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There were no officers.
“Good morning, everyone!” A jolly tenor boomed as the far door opened. “And how’s my patient doing today?”
Sazahk’s fingers went limp and his shoulders dropped as the needle in the crook of his arm sapped the agency from his body.
“Sazahk, right? You doing okay there?” Sterile-booty-covered feet entered Sazahk’s field of vision and a young qeshian man crouched down to peer into Sazahk’s face.
Sazahk blinked, realizing the man expected an answer from him. But his mouth was dry when he opened it and he croaked his reply more than said it. “I’m fine.”
“I’m sure this is a little nerve-wracking for you, but you’re in good hands.” The man clasped Sazahk’s shoulder as he stood. “We’ll be done in a jiffy. Assistant, prepare yourself. Nurse, if you would?”
The nurse that had cut Sazahk’s hair sat down in front of him and lifted the tablet. “We’re just going to make sure your basic mental faculties remain intact throughout the surgery.”
“Scalpel.”
Sazahk’s heart raced.
“What shapes are these in order from left to right?”
He couldn’t move.
“Making the incision.”
Pressure. Right at the base of his skull. Right at the entrance to his mind, the core of his being.
“Sir? Can you tell me what these shapes are?”
Goddess, if they took his ability to name shapes he hoped they took his ability to recognize the shame of it. “Regular quadrilateral, equilateral equiangular triangle, circle.”
“Oh, um, yeah, I guess that’s right.”
“Suction.”
“How about these colors now?”
“More suction. I need to see this scar tissue better.”
What if they couldn’t put his implant back? What if his body was too ruined? What if they’d taken that piece of him away forever?
He wanted Garin.
“The colors, sir? Of the, um, regular quadrilaterals?”
“Red, green blue.”
“Very good.”
“Okay, that’s better. Inserting the implant now.”
More pressure, rustling, brushing, itching, like feathers all the way down his spine.
“Could you read this simple sentence out loud for me?”
“Attaching the nerve endings.”
Energy surged through Sazahk’s mind. Wholeness. Knowledge.
“First one down. The rest should be easy.”
