Author's Notes: Hello again. I see some of my old readers are back, but we have many new folks joining us, as well. Welcome, welcome. Got a bit more sci in my fi this chapter, but I don't think you guys will mind. I'm afraid that I'm not in contact with my old editor anymore, and there are doubtless going to be some mistakes in this chapter, but I've got an engagement later this evening and I figured you'd prefer to have the chapter available than me keep it another day for clean-up. Enjoy, and be sure to check the footnotes for any explainations.
Friction - Chapter Eleven
"I must apologize again for our tardiness," the drell assistant said as she and Blair passed through an airlock door and into a well-appointed exam room. "The doctor is completing some prototypes and will join us soon, but I hope you'll understand that I am, of necessity, your main point of contact in this clinic."
Blair nodded silently as she followed her escort from the landing by the airlock and down a raised platform running along the walls of the room. A short staircase led to a sunken level below that held a spotless gurney and several pieces of equipment. The human could hear their faint hum as she descended the steps, and it made butterflies stir in her already upset stomach. She watched the other woman walk up to a computer and boot a holo-screen as she took a seat on the bed. When Una sprang up from the floor and landed beside her, she jumped.
"There's no reason to be nervous, Miss Hodges," the drell spoke from where she stood at her terminal, eyes still fixed on the screen of light in front of her, "These tests are not invasive. You won't feel a thing."
"I know," Blair replied as she recalled her past experiences, "I'm just…"
The assistant finished at her computer and waved away Blair's words. "It's alright. Clinics are not the most palatable of environments, even for those of us that work in them. I've opened a link for your mech; if she could upload that data now, it would do much to speed us along."
Una lit up without further prompting and established a connection to the clinics server. When the file transfer window opened, the drell turned away from her holo-screen and moved to Blair's side.
"My name is Malar. I hope you're comfortable with my attending you," she said, "Some people feel shorted when they discover Dr. Rena is a hanar and cannot perform tests or operations directly. Please be assured: while I am a fully qualified medical professional in my own right, the doctor has final oversight into your diagnosis and treatment plans."
"Oh, I'm not worried about that," Blair replied, "But I admit, I was a little surprised when you told me. I mean, Dr. Eldrani is a drell, so I guess it's not that strange that he'd refer me to a hanar, but I thought they didn't do any business off-world except for trading."
"For the most part they don't. Their ability to interface with the rest of the galaxy is greatly limited by their physiology and method of communication, but we are fairly secluded here on Noveria. While we may call this facility a clinic, that's something of a misnomer. We rarely perform procedures here except for testing purposes and we aren't open to the general public. Most of our work is research."
"But what kind of research do you do?" Blair asked as she picked at the cloth-covered gurney with her good hand, "All I saw in the lobby were biotic amps."
"We study neural interfacing - a field with many applications, including biotics. The technology that allows you to control your prosthesis through your brain port is very similar to that which allows biotic amps to communicate with ezzo nodes inside the body. Simply put, neural interfacing bridges the gap between controlling the world around you physically," the drell paused and Blair's eyes widened as the alien woman raised her hands and formed a pool of brilliant biotic light between them, "And controlling it mentally."
Malar let the fire in her hands go out and reached behind one of the delicate fringes of her face. When she drew her hand back, she held it out to Blair. The human offered her good hand curiously and smiled when a shiny green amp dropped into her palm. Its paint perfectly matched the owner's skin tone.
"A bionics brain port is on the inside," the drell remarked pointedly, "A biotics is on the outside."
Blair brought the amp to her face, being careful to handle the device with respect, and examined it thoughtfully. "But it's so much bigger than the implant in my head."
"Yes, and less sophisticated, too. The unique challenge in creating neural interfaces for bionics is that you have to compensate for the fact that they, unlike biotics, are typically missing part of their neural pathways to begin with."
"Like the nerves that were in my arm."
"Exactly. The situation is the opposite for biotics - they have extra pathways."
"The element zero nodules?" Blair guessed.
Malar smiled widely. "Very good. I am pleased that you understand all of this; it can be difficult for me to make this information relatable to people who haven't personally experienced either condition."
Blair handed the amp back to her attendant and placed her hands in her lap. The butterflies in her stomach were stronger now, but for a different reason than when she'd initially sat down. She looked at the floor to hide her face with her long bangs and was about to say something when Una chirruped happily. Both human and drell turned their attention back to the holo-screen. The upload was finished and Una had begun loading a 3-d representation of Blair's cybernetic system. Rena's assistant left her patients side to watch closely as the computer rendered Blair's bone structure, muscles, nervous system and cybernetic implants in turn.
