My Greatest Experiment (Skelebros' Origin Story)

Entry 6

May 15, 2005

Work on the capsule is almost complete. All I have left to do is fill it with the solution (which I am currently in the process of mixing), and connect it to the core. That should be simple enough—all I have to do is plug it in.

I'm running the experiment from one of the back rooms, to keep it away from prying eyes. There is a certain stigma around these kinds of sciences that could prove dangerous; the less people that know, the better. I've even put off telling my assistants. I trust them, but no person is infallible—a slip of the tongue would be all it takes to get the word out. Perhaps I will tell them in the later stages, when it is clearer to me how the organism's development is progressing.

The logical next step in the experiment is to take the bone sample. I've already programmed the laser cutter to use the correct intensity, as well as the path I wish it to follow—a circular shape, three centimeters in diameter. With that out of the way, the extraction should be easy; just a flip of the switch. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hesitant to go through with it. While my notes support a complete recovery of use in the hand I cut into, there is always a margin of error. (In this case, 3%.)

And then, there is the question of whether or not to use an anesthetic. After years of experimenting on myself, I have acquired a high pain threshold. However, I'm fairly sure that this extraction will surpass even my limits... But then, using an anesthetic would also inhibit my thought processes and slow my reaction time, significantly increasing the chances of making a mistake.

I just can't risk it. It is imperative that I retain dexterity in my hands, so anything that increases the odds of permanent damage can't be tolerated. Even after this extraction, I must be able to write, draw, build, and (most importantly) sign. It would be devastating if I were to lose my ability to sign, on top of my already lacking vocal capacities. For that reason... it seems I'll simply have to manage without the painkillers. Somehow.

...I may as well do it now, before I lose my nerve. I would ask you to wish me luck, but by the time anyone reads this, the procedure would have been long over and done with. Instead, I will simply remind myself to bring something to bite down on. Oh, and also to try and avoid screaming. The assistants get very unnerved when I do that—whenever I do manage to make sound, it apparently sounds as if I'm drowning. (Or gurgling. They often debate over it.)

(Sigh.) But enough rambling. I'm not doing myself any favors by putting it off.

***

I did it. It hurt like hell, and you can bet your arse that I screamed like a banshee... but I did it. I'm holding the beginnings of a new life in my hands at this very moment—a perfectly circular, freshly oozing disk of bone. I inundated it with magic directly after extraction to heal it enough to stop the bleeding, and have since placed it in a flask of the supplementary fluid. There's no going back now—I'm not going to have a hole in my left hand for the rest of my life without something to show for it.

Speaking of the hole, I am in an extraordinary amount of pain right now. I can't even begin to describe it... after the procedure was over, I gave myself a generous amount of morphine. I don't think I've ever been this high before, to be frank. (On that note, forgive me if my handwriting is less legible than normal. I'm ambidextrous, but my left hand is the one I generally use for writing and such. It also doesn't help that I'm a bit loopy.)

It feels strange, having a hole in the middle of my hand. I haven't attempted moving it yet (though the bleeding has stopped, I feel it would be best to give it some time to heal), but I have already become aware of... new sensations, I suppose. I can feel air as it moves through my hand, for one. That's going to take some getting used to. I'll also have to be careful not to get it caught on things. Now that I think about it, door handles may pose a problem. It seems I will be relying on my magic a lot from now on.

I'll transfer the bone sample into the capsule tomorrow, when I have the rest of the solution ready. For now, though, I think it's time I got some much needed rest. I doubt I'll be able to work effectively until these drugs wear off.