Mikali sh'Shar - Andorian Blues: The Eyesore
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David Adams
Feb 14, 2021, 5:25:08 AM2/14/21
to Gorkon
OOC: Song for this sim: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibufSTLNQrU
(( Ophthalmology Ward, Royal Yarista Surgical Hospital, Palanon, Tyrellian System, day 118 of 365 ))
Mikali opened her new eye with the cautious, guarded air of someone who had kept it closed for months and whose future relied, in a significant way, on its successful operation.
Today was the big day. Enough tests and adjustments; it was time to turn the new prosthetic on and see through it.
The last time she had a prosthetic installed, the initial picture had been grainy and soft, out of focus and intermittent; washed out and too bright in the light, grainy and low-contrast in shadows. The doctors had cautioned her that a profound adjustment period would be needed, and even if she did everything right, she would never fly combat aircraft again. The resolution and frame rate simply wasn't there for the kind of split-second reaction time that her job required. She had been forced to transition to helmsman duty.
But that was then and this was now, and the technology had apparently advanced considerably. This time the picture that came through was crystal clear, perfect and indistinguishable from the one from her real eyeball. She blinked in surprise, scarcely able to believe what she was seeing. And how she was seeing it.
Doctor Keltan: There you go. How are you doing?
She glanced to the smiling face of the Tyrellian doctor, Keltan, who had done such wondrous work with the implant installation, but that fleeting look turned into a pronounced stare. Mikali saw him clearer than ever before; the colour markings on his face and neck seemed so much brighter and every detail could be drawn out, and oh, the fidelity.
She closed her left eye, seeing only with her biological one, then reversed the process, seeing only with the newly installed left. The prosthetic was genuinely better.
And they'd even properly matched her prosthetic eye colour to her natural one. The only difference was a small control on the side of her head, which if she had to be frank, looked awesome. She couldn't wait to try out the various new features but knew that acclimatizing to normal sight would take time and would just have to come first.
sh'Shar: It's... perfect. The colour balance is great, the image is full of light... ::She waved a hand in front of her face.:: And it captures motion so much better than the previous one. The last eye left behind a kind of ghosting image when a light, fast-moving object occluded a darker one. It's... why I couldn't fly. But this one is gorgeous. Better than the biological one.
She felt like a child first getting glasses, where the world seemed suddenly so much sharper and crisper, full of clarity she had forgotten existed. Seeing the world with new eyes. Literally.
sh'Shar: And it's so perfectly calibrated. Like my body was made for this. I can't wait to try out the thermal vision.
Keltan smiled politely.
Doctor Keltan: A marked upgrade on your previous hardware, certainly, but... I'll let you in on a little secret. Tyrellians have the telepathic ability to share sensory input with a subject; we checked the feed while you were in surgery. It's been pre-calibrated.
Mikali wasn't exactly sure how she felt about that — next time she would read the documentation before signing it, although she vaguely recalled some telepathic consent waiver that she'd ticked without reading — but the effect of the technique couldn't possibly be overstated. This was so much better.
And all installed in a month or so, maybe a week longer. Versus the six months it had taken on Earth, plus travel time. Stupid Earth. So slow.
Never again would Mikali doubt the prowess of the Tyrellian doctors. She faced Keltan and bowed low, dipping her antenna down toward the floor.
sh'Shar: Thank you. For taking me onto your world and healing me, doctor.
Confused, possibly, about how to respond to the gesture, he did his best to mimic the bow.
Doctor Keltan: All in a day's work. It was our honour.
Mikali straightened her back and then nodded assertively.
sh'Shar: So I can just leave?
Doctor Keltan: If you're feeling up for it, certainly. You're fit for a discharge.
sh'Shar: ::Smiling grimly,:: Heard that one before.
The Tyrellian doctor, clearly confused by her statement, nodded again.
Doctor Keltan: Uh, yes. So. Do you need a nurse to escort you out? This place is a bit of a rat maze.
Mikali had studied the layout quite well in the month or so she had been here.
sh'Shar: I'll be fine, thank you.
Doctor Keltan: Not a problem. Remember, yearly checkups. And call us if anything goes wrong.
sh'Shar: Yearly checkups. You got it.
She gave a happy little salute, then turned and headed for the door.
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