Malar reached out to the projection and opened an overlay focusing on Blair's brain. She shifted it so that it rested parallel with the cybernetic path running down the left side of the humans bio-model. When she was satisfied with the placement, she gestured to Blair. "If you could touch the tip of each of your fingers to your thumb, please."
Blair did so, and watched with interest as the hologram lit up in response to her mental commands. She'd never seen her cybernetic model operate in real-time before.
"I'm recording the signals being sent from your brain port to your prosthesis," Malar explained, "And capturing the feedback data as well. It will take some time to analyze, but so far everything appears normal."
Malar waved her hand across the projection and the images disappeared. She plucked a data pad from a cradle mounted on the side of her computer and glanced to Una. "May I have the brain port schematics now, please."
Una bleeped in compliance and the holo-screen brought up the blueprint of Blair's brain port. Malar rotated the new projection as she had the previous one, but said nothing. Her eyes narrowed and she looked down to her own data pad once more before turning her attention to Blair and pointing at the holograph. "Is this accurate?"
Blair's eyebrows pinched in confusion, and her stomach began to lurch again. "I don't understand your question?"
"Is this your current implant?"
"Yes. It's my only implant."
Malar took a step toward her patient, and when she spoke again, the reverb in her voice was noticeably heavier. "You mean you've always used the same model?"
"I mean that's the only one I've ever had."
The drell's eyes widened and her fringe flared in a way Blair hasn't realized was possible for the species. "This is the same implant from your original surgery?"
"Is something wrong with it?" Blair asked, "You said everything was okay."
Malar shook her head.
"I said everything appeared normal," she corrected, "But this..."
The drell's voice trailed off subconsciously as she moved hastily toward the stairwell. When she reached the railing, she put a lightly scaled hand on it and turned to face Blair. "I hope you'll excuse me, Miss Hodges, but I really must speak to Dr. Rena."
.oO-Oo.
Ohari was waiting when Kilandra finally returned to her chambers in the matriarch's compound. The elder asari knew her wayward daughter would return before too long now that her night of pouting was over, so she'd simply taken the chair at her daughter's vanity and ordered her attendant to bring a tray of tea to help pass the time. As she sipped the warming liquid, she reviewed the discussion she'd had with Naveed that morning.
He wasn't convinced of Ohari's recommended course of action, that much she knew, but he'd accepted it in the end. She'd watched him pack with slow, drudging movements, constantly pausing as some item or article of clothing brought forth memories for him. She allowed him his time, as well as his request to leave a note for her troublesome child. Though she preferred a clean break for the turbulent couple, she could hardly deny him his one chance to say goodbye.
She cleared her throat and glanced at the recorder atop the vanity. The niggling need to press play and determine whether or not Naveed still held hope for her daughter was strong, but Ohari was old, and disciplined, and had grown to respect her daughter's former lover. Besides, the drell was out of reach for Kilandra now, so whatever the content of the message, her daughter would never be able to act on it.
The matriarch steeled herself and moved to refill her teacup when she heard the subject of her thoughts coming down the hall outside. The girl was searching for Naveed from room to room, and her footsteps quickened a pace each time he failed to answer her call. When she finally appeared in the bedrooms doorway, Ohari took a long, calm sip of her tea before resting the cup on one of her crossed legs and patiently voicing the obvious. "He isn't here, Kilandra."
The young asari immediately scanned the room for confirmation, and when her brilliant blue eyes landed on the empty closet her eyes narrowed. "What have you done, Mother?" she demanded hotly.
"What you should have done a long time ago," Ohari replied with equal fervor. "You've been dithering on whether you want to love that man or destroy him for far too long, so I made the decision for you. He is gone home."
Kilandra's fists clenched and she shook her head as she took several long strides toward the older woman. "I don't believe you; Naveed would never do this. He'd never just leave - not without saying goodbye."
Ohari placed her teacup back on her tray and picked up the recorder.
"In that you are correct," she said, "He left you this - out of long habit, no doubt - but make no mistake, my daughter: Naveed is gone, and this time he won't be coming back."
"We'll see about that," Kilandra returned icily. She activated her omni-tool in defiance while the matriarch frowned in mute disappointment. After a few taps to the interface, the omni-tool locked up and faded.
"Firewalled," Ohari explained as her daughter's eyes met hers with a venomous gaze, "I expected you wouldn't be able to control yourself, so I've had all points of access to Naveed and his clinic blocked. I'll be monitoring the network personally henceforth, so don't think for a moment that you'll be getting around my will in this."
