Ch.111
Breakfast was a delicious affair that everyone seemed to enjoy in haste.
After breakfast and before everyone logged back into Conquest to continue training. Ron reminded the rest of his friends and the Dubois to spend some time to try and complete the first cycle in their cultivation techniques.
Soon everyone was meditating to sense or in some case attempt to complete their first cycle in their cultivation techniques. To the elated gasp of Ron's partners they easily managed a cycle or refining their Ki.
"It worked just like in your mindscape!" Ann gasped with absolute glee.
"That's great!" Ron exclaimed. "We'll practice for two hours before resuming training in Conquest."
As everyone practiced, Ron had a moment to himself and spent it designing the machine that would help him in his attempt to fix Felix's spine and once again revolutionize medical science. Ron had just finished writing a list of material to make the prototype when the first person left their meditation.
Taking that as his cue, Ron walked over and asked. "How did it go?"
Kim who had just finished meditating looked as him and moment before replying. "I can't seem to sense the Ki, it's like there's something around me that's preventing me."
"I shouldn't really be surprised that you've made so much progrees!" Ron commented and added. "Next time you're meditating try bringing what's around you into you."
"Into me..?" Kim repeated. "Ron, you mean that's Ki!!"
"Yes, you're almost a cultivator. Congratulations Kim." Ron said.
As he spent a few minutes talking to Kim, everyone else stopped meditating and got a comfortable seat to go train in Conquest.
~~~~~
With AL and Susan helping him, Ron got the materials he needed to build the prototype by the end of the week. And being too eager to see if it worked as he designed he excused himself with his ladies and went to work on it with Mrs Renton, Wade and Felix.
Felix and Mrs Renton weren't aware that the machine they were working on would help determine whether Ron could help Felix walk again. Likewise Wade was in the dark but the teenage genius was giving serious thought to the possibilities the machine represented. It was just past three in the morning when Ron bolted the last piece into place.
"Done on my end." Ron announced.
"Me too." Wade replied.
"Same here." Felix said.
"So am I." Mrs Renton added.
"Very well, time to test it." Ron said and added. "Bebe, run power up sequence and please monitor for irregularities."
"Okay Ron." Bebe agreed.
In moments a soft hum began and everyone in the room held their breath in anticipation. It was when nothing burst into flames minutes later that Ron approached closer and spoke.
"Moving to testing phase two."
As Ron laid his arm on what could be described as a high-tech hospital bed he instructed Bebe.
"Bebe please project the detailed imagery as designed." Ron spoke.
"Starting." Bebe announced.
There was a moment of silence before the image of Ron's arm was projected slightly above his real arm.
"Bebe increase transparency from the outer layer inwards in an interval of ten seconds, please and thank you." Ron asked excited.
"Beginning." Bebe delcared.
Ten seconds later the image of Ron's skin began turning translucent and eventually disappeared, then layer by layer they watched as his arm turned to various states of transparency. Everyone saw Ron's muscles contract and relaxed with his subtle movements. They saw blood flow through his veins with each beat of his heart.
At this point in the testing they entered phase three and began getting creative in what they wanted to see. Mrs Renton had Bebe zoom in on his hand adjust the transparency layers till she could see the nerves, then asked Ron to move his fingers one by one. When she couldn't see anything to indicate the command prompt from the brain to move the fingers she sighed in resignation.
Seeing this Ron spoke. "Bebe adjust for synapse and impulse imaging and appropriate slow motion viewing."
"Yes, Ron." Bebe agreed.
As Bebe adjusted the settings everyone watched Mrs Renton face transform into an excited and lively one. She grabbed Felix's arm in an iron grip and Ron could guess what she was thinking, this was a step closer to helping him walk again. Ron smiles at this knowing that it was much closer than she could imagine.
Wade asked Bebe to zoom in towards the cellular level and practically bounced in glee at what he alone could imagine though Ron had his own idea, Nanites.
Felix likewise asked Bebe to do a test and after a few turns of this Ron moved to phase 4. Laying face down on the bed Ron had Bebe show a full body scan. A moment of silence and Ron then asked Bebe to display the results I'm his Neuro Linker.
