The Hawaiian Special Forces

Chapter 54

Several hours later, and additional titanium spikes later, they finished their initial experiments. The implant process was now a straightforward process, and Hanale's bones had been reinforced with a mixture of titanium lattice and carbon fiber.

Johann had stopped viewing them as a pet project and was truly interested. "I never realized this was possible. I'm still not clear on how you're programming the nanites. I mean, they barely have any memory."

Aoloa shrugged. "It's not like what he does at all. It's more like coaxing them into preferring a new pattern. I suppose it would be like trying to explain genetic engineering to a programmer. The mechanisms are completely different, even though they both involve data and machines."

Lopaka raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really?"

Aoloa glanced over at him. "For our bodies to work right, each cell needs to know what type of cell it is and, in some cases, where in the organ it is. A cell has to know it's bone, or marrow, or liver. It has to know where in the liver it is to form the sheath versus the interior. A rib bone is different from a thigh bone, and cells near the joins experience different stresses from mid-bone.

"For the nanites, they know where they're supposed to be and what the desired pattern is. They communicate with each other to get feedback on how the local pattern deviates from the desired goal." He shrugged. "It takes finesse."

Lopaka nodded. Johann sighed. "Does this mean we're ready to implement Phase One in all of you?"

"Yes," Lopaka replied. "Let's start bringing them in."

---

"Okay, I'm curious how you did it," Colonel Wolf asked him.

"Did what?"

"When you neutralized the nanites, they just disappeared. We had nothing to study."

"Oh that," Aoloa replied nonchalantly. "They burrowed. They've been growing underneath this building for a while, now."

"They've been What?"

Aoloa smirked at Colonel Wolf. "Growing. Under your base. Ready for me to issue orders at a moment's notice. They'll be yours when this process is done. Self-healing cyborgs should help you quite a bit, I'd imagine. They'll be yours, just as I promised. Johann's picking up on the basics of controlling them just fine."

Colonel Wolf scowled at him in an outburst of her perpetual state of irritation.

"Or I could just have them tear down this base if you betray us. You know, in the interest of fairness and all." He gave her a big grin, revealing his fangs.

Wolf stormed off, muttering about devious felines and deals with the devil.