A State of Future Existing

Chapter 13

"Your control panel is marvelously complex. Some of the highest technology I've ever seen in a cyborg." Dr. Hyun-woo spun the holograph o be way and then the other. "And look at this wiring along your spine. It melds almost perfectly with your central nervous system. Pristine workmanship. And ah! Look here!" He pointed to the holograph's pelvis. "Your reproductive system is almost untouched. You know, lots of cyborg's are left infertile because of the invasive procedures, but from the looks of it, I don't suspect you will have any problems."

Hyunjin sat on one of the exam tables, chin settled atop both palms. "Lucky me."

The doctor wagged a finger at him. "You should be grateful your surgeons took such care."

"I'm sure I'll feel much more grateful when I find a guy who thinks complex wiring in someone us a check-in." He kicked his heels against the metal base of the table. "Does this have anything to do with my immunity?"

"Maybe. Maybe not." The doctor took a pair of spectacles from his pocket and slid them onto his face, still staring at the holograph.

Hyunjin tilted his head. "Don't they pay you enough for corrective eye surgery?"

"I like the way these feel." Dr. Hyun-woo dragged the holograph down, revealing the inside of Hyunjin's head. "Speaking of eye surgery, do you realize you're missing tear ducts?"

"What? Really? And I thought I was just emotionally withdrawn." He pulled his feet up, hugging his knees. "I'm also incapable of blushing, if that was going to be your next brilliant observation."

He turned around, his eyes magnified behind their spectacles. "Incapable of blushing? How so?"

"My brain monitors my body temperature, forces me to cool down if I get too warm, too fast. I guess just sweating like a normal human being just wasn't enough."

Dr. Hyun-woo pulled his portscreen out, punched something in. "That's really quite smart," he muttered. "They must have been worried about your system overheating."

Hyunjin strained his neck, but couldn't see the little screen on his port. "Is that important?"

He ignored him. "And look at your heart," he said, gesturing at the holograph again. "These two chambers are made primarily of silicon, mixed with bio tissue. Amazing."

Hyunjin pressed his hand against his chest. His heart. His brain. His nervous system. What hadn't been tampered with?

His hand moved to his neck, tracing the ridges of his spine as his traveled over the metal vertebrae, those metallic invaders. "What's this?" he asked, stretching forward pointing at a shadow on the diagram.

"Ah, yes, my assistants and I were discussing that earlier." Dr. Hyun-woo scratched his head through the hat. "It looks to be made of a different material than the vertebrae, and it's right over a central cluster of nerves. Perhaps it was meant to correct a glitch."

Hyunjin wrinkled his nose. "Great. I have glitches."

"Has your neck ever bothered you?"

"Only when I've been under a hover all day."

And when I'm dreaming. In his nightmare, the fire always seemed to be hottest beneath his neck, the heat trickling down his spine. The unrelenting pain, like a hot coal had gotten beneath his skin. He shuddered, remembering Peony in last night's dream, crying and screaming, blaming Hyunjin for what had become of her.

Dr. Hyun-woo was watching him, tapping his portscreen against his lips.

Hyunjin squirmed. "I have a question."

"Yes?" said the doctor, pocketing the screen.

"You said before that I wasn't contagious after my body got rid of those microbes."

"That's correct."

"So... if I had contracted the plague naturally, say... a couple days ago, how long before I was no longer contagious?"

Dr. Hyun-woo puckered his lips. "Well. One can imagine that your body is more efficient at ridding itself of the carriers every time it comes in contact with them. So if it took twenty minutes to defeat them all this time... oh, I would think it would have taken longer than an hour before that. Two at the most. Hard to say, of course, given that every disease and every body works a little differently."

Hyunjin folded his hands in his lap. It had taken a little more than an hour to walk home from the market. "What about... can it cling to, say, clothing?"

"Only briefly. The pathogens can't survive long without a host." He frowned at him. "Are you all right?"

He fiddled with the fingers of his gloves. Nodded. "When do we get to start saving lives?"

Dr. Hyun-woo adjusted his hat. "I'm afraid we can't do much until I've had a chance to analyze your blood samples and map your DNA sequencing. But first I wanted to get a better grasp on your body makeup, in case it could affect the results."

"Being cyborg can't change your DNA, can it?"

"No, but there have been studies suggesting that human bodies develop different hormones, chemical imbalances, antibodies, that sort of thing, as a result of the operations. Of course, the more invasive the procedure, the more-"

"You think it has something to do with my immunity? Being cyborg?"

The doctor's eyes glowed, giddy, unnerving Hyunjin. "Not exactly," he said. "But like I said before... I do have a theory or two."

"Were you planning on sharing any of those theories with me?"

"Oh, yes. Once I know I am correct, I plan on sharing my discovery with the world. In fact, I have had a thought about the mystery shadow on your spine. Would you mind if I tried something?" He took off the spectacles and slid them back into his pocket, beside the portscreen.

"What are you going to do?"

"Just a little experiment, nothing to worry about."

He twisted his head as Dr. Hyun-woo walked around the table and placed the tips of his fingers on his neck, pinching the vertebrae just above his shoulders. He stiffened at the touch. His hands were warm, but he shivered anyway.

"Tell me if you feel anything.... unusual."

Hyunjin opened his mouth, about to announce that any human touch felt unusual, but his breath hiccupped.

Fire and pain erupted his spine, flooding his veins.

He cried out and fell off the table, crumbling to the floor.