"Bebe adjust to synapse and impulse imaging on the L2 and L3 section of the spine." Ron requested.
"One moment." Bebe replied and a few seconds later Ron's Lumbar spine was displayed to the L2 and L3 section.
"Bebe can you show me the results on my Neuro Linker?" Ron asked and a moment later he saw what he was hoping to see. "Thank you, Bebe."
When Ron stood he had a solemn look on his face as he turned to Felix, Mrs Renton and Wade. The others who were about to congratulate him froze seeing his expression, till Mrs Renton asked.
"Everything okay Ron?"
"Better than okay, I'm just hoping it works." Ron said.
"What works?" Wade asked
Felix that was silently exchanging looks with Ron said. "For real?"
"Yes." Ron said. "All we need is a skilled surgeon."
That's when Mrs Renton and Wade understood what Ron was talking about and sucked in a rush of air in shock.
"R..ron!" Exclaimed Mrs Renton. Ron finally broke eye contact with Felix and looked at Mrs Renton. "Can... can you..."
"We will know for certain later in the day." Ron said and explained. "I'm hoping to sleep the rest of the night and be at a hundred percent when we try this."
In tears Mrs Renton hugged Ron and then turned to look at Felix.
"Felix... tomorrow!" Mrs Renton said too overwhelmed to express herself.
"Yeah." Felix said then looked at Ron again. "Whatever happens I will never blame you."
"We will never blame you!" Said Mrs Renton.
~~~~~
As everyone dispersed to rest for the night Felix went to the room he shared with Zita but after getting inside he was too overwhelmed to relax. He had worked hard to not be limited by his disability and with his mom's help the robotic wheelchair came about that allowed him great mobility. Yet his dream had always been to regain the ability to walk and now that it was around the corner he was afraid that he was dreaming or that it'd fail and didn't know if to tell Zita of the chance he's gotten.
Felix looked over at his sleeping fiancé and couldn't help but smile, Zita is a great woman and he counts himself blessed they ended up together but Felix wanted to be able to stand at the altar and wait for her. That was another reason that he'd yet to put a date to the wedding. Now Ron is awake, he is hours from finding out whether he'd walk again and here Felix is worried whether it'd fail or not. Thinking himself silly, Felix went to the ensuite and got ready for bed.
Shortly after getting into bed Zita pulled him closer and he smiled. 'Everything is going to be okay!'
~~~~~
Sometime around noon the next day Ron, Felix, Zita, Mrs Renton, AL, Susan and Ann were discussing whether Felix wanted a specialist to operate on him or if he was fine with AL, Susan and Ann handleling it since they had experience in the ER with surgery and should be able to do what Ron needed without a problem.
Felix considered the option to get a specialist for about a minute but discarded since it'd delay the procedure and expose them as well as Ron's secrets ahead of time.
"So I'm in your hands doctors." Felix said after explaining his choice.
"Trust us, by the time the procedure is over you'll be able to feel your toes again." AL said with confidence.
"Then let's get started shall we?" Ron asked and receiving nods in return moved towards the hospital wing.
As everyone was getting scrubbed clean, including Felix, Ron was going over every step of the procedure in his head, he checked and double checked and it should all be a simple procedure though the first of it's kind.
Once sanitized and in the operating room, Ron nodded to Felix as the latter began to count backwards from ten. I.V. in place, anesthesia administered the procedure began. With Ann in the lead and AL with Susan assisting, Ann cut into Felix and as Ron had explained was necessary removed the damaged area that healed over the years with no Nuero connection since the accident.
When Ann finished removing the area it was Ron's time to start. Ron placed his hands on the outside of the surgical site and began the healing technique. Ann, Susan and AL watched in real time as Ron reconstructed Felix's spine into it's proper form. It took Ron half an hour to fully reconstruct Felix's spine according to the display on the Neuro Linker of his own. Once satisfied, Ron healed the bone and skin to seal the cut leaving no trace that it was cut in the first place.