It seemed as though no time at all had passed between getting the call from DH and getting to the Medical Centre of ScrapRock. There, DH talked about how they, Vik, and Goretta had made the leg, and how it would work. To a point, it would be similar to Flit’s leg. It would interface with nerves and send signals to the leg itself so that it could move. The biggest difference would be on how it attached. Rather than have the nerves communicate though nodes on the skin, they would first be attaching a type of receiver for the prosthetic onto what remained of TO’s leg. This receiver would connect directly to what remained of the nerves, and would allow for a ‘more fluid and natural control of the leg.’
“It should even be able to relay some sensation!” DH said, getting more and more excited as they spoke, “I mean, just pressure, really. I figured that would be better than nothing.”
“It’s far more difficult to reproduce actual sensations, and that’s still something that’s being worked on... But pressure can be done.” Goretta added.
“I don’t know why someone would want to experience pain if they could turn it off on one part of their body.” Vik said, “But hey, that’s just me.”
The three fell into a discussion of prosthetics, but TO wasn’t listening to that. Instead, they were replaying what was said about the process of attaching the socket.
*"At an estimate, 8-10 hours. Of course, that’s if there're no complications...*"
It was Goretta who rattled off the number like it was no big issue, and DH had gone on, continuing to talk about how certain systems ran, how the leg powered itself, and all kinds of things that TO didn’t understand but which they’d be happy to listen to if they weren’t so worried otherwise.
8-10 hours, asleep, on a table, with DH covered in their blood and picking at their nerves. They had had a dream like this once before, hadn’t they?
“Will it hurt?”
TO hadn’t realized that Constance had woken up until she spoke, her simple, innocent words cutting through the slew of medical jargon. From the looks of surprise from the others, nobody else had realized she was awake either.
“TO won’t be awake for it.” Goretta said, softening her voice as she spoke to Constance, “We’ll give them medicine that’ll make them sleep right through it, and they won’t feel a thing.”
“Will they get an infection?” She said, saying the word ‘infection,’ in a careful, practiced tone. “You said dad couldn’t have a surgery because of infection.”
The mood shifted instantly, with most everyone looking at something they were working on, at the wall, the floor, or just anywhere save for at Constance. Goretta was the exception as she came forward, her tentacles curling under her as she brought herself to Constance’s level.
“Hey lovely.” She said, “You know, you’re right: Infection can be a real concern when it comes to surgery. If someone is already very, very sick, then they have a much better chance of getting an infection!”
“Like my dad?” She asked. TO could feel her tail press into their side, her little hand grasping at their shirt.
“Yes, like your dad.” Goretta said, “And with your dad, we were in an old sewer, and we didn’t have a nice clean place to do the surgery. The weaker or sicker a person is, the more risks there are with surgeries. So, in the sewers, there was a higher chance of infection.”
“That’s why he got so sick.” She says. “And why he didn’t wanna come with us?”
TO frowned, and was about to open their mouth to speak when Goretta shot them a warning glance.
“Right.” She said. “He didn’t think he’d get better, so he wanted to stay behind and help where he could.”
“And help TO.” She said, “Right?”
“That’s right.” Constance said. “Now, as for TO!” She pointed at TO, smiling at Constance as she did. “TO is younger than your dad was. Their body is different too, and able to fight off infection better. TO is in excellent shape, all things considered, had all their vaccinations, and they had a source of food that gives them all the good things their body needs to heal and fight off infection. We also have a cleaner place to work here, nicer tools, and a wider range of antibiotics to use in case they get an infection!”
“That’s right!” DH said quickly, “In fact, our ship has antibiotics that are specialized for synths!”
When Constance looked at DH in confusion for a moment, Goretta continued talking instead, “They mean they have medication that’s trained really hard, and learned how to fight infections in people like TO and DH, but not anyone else. So, that medication is going to be very effective!”
Constance still wasn’t convinced, and while TO hadn’t considered the potential complications before, there was now a myriad list of things that could go wrong were now buzzing through their head. Infection? That probably wasn’t really a concern, but they were in a makeshift rogue community in the middle of nowhere. What if there were mechanical issues while the surgery was taking place? What if an essential piece of equipment broke mid-surgery?
With if, like with Avery, they simply didn’t wake up after the surgery? What if they didn’t wake up at all?
“Does TO need the surgery?” Constance asked, frowning as she thought through the issue. “They got a nice chair, and they don’t need to go places where their chair won’t fit, right? And they have their wings-“
“I can’t fly with just my wings.” TO said, their ears suddenly flicking down in panic.
