asked. Lynn grumbled. She was busy. She had to do a practice triathlon. She wasn't competing against anyone. But she was going to test out her ability to do the whole thing and she needed to get started.
"Thank you for joining me. I have an offer I'd like to make to both of you." Lisa said.
"Oh?" Lynn asked.
"Do either of you know anything about bionics?" Lisa asked. Lynn shook her head. Lincoln nodded. He knew at least a little bit about it. Not enough to converse fluently though.
"Well, for those who aren't familiar, bionics are machines that can be put into a body usually. So for instance, a bionic heart could be put in in place of an organic heart. Usually, the bionic heart is more efficient and stronger than an organic heart." Lisa said.
"That is what I offer both of you. A full set of bionic organs. Well, other than your sexual organs. I lack the ability to provide those. They're simply too delicate and complex to duplicate in bionic form with any effectiveness. However, I have managed to create bionic organs from the ones you would normally think of; heart, lungs, stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys, pancreas, so on. But I also have created bionic eyes, inner ears, tongue implants, vocal chords and voice box.
"I have spent the past four years perfecting these organs. You could call yourselves the million-dollar man and woman once so implanted, though given that these organs collectively could make you worth more than 500 million, given their complexity and advanced nature, and even that would be lowballing, so calling you Million Dollar People that would be doing a major disservice to their actual value." Lisa said, smirking proudly.
"So to summarize, I offer these bionic organs to both of you. I've offered them to Luna and Luan as well. Leni has little use for them and as far as I know, neither does Lori.
"I have offered them to Roberto, who is aiming to become a police officer. Luna and Luan have not decided yet if they want to." Lisa said.
"Why are you offering this to us?" Lincoln asked uncertainly.
"Well… Because I need human subjects to test them on." Lisa said.
"I've already tested them on primate subjects. I've had definitive success with them." Lisa said.
"The next step is to test them on humans." Lisa said.
"I see… And I take it that you'd have to cut us open and take out our other organs?" Lynn asked.
"Yes. On the primates, the procedure took about 30-50 minutes." Lisa said.
"I will remove the organs and put them in containers of regenerative serum. That will prevent the organs from going bad.
"Then I will provide them to medical professionals who can use them for donations… With your permission of course." Lisa said.
"I see no reason why our organs shouldn't go to good use." Lincoln said. Lynn shrugged.
"And how long will it take us to recover from the procedure?" Lynn asked suspiciously.
"You'll be up and walking within hours, though I recommend that you take it easy for two weeks at least to allow your bodies to adjust to the new organs." Lisa said. Lynn growled irritably.
Two weeks where she wouldn't be training, where she'd be losing muscle mass, where she'd be getting dull in her abilities.
"What would the benefits of the organs be?" Lincoln asked. Lisa smirked.
"The organs would avail you both quite well. They would be more effective at what they do than the organic versions were. They would function more efficiently and allow your body to function more efficiently as well. Your stomach and digestive system would enhance your digestion and metabolism.
"As a result, you could function while eating less while getting more out of it. Your heart and lungs would function more effectively, allowing you to undertake more rigorous exercise. The nanomachine organ would enhance your healing drastically while allowing you to produce fewer fatigue toxins. So you could work out for longer. Your eyes would see better, your ears would hear better, your nose would smell better. You can see the benefits of these advancements in bionics." Lisa said.
Lynn rolled her eyes.
"But I would have to take two weeks off from my training." Lynn repeated.
"It's what I recommend. However, if you permit me to treat you intensively over the following week, I may be able to shorten that time to a single week." Lisa said.
"And they would allow me to work out for longer? And go harder?" Lynn asked. Lisa nodded.
"Furthermore, I have planned out an entire gym's worth of exercise machines.
"They are far more effective and advanced than any currently on the market. I would appreciate it if you and your teammates would test them out." Lisa said interestedly. She took Lynn into the room and pulled up the file on her computer. Lynn read over the schematics of a central computer that would connect to the gym's worth of machines. Lynn looked through each of the machines, seeing that ones for every muscle group were there. Each of them had a computer inside them. The user would input their thumbprint at the central computer.
The machines would light up with the user's color, chosen at the beginning. The machines would establish a base workout program within 30 seconds to a minute of the user using the machines, establishing the proper weight. As the user's abilities increased, the machines' weight would increase as well. The central computer's program for the user could be set up for various body types. Bulky muscular, lean muscular, weight loss and so on. The computer could make recommendations on input commands to the computer and could be changed at a later date if desired.
Furthermore, multiple users could be entered into the system at once for use and they would each be set up to start on a different machine and moved through the entire circuit or through an entire part of the circuit in the event that different muscle groups were being worked on different days. The machine could set up a program, doing various parts of the body different days and saving the program under the user's file, accessible by their thumbprint.
"Wow, Lise! How did you manage this?" Lynn asked.
"It was a simple matter of isolating each muscle group and putting them into a database, determining the type of movements that would best make those muscle groups grow and then building machines to do said exercises. These machines should be more effective than any modern machines in attacking said muscle groups. I've gotten grants from hundreds of bodybuilding groups that want to see these machines on the open market. I've gotten thousands of offers for entire gyms' worth of these machines." Lisa said proudly.
