“Okay.”
She prepared a needle and swabbed Elodie’s arm. A moment later a calming euphoria flooded her.
“While that kicks in, just hang tight, I’m going to lock the room and sanitize the space. Elodie, have you ever been in a cybernetics lab before?” Cagley asked as she punched in a series of numbers and an antiseptic smelling gas filled the space. It was gone the next moment and was replaced by a beam of light that traced the floors and walls.
“No. Only the one on his ship.” She looked at Gunner, who was still grinning like a demon.
“Ah. Then, don’t be perturbed by the scrubs. Some people are afraid of the lights. They think they’re radioactive but they’re harmless.”
When it was over, Cagley returned to her side and opened up the box. “These are virgin nanocells, ready to bond and reconfigure to your genome. They’ll significantly slow your aging and will increase your ability to heal. Having them won’t make you a Cyborg but will extend your natural lifespan, prevent nearly all illnesses from incubating, and will heal you of any illnesses you may already have.”
Cagley pointedly looked at Elodie’s hands and arms, which had years of burns and scars from the job. “They won’t be able to revert any physical wounds or scaring that may have already occurred.”
“Will they...change me?” Elodie asked.
“No. They’ll regulate your hormones but otherwise, no, they can’t cure any mental or emotional illnesses. They can onlyhelp.”
“How does it work?” Elodie ran a finger across the chilled glass box, her tip coming away wet.
“Besides forcing new cell growth, and without getting into days of explanation, the nanocells will, for the most part, mitigate your dependence on oxygen as fuel. The moment a human is born, oxygen begins to kill you. We need it to live but to live it very slowly gifts us with death. The nanocells will stop the death part.”
Elodie took a deep breath. “And breathing?”
“You’ll still need to breathe,” Cagley laughed. “Maybe not as much but I’ve never seen a person stop breathing after the procedure. That part of you is ingrained to the very fiber of your being. Even Cyborgs breathe, more than is necessary. It’s one of those strange phenomena that just signify...life.”
“That’s comforting.” Elodie took another steady, deep breath, just because she was now so focused on it. “You’ve done this before?”
“Many times. I’m not sure if you’ve met Katalina, but she went through it two months ago, and Norah, who recovered no more than three weeks ago.”
Elodie knew of Norah but not of Katalina. Norah was Stryker’s partner, and Stryker happened to be one of the only Cyborgs Gunner was friendly with. “And it’s always turned out fine?”
“Absolutely. You’re not the first human to fall in love with a Cyborg. This procedure has been around as long as they have. They are still onlypartmachine, regardless of what they try to tell you.”
Gunnerhumphed.
“Fall in love?” Elodie giggled, feeling light-headed and giddy, glancing back at Gunner who looked like he’d just swallowed something slimy and wriggly. The guns on his cheeks warped and ballooned. “That man over there doesn’t like using such frilly words.”
Cagley looked back and forth at Gunner and her. “No, I suppose not. He can’t let all those other dangerous Cyborgs out there know he isn’t as badass as he appears. What would he do then?” she teased.
I like her.
“I’m sitting right here,” Gunner retorted petulantly.
“And you’re doing a good job of it,” Elodie burst out, laughing.Damn, he’s going to corner time me later.She liked corner time, how could she not? Gunner knew she liked it too, but she would never tell him out loud.
“Are you ready?” Cagley asked, pulling out a tube with her gloved hands.
Her smile wavered. “Yes.”
“This will feel strange.” She opened the tube and poured it into a long thin container.
“How so?”
“It’ll feel like you’re being tickled with a feather, everywhere at once. If you don’t know how that feels, imagine a...bug that is crawling just underneath your skin. Regardless, it will tickle and you’ll want to scratch. Lie back and give me your hands.”
Elodie watched silently as Cagley restrained her wrists to the pallet.
“How long will it last?”