"You have no right!"
The elder asari rose at last from her composed place at the vanity and faced her daughter at full-height, projecting all her age and power onto the girl. "I am the only Matriarch here, girl. I have every right."
.oO-Oo.
It seemed like a cruel joke when Naveed found himself, for the second time, in the exact same transfer station he'd originally passed through with Kilandra on their way to Thessia. While he'd realized the return route to Noveria would be a simple backtrack along the layout of the mass relays, he hadn't anticipated having the journey in such a perfect reverse. It was enough to make him question himself, but a quick pinch while waiting at baggage pick-up told him this was no unruly memory. The familiar setting was real, and he would have to make his way through it.
As he walked, mesmerized, down the busy exit into Nos Astra's proper, he found the similarities around him only emphasized those aspects of his trip that were different from the first. This time he carried only one bag, not two, and was headed for a modest economy suite at a hotel near the spaceport instead of one of the grand, glittering affairs in the trade center. The sky overhead was still brimming with daylight, and people moved with the haste of short lunch hours. The drell was irritated by their passing, and wished he could swap the sun for the stars he'd had on his first visit. The world seemed so much softer under their light.
When he'd reached his lodgings, he went straight to his room and threw his suitcase on the bed. After removing his jacket, he traveled to the bathroom and ran his hands under an automated faucet. The cool water did much to bring his mind into focus, and he used it to rub at his eyes. They were sore from being open too long, and from the crust that had gathered at his eyelids from half-formed tears. He'd fallen away from his body as he'd watched his shuttle retreat from Illium and the woman he'd left there. It wasn't until he felt the porters hands on his shoulders, shaking him awake, that he realized just how far his mind had wandered, and for how long. Now his body was paying for his embarrassing lapse, and as he felt it weigh heavily on his consciousness, he considered that his current state was one Blair lived with everyday - that of being hampered by a frail, imperfect form.
He grabbed a hand towel from the rack by the sink and padded his face dry before returning to the suites foyer and withdrawing his data pad. He'd let too many hours pass indulging in his mind-numbing reverie, and there were sure to be messages concerning clinic business in his inbox. It wasn't a healthy attitude he knew, but as his files piled up onscreen, he vowed that if he was to get lost again that evening, it would be to his work.
An hour or so later, after many replies and a half-eaten tray of room-service, his omni-tool pinged. The call was from Rena's clinic, and his skin tightened as he realized that by this time, Blair was probably out of the exam room and soundly asleep in the hotel he'd booked - assuming her night terrors weren't still dogging her. He saved the message he'd been working on and connected he call.
"Naveed Eldrani."
"Greetings, doctor," a female voice replied in his native speech, "My name is Malar and I'm calling from Dr. Rena's neuroscience center in Port Locke. She has permitted me to speak with you on her behalf, if that is acceptable."
"Of course," Naveed replied, "You must be Rena's hands."
"I assisted the doctor in administering Blair's tests this afternoon after retrieving her initial brain and body scans. While we won't be able to rule out neurological damage until we've complied her test results, we can confirm that her hardware is in tact. That said, I am concerned by the technological disparity between her brain port device and her prosthesis."
"Disparity?"
"She still has the same implant from her original surgery, and it would have been a dated model even then," Malar explained with concern, "She's operating on a relic, and I wouldn't be surprised if the modifications she's made to her prosthesis are simply too taxing for her brain port to handle."
Naveed paused when he found himself unable to process the caller's words to his satisfaction.
"I'm afraid that I'm not very familiar with the field of neural interfacing," he admitted, "Exactly how do Blair's implant and her prosthesis work?"
"Are you near a terminal by chance?"
"Yes, actually. One moment and I'll bring you up on video."
He grabbed a napkin off his room-service tray and wiped his mouth before linking his omni-tool to his data pad. When he opened the comm link, it revealed the face of a thin, blue-green woman sitting next to a holoscreen displaying an organic mass he instantly recognized as a human brain. Without even stalling to take him in, the female drell turned to the model. She was all business, and her economy of movement suggested to Naveed that she was also a little on edge.
"This is Blair's brain scan," Malar began as she moved her hand to indicate a bright blue spot near the stem, "This is her brain port device. It's essentially a microprocessor; it captures her brain activity and transmits it wirelessly to her prosthesis."
"I see. Because Blair's nerves are severed, this acts as a bridge to complete the path of commands from her brain to her hand."
