Chapter 371: Brain Surgery. (Part Two.)
The skull was opened, the cortex was exposed, and the old implants were removed. With that done, it was time to move on to the next step, and what is supposed to be the most stressful part of an MLP implantation surgery—Placing the microelectrodes.
Most of the process was handled by DAEDALUS. It laid a surface grid over the target cortical region then went about inserting the penetrating arrays. Though he was aware of the precision of his most prized possession, the underground doctor was on edge the entire time, constantly monitoring the moving arms while trying not to think about how he wouldn’t be able to stop any mistakes they might make.
The premotor cortex took about half an hour. The primary motor cortex took an entire hour. The Primary somatosensory cortex took two, the same as the Primary visual cortex. The rest took a total of five hours. The process was completed without a hitch, much to Larry’s relief. He took a short break after, and while at it, he braced himself for what was to come.
The next part involved installing the MLP itself. First, he had to attach the alloy frame, which was going to replace the bone flap that had been removed. The frame itself had to be firmly fixed in place using a special adhesive and a number of screw, but due to its design, it would still be possible to hatch it open, allowing for regular maintenance without having to remove it completely.
A couple of hours later, Dante’s heart turned into a gruesome flowed with several alloy petals. Larry went about routing and connecting the electrodes to the electronic modules on the inner side of the alloy frame, manually checking each and every neurosteel thread.
As per the patient’s request, the length of each thread was increased well beyond what is recommended, but that can easily be altered later on. According to him, the most important requirement was making the implant a part of him.
Once everything was in its place, Larry added a layer of self-healing nanomembrane to replace the dura that had been removed earlier, then he closed everything and sealed the alloy frame.
Normally, the surgery would have ended there, with the only thing left being stitching the scalp back in its place. Things were different this time.
’Alright...’
Leaving Dante’s head as is, Larry grabbed his scalpel and started working on implanting the SRE. After peeling he skin off the youth’s back, he took a moment to stare at the altered subdermal armor and was quickly lost in the maze of lines carved on its surface. Each was perfectly aligned despite the gaps between each plate.
Having implanted the armor himself, he was sure that those lines didn’t exist before, and he knew where they came from.
Shaking the thought out of his head, the doctor resumed his work, removing the subdermal armor, then the tissue under it to expose the spine and the nerves connected to it.
Just like when installing the electrodes in the brain, installing an SRE was one of the most stressful medical procedures in the world. First, one has to sever the nerves connected to the spinal cord. If not reattached correctly, the damage could range from the loss of sensory output to entire motor functions, which is why the process had to be done in parts while a diagnosis is running the entire time.
Once a group of nerves is severed, a frame would be placed around their designated area. The parts still connected to the spinal cords are extended using neurosteel threads, and the same is done for the peripheral nerves. The threads are then connected to the SRE, which is then fixed into the aforementioned frame.
For twelve hours, Larry worked without taking a single break, severing nerves and rerouting them through the bionic implant. He had to do his work several times, only because he wasn’t satisfied with the results he got. By the time he was done, every part of the Synaptic Reflex Enhancerwas secured in its place, and the diagnosis showed that it worked up to its maximum specs.
Rubbing the sweat off his forehead, Larry pulled back and allowed himself to relax. He looked at the results of his twenty-four-plus hours of work, and a great sense of accomplishment welled deep in his heart. Unlike the RespiraCore and NephroCore he implanted before, parts of the new implants would remain exposed even after the surgery is done. Despite the difference being small, having exposed bionics somehow made one appear closer to a machine than a human.
"Now..."
The installation was complete, so the only remaining part should have been to seal and heal the wounds. This surgery was unlike anything the underground doctor had performed before, however. It required a step that is not a part of the usual protocol, and as exhausted as he was, Larry was far too eager to witness it with his own eyes.
Walking over to the operating table, he studied his work, and the youth was still unconscious with his back peeled off. Then, taking a deep breath, the underground doctor went about reverting his work. He removed the SRE one part after the other, then he did the same with the MLP. He pulled them away from their intended spots, but he kept them nearby, hovering only centimeters away from the youth’s body, making use of every arm DAEDALUS had.
Though the implants were no longer fixed in place, they were still connected to the youth’s body through the neurosteel microthreads, which worked as extended nerves. This was the solution Dante came up with.
Larry took a step back and held his breath. Seconds passed, but nothing happened. Just when he thought he might have missed something, something happened right in front of his eyes.
Threads of pure white light slowly floated up from Dante’s upper back. They bent through the air, slowly reaching for the devices a short distance away. One by one, the threads of light connected with the implant, spreading what appears like veins through their surface. Soon enough, the segmented parts of the SRE, and the separated parts of the MLP both began to glow a brilliant white.
The exhaustion of the long surgery left Larry as if he had slept for as long, and with eyes torn open, he watched as a miracle took place inside his Workshop.