"Unfortunately, right now I'm not able to produce so many machines. However, I'm getting in contact with a number of factories who are modifying their production lines to allow them to produce said machines." Lisa said proudly.
"Wow, Lise… You've really gone all out on this." Lincoln said.
"Yes. And once you get your bionic organs put in, I'll have you avail yourself of the machines as well." Lisa said. Lincoln nodded.
Lucy, who was in the vents, gasped as she heard that Lincoln was going to be getting mechanical organs put in. Lisa was brilliant. But her inventions sometimes went wrong. She didn't want Lincoln to be injured or worse, killed. Lincoln was her soulmate. Lucy may still have been slender and light, but she was bigger now and she wasn't as easy for the vents to support. Suddenly, she fell through the vents into Lisa's room. The still small scientist gasped, pulling her research and chemicals away.
"Watch it!" Lisa exclaimed angrily, growling furiously at Lucy.
"Sorry… Please just let me be in the room with Lincoln when you do the surgery on him?" Lucy asked. Lincoln smiled, taking Lucy's hand in his.
"Elder Sister, I appreciate your loyalty to Lincoln. But I need a sterile environment if I'm going to be cutting Lincoln open. However, I'll permit you to wait outside the room and I will alert you when the surgery is done and Lincoln is sealed back up." Lisa said. Lincoln squeezed Lucy's hand.
"I'll be alright, Luce. I promise." Lincoln swore. He trusted Lisa.
Lucy nodded hesitantly, kissing Lincoln lovingly on the lips. Lynn wrinkled her nose in disgust, not because Lincoln was in a relationship with his sister, but because she didn't like seeing such displays of affection. She considered herself immune to romantic or sexual attraction. She'd been attracted to a boy back in middle school. But it just turned out it was dehydration, as Lynn said. And even if she did feel romantic and sexual attraction, she really had no time for dating. She played with herself occasionally. It was sufficient for her. She wouldn't waste more time than that in a week.
"Okay, Elder Brother. I have some time to do the surgery now if you would like." Lisa said. Lincoln shrugged.
"I guess I could do it now. I've finished my homework. I've got nothing to do right now." Lincoln said.
-0-
Lisa injected Lincoln with a sedative. She watched as he drifted off to sleep before getting out the saw to open up his chest. She had covered the walls with sheets to protect them from any blood splatter. The whole procedure took about an hour and a half. Lisa replaced every organ in Lincoln from his stomach, liver, intestines and spleen to his heart and lungs, right down to his eyes, inner ears, tongue implants and voice box and vocal chords. Lisa had been very comprehensive in creating bionic organs. After that, she injected his bones with what she called UDOM, or Ultra-Dense Organic Matter.
Lincoln would later compare it to Adamantium, though it was much lighter than Adamantium and wouldn't affect the same immune response that Adamantium did in the comics. In addition, she implanted a nanomachine organ in him. It would send nanomachines through the blood stream, programmed by the organ to target areas of damage, diseases, and the nanomachines would also slow his aging, though to what degree even Lisa didn't know. It could be anywhere from him aging 10% slower to him aging as much as 33% slower. He could live into his 150s. Lisa didn't know. But she would monitor him.
About three hours later, Lincoln slowly woke up, gasping as he tried to sit up, feeling incredibly heavy and dizzy. He groaned as he tried to stand, but collapsed back onto the bed.
"Don't stand." Lisa said bluntly.
"Sit there and gain your bearings back. Once you're not dizzy at all sitting, you may stand and move with assistance. I'll fetch you a cane." Lisa said.
"Aidbot, get a cane designed for one of subject: Lincoln Loud's height." Lisa ordered. The bot beeped and went to the corner, getting a strong, but simple cane, handing it to Lincoln. Lincoln sat for about fifteen minutes before he stood and staggered for a moment.
"Why do I feel so damn heavy?" Lincoln asked.
"That would be the UDOM. The Ultra-Dense Organic Matter.
"I injected it directly into your bones. Yes, there are certain similarities between it and the Adamantium that your favored X-Man, Wolverine has in his bones. The difference is that UDOM is non-metallic and will not instigate a negative immune reaction. Namely, the enhanced healing affected by your nanomachine organ and by the bionic organs themselves will not be impeded upon by the UDOM. Furthermore, the UDOM will not hinder your growth unduly. You're 5'11" right now. And judging by your current rate of growth, you may grow another inch at the most.
"The UDOM may prevent that inch of growth. But it will be worth it as it will allow your nanomachines their full reign in terms of enhancing your physical abilities. You see, the nanomachines diminish the fatigue toxins that your body produce during exercise, allowing you to work harder and for longer. The nanomachines will prevent your muscles from tearing under immense weight and will allow you eventually to affect superhuman physical abilities. Probably nothing insane. But beyond what humans are currently capable of at their peak." Lisa said calmly. Lincoln smiled, walking stiffly out of the room.
