Up. She couldn’t tell at first where the man ended and the
metal began – his skin fading seamlessly into silicone
across his chest, where the assistant was now carefully
placing electrodes and other sensors. His silver hair had
been cropped close to his head and his moustache was gone
- it was the first time she’d seen him without it. He prided
himself on that damned thing. He looked so much younger
without it.
She leaned closer. The scar on his left eye was still there,
but now that she was looking, she could see changes,
miniscule ones, that others may not have noticed. An odd
smoothness to his newly grafted skin, a lack of blemishes.
Scars she’d given him, scars others had given him, had
simply been erased.
Had his memories?
Had his humanity?
She looked again at his still, cold face as the assistant
said, “The patient is ready to revive, Da- Dr. Claw.”
Space-Claw loomed now, rubbing his hands together
eagerly. “Proceed, Junior. Proceed.”
Panic set in. No, not yet, I’m not ready, what if he’s not
himself, what if he doesn’t know me, what if -
“Crash cart on standby,” Junior said.
Machines whirred once more, and all eyes turned to the
heart monitor next to the operating table. It was his human
heart that had to start working, to handle the combination of
blood and nanotechnology that would now flow through his
veins. Taz alone kept her eyes on Up, on his face, on his
chest, looking for a flutter of movement, a hint of life-
Beep.
Beep.
Beep.
The dreaded beeping was suddenly the most wonderful
sound she’d ever heard.