Retina

RETINA: A SCIENCE ONE VENTURE

Tension eased from my shoulders as the anesthetic set in. Time for yet another surgery. The previous three had tried and failed to give me vision. But this one was going to be different, or so the doctors said. It would allow me to interface directly with a robot, Retina, who would see for me, sending visual information directly from its sensors to my visual cortex.

Five hours later I woke up and groggily tried to lift myself off the bed.

"Hold on," said a nurse, placing a hand on my arm, "we want to test the visual interface before you strain your body too much." I could hear her fiddling with the machinery next to me, strange mechanical sounds furthering my disorientation. The top of my bed pushed up slowly, lifting me into a sitting position.

A male voice spoke, "Okay Adrienne, ask Retina to wake up."

I tried to clear my throat, but there was still a tremor in my voice, "Retina, activate."

"Hello Adrienne," said the robot. Each word was pronounced distinctly, but still managed to sound human.

"Now activating visual interface."

I gasped. For a moment it felt like my brain would explode from the sudden influx of information. My hands clutched at the railings on either side of the bed. As Retina slowly scanned the room, I could see all the machinery, the doctors, bright lights, and finally myself. It's strange to look at myself through someone else's eyes. I watched as I brought hands up to my face, pushing the hair back from my deep brown eyes. Out of nowhere, tears began to spill down my face.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," I whispered, reaching out toward the doctors. We embraced tightly, and I felt their tears on my shoulder.

A week later and I walked out the doors arm in arm with Retina. I had almost gotten used to seeing through her eyes. We found it worked best when we walked linked together, so that the visual information was as close to what I would actually see as possible.

The world felt so full of possibilities.

"Let's go into the city," I suggested, "I want to see what the Golden Gate bridge looks like. And the mountains. And the city streets. Everything!"

"Okay. I will plot us a course."

Retina guided us toward the lighttrain that would take us into the heart of the city. Her system also carried a chip connected to all my accounts, allowing her to buy us tickets and flash her wrist at the terminal to get us onboard.

We sat along one of the benches facing the side windows. The Science One Hospital complex sprawled out in front of us. A small hill sat behind the complex; the tall grasses on it waved mesmerizingly in the wind.

A flock of birds swooped across the sky, wheeling and diving amongst the buildings.

"Want to take a closer look?" asked Retina.

"What-" I began to question, but suddenly, the birds became three times larger. "That's so cool. Almost makes up for never seeing before now."

The rest of the train ride flew by, Retina followed the movement of my head to show me what I wanted to see. Sometimes she turned in a new direction, drawing my attention to another feature of the landscape, or showing me how powerful her lenses were.

I saw so many incredible things that day. We strolled together along the piers and saw sea lions,  fish, and colorful marketplaces. Retina took me everywhere.

Every few months, we returned to Science One for checkups and tests. Other scientists contacted me and offered to bring us to facilities around the world if they could study Retina's technology. Everywhere we went, Retina acted as my eyes and my translator, making each journey an opportunity to meet new people and show them the benefit of artificial intelligence.

Retina took on a life of her own, interacting with people almost as much as I did. I told her stories of my childhood at night, and she regaled me with stories she found online from around the world. It felt like I was travelling the world with my best friend.

Until one day, my visual feed cut out.

"What's going on? Retina? Retina!" I yelled, hands grasping at the sheets around me.

"It is okay. There just seems to be a connection error," she responded. "Let me call Science One, I am certain they will have a solution."

She sat down next to me and placed an arm around my shoulders, then fell silent as she connected remotely with the scientists and doctors. My chest felt tight. I struggled to breath. Everything had been so perfect.

It was the longest hour of my life. Finally, Retina spoke.

"They cannot fix the problem remotely; we need to return to the hospital."

"Okay, let's go," I said, tumbling out of bed and trying to find my suitcase. It felt so wrong to be blind again.

"Let me help you." Retina gently placed clothes into my hands, "It will be alright."

I turned to embrace her, relaxing as she stroked my hair.

We arrived at the hospital early the next morning. The doctors had determined it was a problem with my neural implant. I was going to need another surgery.

"Do whatever it takes," I told them.

Waking up from surgery, I called out hesitantly, "Retina, did it work?"

"I believe so," she said.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my eyes. Sitting in front of me was a metal body and looking up I was able to see into Retina's eyes. 

Confusion bubbled up inside me, but she spoke.

"The scientists we have met with across the world helped me create a set of synthetic eyes that could be directly implanted. You no longer require my assistance."

"I will never stop needing you, Retina," I reached out and took her hand, staring intently into he blue eyes, "Thank you. For everything."