"Precisely. It isn't exactly a remote, as it's not where her motor commands originate, but it may help you to think of it in that way."
Naveed leaned on the arm of the chair he sat in and replayed memories of Blair in his head. "What about the interface on her stump? She showed it to me on her first visit to my clinic."
"A redundancy. It can take time for a patient to become acclimated at first, but ultimately the brain port system offers more natural movement and reaction times than myoelectrics. It also means Blair can manipulate her prosthesis even when it isn't attached to her body, which is sometimes useful for maintenance purposes."
"So, if her brain port fails somehow then this secondary system will activate to keep her functioning," Naveed replied thoughtfully. His eyeridges pinched and an uncomfortable feeling made his throat tighten. "I didn't realize Blair's condition was this complicated."
He leaned forward in his seat as his mind worked out enough to guess at what it was Malar was anxious about. "This brain port device, it's not just a 'remote' is it? It receives information, too?"
"Just so. As you said, the brain port device can fail, and the same is true of her prosthesis. It's programmed to run regular diagnostics, and when problems are encountered it communicates them to her implant as well as her support mech. However, Blair has made so many changes to her prosthesis that I'm afraid something is being lost when her brain port devices receives messages. Or that junk information is being included. We'll know more when we get back the results of her tests."
"Can this…is this harmful to her?"
"Not in and of itself. She told us about the static - which may or may not be related, and isn't life-threatening in any case - but the overload will shorten the life of her brain port device, which, as I've mentioned, is already obsolete. To be honest Dr. Eldrani, I'm shocked it hasn't failed already due to age alone." Malar paused and glanced off screen a moment before venturing an earnest, if hesitant question. "Why hasn't she seen someone about this before now?"
Naveed brought a hand to his brow and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. The tickling in his throat was an all-out knot, now, and he had to release a calming sigh through his nose before answering.
"She told me she had," he said flatly.
The woman shook her head subconsciously and her dark eyes narrowed. "No doctor would let her walk out of their clinic with this still her head. I can swear to Arashu on that."
Naveed fell back into his seat once more and dropped his chin to his chest. He closed his eyes and tented his elegant fingers in front of his face as he pondered. Obviously, Blair's faith in him was not what he thought it was. It seemed that despite his efforts, her blanket of distrust for medical professionals extended to him, too, and now he had to be the one to confront her with the knowledge that her own actions might be hurting her. It was the second lie he'd caught her in, but unlike the casual downplay of Una's importance to her during the call from port detention, this lie was dangerous. Before, Blair had only been trying to deflect interest in her mech in order to protect it, the way a mother would a child, but now…
Now, she was doing what so many of his other patients did: trying to present herself differently than she really was in order to mask the severity of her condition. He railed inwardly at memories of patients who would swear to him that they were taking their prescriptions, only to be called out to their homes by security following some disturbance and find their pills untouched. It had never occurred to him that someone as capable and intelligent as Blair would act in the same, irrational manner. He didn't want to accept that she held his faith in her in contempt - that he might not be able to help her…
An inarticulate noise escaped him at the thought, and he fought hard to put his mind back onto the present track. He dropped his hands at last and looked to Malar. "Can you fix it?"
"We'll have to," she replied. "We risk a malpractice suit otherwise."
A cynical side Naveed hadn't before realized he had made him want to laugh. Blair had no money to see a doctor and get the problem fixed in the first place; she certainly couldn't afford to hire a lawyer. Even her visits to him were only possible though the NDC's employee benefits, and while it had always been the soul-sickening truth that many of those who needed him most had the least access, it was only now that he began to feel petty for it.
"How soon can this be taken care of?" he asked.
"That depends on Miss Hodges," Malar said as she scanned her computer screen, "We have new brain port devices suitable for human use in stock at the lab, but the surgery will take the better part of a day, and then she'll need to remain in a hospital to recover for at least two or three more. We plan to discuss this matter with her during tomorrow's follow-up."
"Good. That's good."
The female drell turned off the holograph and looked up at him. "Are you alright, doctor?"
Naveed straightened himself and sniffed. "Yes, of course. I just…I need to speak with my patient."
Malar's head tilted a fraction, but she didn't challenge him. "I'm sure you have much to discuss."
myoelectric - We move our bodies by sending electric signals down our nerves, and myoelectric prosthetics work by using residual electrical impulses in the stump (where the limb was cutoff) to move. The primary difference between this method and Blair's hypothetical brainport is that one interface requires a physical connection and the other does not.