Human Integration 30 - Marvelous Modern Medicine

[First](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/pcfbaq/human_integration_report) [Previous](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/ujqixx/human_integration_29_chasing_ghosts) “She’s going into surgery shortly,” Carter said as he made the short trip home. He had called the captain as he left, planning to grab a shower and a change of clothes before coming back to the clinic. “With any luck, she’ll be awake tomorrow morning and we *might* have some information about that slaughter soon.” “That is good to hear,” Talsin replied. “I have seen many murders in my time, but that case is… unsettling.” “Yeah, I know what you mean. I’ve seen just about everything, from gang violence to ritual sacrifice, but this? This was a level of brutality I’ve never even heard of before. I’m not even sure what species could do that.” “Then with any luck, perhaps we will know soon. Keep me updated.” “Will do, Captain. Have a good night.” ==== Carter settled in to wait upon returning to the clinic. He was freshly showered and in his civilian clothes, his jacket hanging over the back of the chair. The weather was getting colder, with winter only a few days away, though the climate was only partly to blame for the chill he felt. Faltrea, the chief nurse for the second shift, had just informed him that the surgery was starting, and while she wasn’t performing the surgery herself, she had promised to keep a close eye on the procedure. Resolving to get some amount of work done while he could, Carter had tucked himself into the corner and began revising his profile. Even knowing who their killer was, they still needed more information, and the escalation of his latest kill was concerning in its own way. They now knew that Carter was partially wrong about the man, whose name was omitted from the file. He would have to see about getting a copy of a death certificate later. “Too many systems to be this disconnected,” he grumbled as he made more adjustments. “Should’ve at least included the name.” An hour of waiting turned into two, and Carter was growing concerned. Although it was still brain surgery, Faltrea had said it would be a simple procedure. Any number of things could’ve gone wrong, or maybe that was just how long it took to replace an implant. Carter wasn’t sure how worried he should be; none of the kids in his family had ever been hospitalized and he was unfamiliar with the capabilities of the Ring’s medical services. He was just about to start pacing the hall when the door opened and Faltrea entered the waiting room. “She will be just fine,” she began, taking the seat across from Carter. “The implant was more difficult to remove than we had anticipated. The surgeon is finishing up now, and she will be moved to recovery soon.” “That’s good to hear,” Carter said, feeling a weight lift from his chest. “What made the old one so hard to remove?” Faltrea’s antennae flicked upward in irritation. “It resisted. When we tried to remove it, it tried to hold on tighter. We ended up having to use a laser to sever the connections before we could safely extract it. We’ll send it to a robotics expert in the morning and have them dissect it. They should be able to tell us more about its construction.” “Poor kid’s been through too much already. Abandoned and left for dead, witness to one of the most brutal killings I’ve ever seen, and now you tell me she had a robot spider latched onto her brain?” “She has experienced things which have broken many of her elders. That she was still aware and coherent when you found her, even for just a short while, speaks to an unheard of resilience for her age.” “Yeah, kids can be pretty tough,” he said, a slight smile forming as he leaned back in his chair. “I think half of it is that they don’t fully understand what’s going on, so a lot of it just goes over their heads.” “Speaking from human experience?” “No, just general observation. Speaking from human experience, kids are made of rubber. If they weren’t, half the injuries I got as a kid probably would’ve killed me.” “That is both fascinating and disturbing. I would like to speak more on the kinds of injuries human children frequently suffer, but we should probably get you situated before the child’s sedatives wear off.” “Yeah,” Carter said, standing and stretching. “The last thing we want is an invisible child running around. Sounds like something out of a bad horror movie.” “That *was* a bad horror movie, about a hundred cycles ago. It was right before the Jhunan arrived, as well.” They continued to chat as they took the lift down to the general habitation level, where Faltrea led Carter to the child’s room. She gestured to a very soft looking chair in the corner and passed him a blanket. “Get some rest. I don’t know how long it’s been since you last slept, But I would suggest doing so while you can.” “Yeah, that’s probably a good plan. I passed the manic energy stage this morning, and I’ve been running on a short nap and way too much caffeine ever since. Honestly, kinda surprised I didn’t pass out waiting on the operation.” Her antennae flicked in annoyance as she attempted to push Carter into the chair. “You should have a few hours before she starts waking up. Get some sleep, or I’ll have one of the nurses *make* you sleep.” Carter smiled as he leaned back into the chair. Earth, the Ring, it didn’t seem to matter. The head nurse was a force to be reckoned with. ==== Carter awoke with a start. Groggy as he was, his senses, honed by millions of years of evolution and paranoia, were all telling him the same thing. He was being watched. He listened carefully; someone was trying to stay very quiet. As he opened his eyes, he smiled. “You know I can still see you, right?” —— [Next](https://www.reddit.com/r/HFY/comments/uypb39/human_integration_31_wide_awake/) No chapter next week, as I’ll be away for reasons. We’ll resume the week after with a chapter that a few people have been anticipating for a while.