“But you don’t use your feet to fly!” Constance said.
“Sweetie, it’s like how you still need your arms when you swim,” Goretta said. “I mean, you use your arms to push yourself into the water, right?”
“Yes, like that,” TO said, their ears flicking in uncertainty. They didn’t know how close the two situations were, but they were going to go with that, “I need legs to take off, and to land, and to help me keep my balance in the air.”
Constance looked up at TO with a confusing, almost unreadable expression. She looked so much like a synth that they kept watching the fins on her head to get a good read on the expression, but they couldn’t couldn’t quite manage it. Concerned? No, maybe more doubtful.
“They’ll be OK,” Goretta said, her ever-calm voice drawing Constance’s gaze. “I promise.”
Constance frowned, and looked back at TO, “Do you promise?”
TO didn’t know how well Constance could really read their ears, but would place a bet that she wouldn’t be able to recognize the telltale twitching of lying ears if she saw them. It would be easy to lie to her, most likely.
“I won’t promise.” They said firmly after a pause. “The odds that I will be fine are excellent, from what everyone has said.” They looked up at DH, “Right?”
DH blinked and nodded. “less than 1% chance of you getting an infection in the first place.” They said. “Less than .1% that you’d die from it with all the resources we have, and how healthy you are.”
They hadn’t heard the actual stats before, just the medical details. Hearing the number calmed them more than anything else. “Honestly, that’s a reasonable risk. On our ship, we faced deadly odds like that all the time! Rogue space-junk hitting their ship, sudden, unexpected failure of life-support systems, and destabilizing gravitational interference have a similar or even greater chance! I mean, even here on Scraprock-“
They finally saw Goretta gesturing at them, and realized that it may not be wise to talk about all this to Goretta, a young child, while they were in a patchwork space station.
“What TO means-“ Goretta said, “Is that whatever we do has risks. Even when you go swimming, there are risks.”
“Heck, even getting out of bed,” Vik said, though he didn’t look up from his computer.
“I can promise that I think it’s the right thing to do.” TO said, “and that, after weighing the risks, it’s the best thing for me to do.”
It was easier to convince themself of that as they spoke to Constance, easier to ignore their fear and focus only on the reason, the odds, and the logic.
Constance was silent for a while before glancing back at TO’s wings again. “.. if you can fly again. Will you take me flying?”
TO chuckled as their ears flicked in amusement. “I’ll do my best.” They said.
======
Constance wasn’t allowed into the procedure room, despite how she begged to be there, even crying as TO got Pearla and Lendulin to take care of her, and bring her away from the medical center. It was explained several times about contamination, and how it would be boring, and long, and in Goretta’s words, ‘kind of gross.’
Eventually, she allowed Constance and Lendulin to lead her away.
TO agreed that she shouldn’t be there. They agreed that having her in the room would be the worst possible thing. And yet, in that moment, they wished that the small child was there so that they could calm her down with the cool logic that they had presented to her in the first place. It was easy to feel calm when they were working to keep the child calm, but nearly impossible with her gone. Once the door closed on the room, and TO was helped out of their clothes and onto the cool, metal table, the panic returned to them.
They remembered the juvenile synth. They had been set upon a table like this for the dissection.
DH’s hand brushed against TO’s cheek, drawing their focus. “Scared?”
“A little.” TO admitted.
“A lot.” DH said. “I can see it in your ears.”
“I said it before: this surgery is relatively non-invasive, just long and painful.” Goretta said.
“There’s still risks with non-invasive surgeries.” TO said.
“There are,” Goretta admitted, “and we’re not in a state-of-the-art medical center right now. But, you have one of very few neurosurgeons in the galaxy with in-depth knowledge and experience in working with Chilacian and Synth nervous systems. You also have an experienced synth doctor -“
“Production officer.” Snout muttered, “Former. I was a medical officer before they choose me for production training.”
Goretta continued, ignoring Snout, “And you have one excellent medical trainee who would do anything to keep you safe and healthy.”
DH’s ears flushed as she spoke, but they nodded as they leaned forward with a sedation mask in one hand.
“I won’t let anything happen to you.” They said as they gently kissed TO’s forehead. “I promise.”
As DH pulled away, TO leaned up and quickly kissed them, their lips brushing together only for a moment. “I know.” They said.
DH couldn’t promise that nothing bad would happen, but as TO inhaled the gas that pulled their mind into sleep, they realized there was nothing more comforting than knowing that DH was going to be with them, protecting them.