"Your stiffness will subside after a day or two at the most. Get some mild exercise. Go for walks and stretch. Now, if you'll pardon me… Lynn? Do you want these enhancements?" Lisa asked. Lynn had been thinking for the past three hours. She'd been thinking harder than she usually did. If Lynn had been a thinker by nature, she might have chosen an academic career. Instead, she was a professional athlete. Two weeks was a long time to take a break. But the nanomachines that Lisa mentioned might prevent her body from starting to break down in that time. She wasn't sure she wanted the UDOM.
It would make her heavier, and it seemed to have made him stiffer as well.
"I'll get everything but the UDOM. If Lincoln gets his full bodily mobility back, I'll take the UDOM as well later." Lynn said. She needed to make sure that her so-called enhancements didn't hinder her at all. Lisa nodded, taking Lynn into the laboratory.
"Okay, now, with these bionic organs alone, you may be a bit heavier. The organs are heavier than flesh and blood organs. However, it won't be that much heavier.
"And with practice, you won't even notice it. Do you want the nanomachine organ?" Lisa asked.
"Yes." Lynn said. Lisa nodded and began working on Lynn next.
Lisa had decided to offer the organs to all the siblings who were 16 or older. Any sibling younger than 16, Lisa felt was too young to make a truly informed decision. That meant that Lincoln was the youngest sibling who could get the organs. However, Lincoln, Lynn, Luan, Luna, Leni and Lori could all accept the organs, as could any of those siblings' partners. That left her a pretty big pool of test subjects. Lori and Bobby, Leni and Scott, Luna and Sam, Luan and Maggie, Lynn, Lincoln and Jordan. There were also others in Royal Woods and Great Lakes City. She wanted to test on as many humans as possible.
She would make sure they knew that they were beta testers of the product. That way, if anything went wrong, they would get top rate care. But they would know that there was a chance that could happen. It would allow Lisa to make any improvements necessary before she released the product to the public.
-0-
Lincoln needed to get some exercise. He couldn't just sit around the house for two weeks, only going out on gentle walks. He wouldn't push himself too hard. But he needed to at least go on a jog. As he went out of the house, Lynn caught up with him.
"Wait, Stinko! Let me come with you." Lynn said. Lincoln raised an eyebrow.
"I'm actually worried about you. If I'm breaking Lisa's rules, you'll shatter them. I don't want you going on a full speed run." Lincoln said. Lynn nodded.
"Fine. I'll go however fast you go." Lynn said. She knew if she decided to go full speed, Lincoln couldn't keep up with her to stop her. But in a way, she didn't want to test things. If Lisa thought she needed to take it easy after surgery, then she might as well take it a bit easy. The two set off at a light jog.
"Bet I can outrun you, Stink Face." Lynn teased. Lincoln laughed.
"Oho! You're on!" he said, running after her as she took the lead.
He knew that Lynn was almost undoubtedly going to win. She'd been an athlete almost all her life. She'd taken silver in the triathlon with a sprained ankle. What chance did Lincoln have? He was easily fifteen pounds heavier now between the bionic organs and the UDOM as Lisa mentioned and he had only gotten into athletics maybe three years ago. Lisa's nanomachines and regenerative serums let him keep up a pace in athletics that a normal person, even an athletic one probably couldn't. It let him work out harder and for longer. But that didn't make him Lynn's equal.
Still, he wanted to show Lynn that between his own work on track and cross-country, his working out and Lynn's teaching him martial arts, that her work had not been lost on him.
"Parkour race!" Lynn smirked, immediately flipping over a bench, sliding under two men carrying a couch and taking off. Lincoln laughed leaping up onto the back of the bench and heading after Lynn. She was already pretty well ahead of him. But Lincoln was slowly catching up. Lynn clearly wasn't going her full speed. She let him get about ten feet behind her before she sped up a bit.
She may have always given 100%, but she wanted to test how good Lincoln had gotten. Lincoln sighed, continuing to push himself harder, hoping that the bionics that Lisa had given him would avail him. He didn't know exactly what they did. Only that she said they were better than his organic organs. He watched as Lynn sped further away from him. It was obvious that she was getting into it and was forgetting to 'test him'. Soon, he lost sight of her and slowed down to a walk, shaking his head lightly.
This hadn't been much of a race. But it was interesting to note that he wasn't out of breath and that his heart wasn't racing. He walked back home, smiling. He felt a bit lighter, now that he was actually moving and he went inside, heading up to Lisa's room.
"So… How did the race go?" Lisa asked.
"It went okay. I was slower than I expected to be. Slower than I used to be." Lincoln said.
"That's to be expected. You'll work up speed again as you get used to your increased weight." Lisa said.
She examined him.
"I'll want to give you weekly training sessions with your bionic organs. There are certain aspects of them that you can use consciously, though most of what the organs do, they'll do with or without your input. But I'll give you a little taste right now." Lisa said. Lincoln nodded, morbidly curious about what Lisa had done with the bionic organs that would allow him to consciously control them.