A. I. Evolution: The Coming of Christopher

Chapters 3 + 4

Chapter 3

I open my eyes to a room that is white and airy, obviously in a hospital of some kind. The sun is streaming into the room from a window to my right, giving it a warmth that only the sun on your skin can achieve. I lay there for a moment, staring at the ceiling as my arms rest on top of the sheets covering me up to my middle section. I feel disorientated and stiff, so stiff I dare not move, so I just stare at the ceiling.

I become aware of a beeping noise off to the right of me, and shift my eyes in that direction, to see wires that hang down, which must go to connections on my fingers. I realize that the noise is probably a monitor, keeping track of my vital signs.

The door directly across the room from the raised bed opens and a young blond nurse smiles and enters the room. She does not speak but goes instantly to the monitor to the right of the bed and checks the readings before turning to me. "I see that you have woken up. I will advise Doctor Worth that you have regained consciousness."

I go to respond but quickly realize that there is a tube down my throat, making any intelligent noise impossible. I nod my head slightly, but the pain from even such a slight movement, causes me to cringe.

The nurse places her hand on my arm and applies some pressure to indicate that I should stop moving. "Try not to move around too much. You have been in a coma for four months now, and it will take a while to get all your muscles moving again."

She moves from the bed and returns to the door and is gone. I lay still and experiment gingerly with moving my hands and feet. The feeling of sharp needles being inserted into them causes me to quickly stop, but it is a welcome feeling, because my greatest fear was that I was going to be paralyzed from the damage done to my head.

The door opens some time later to the same face that I saw above me when I had first arrived at the hospital. Doctor Worth smiles as he approaches the bed. "Well, I was beginning to wonder if you were going to wake up at all." He lifts my chart from the foot of the bed and glances at the notations there, lifting the top sheet to check the one below it, as he nods and "hum hum's" his approval.

I wait patiently for him to move up the side of the bed. I have no idea what has happened and what my condition is at this point. I still have moved very little and have not spoken yet. The apprehension of what the doctor will say builds a tension in my body that causes the pins and needles in my arms and legs to flare up again.

My heart rate must have started to rise from the pain and anxiety, because he turns to the monitor as the beeping starts up. He turns back to look down at me, and frowns. "Please try to relax. You are doing very well considering what you have been through. I can see almost a full recovery from your injuries."

I will my body to relax and it instantly does. So fast that it startles me. The doctor sees my confusion and smiles knowingly. "Yes, the small machines are still working at making all the connections in your brain. You may find that things will happen quite quickly for you. Your body is healing at a greatly accelerated rate. The bone in your forehead is almost completely returned to normal."

I have a million questions for him, but of course, the tube down my throat makes it impossible to speak, so I just look imploringly at his face.

"Sorry, my name is Doctor Worth, George Worth actually, but you can call me George if you want. I will have the nurse remove that tube, so we can talk about your future rehabilitation, after you have rested some more."

He reaches behind my head and I assume he hits a call button there, because in moments, the same blond-haired nurse enters with a tray covered in a white cloth. George looks over to her, then turns back to face me. "Ok, I don't see any reason why we can't remove that tube now. He should be able to breathe on his own from now on." He leans in a little closer. "The rest of the tubes will be removed in a couple of days when you are stronger. For now, we will start with the one down your throat. It will cause your throat to be sore for a couple of days, but by tomorrow we should be able to have a normal conversation."