Scene #5105: Rearmed and Remastered

Owner	Pose
Taro	No matter when or where a hospital is located, there are always some commonalities: there will always be a parade of nurses and orderlies coming in and out of one's room, the food will be more nutrition than taste, and the patient gowns will be lacking in fashion and/or dignity. Still, Zarenna was given a private room in the cyborg-centric wing of Neo Arcadia Temple Hospital, the staff have treated her well, and Kari and Harriet would have been allowed to stay the entire time. Whether they treat everyone this way or because Taro had a word in a few ears is left for her to decide. Once Zarenna has had a little time to rest and recuperate from her interface implant surgery, it's time for her to have her first round of physical therapy. Strictly speaking, anyone on the cybernetics team could have easily seen to this. However, since she's Taro's patient, he's decided to oversee that today. The therapy room is relatively asture aside from the standard abstract painting on the wall and the window that looks out into the cavern darkness. There's a couple of diagnostic devices laid out on the table, the res of its surface cluttered with a variety of simple household items and toy blocks of varying shapes. Taro is already seated in one of the padded-molded plastic chairs expression distant. Likely he's viewing something inwardly.
Kari Wolf	Zarenna has asked her shinki to remain at home for this, since she knows Kari would end up worrying a lot more than strictly necessary. Harriet would end up spending more time trying to keep Kari from going overboard, which isn't something Zarenna wants to intentionally inflict on the younger shinki. The woman is looking at the interface implant with a mirror, looking at the Bishop Engineer's handiwork and mentally thinking about what went into the design. "Nothing odd happened during surgery, Taro?" She asks calmly. Well, there's some redness where the cybernetics meet the flesh, but that's probably normal right?
Taro	In which case, Taro would have let the pair know that Zarenna's surgery went well, nothing to worry about, please be sure to have the couch out of pillow fort format by the time she arrives home, if you would please. Taro blinks a couple of times when he's addressed, mind and eyes returning to focus on the physical world. "There was a little trouble with scar tissue, but nothing unexpected. The medics who saw to your original injury did surprisingly well in preserving what they could, making our job that much easier for us and on you." He pauses, then continues. "Have you been feeling any breakthrough pain, any headaches?" They'd have been giving her a steady dose of analgesics while she healed, of course - nerves don't necessarily understand any difference between wounds and surgical cuts. While waiting on her answer, he moves to bring out her new arm, still swaddled in antistatic cloth, and sets it out on a clear spot on the table.
Kari Wolf	Zarenna shakes her head quietly. She does think at the implant to 'flex' her hands and arm, to see if there's any indicators or lights on the thing to do so. "As well as can be expected. My arm was crushed beyond saving, Taro." It was a pretty gruesome thing for Kari and Zarenna to see as well. Zarenna sighs as she remembers Kari trying to insist on saving the arm. The little shinki is pretty fiercely protective of her master it seems. "It was harder on Kari than it was me, I guess."
Taro	There are a couple of yellow-green indicator lights, which brighten and dim as she mentally flexes and relaxes the muscles that were lost and about to be replaced. They'll be covered over with synthskin later, to keep the implant from being too obvious if she decides to go sleeveless. "I can understand that. She cares deeply for you, and she must have felt quite helpless to do anything for you then." He unwraps the arm with the precision and care it deserves. "This turned out expectionally well, if I may say so myself. I think you'll be pleased with it." There's a note of something in his voice. He cannot be entirely clinically detached. Not with her, not anymore. But neither is he being overeager to please.
Kari Wolf	Zarenna looks over the arm, smiling. "Well, she thought my arm could be fixed, like how I can repair her body." A quiet shake of the head. "She's never really seen something like that in-person before." There's a moment where Zarenna looks appreciatively at the new arm. She's a bit afraid to touch it at this moment, since she hasn't read any instructions or gotten any yet. "It is very nicely done, Taro. Thank you so much for building it."
Taro	"Thank you. I take pride in my work." It didn't really occur to him that anyone would want to read a manual, as most of his patients are just happy to have a limb again. Though if she asks after one no doubt he'll supply it. He cradles the arm in both his own as he moves around the table toward her. "Do you feel ready for this next step, Zarenna?"
Kari Wolf	Zarenna has mixed feelings about this. Though she would eventually like to transfer her consciousness into a purely robotic form, this was not how she envisioned that first step. There's a pensive look on her face after Taro asks the question. She finally says "Yes. Is there anything I need to know about putting it on by myself or does it pretty much just plug in?"
Taro	Taro waits with seeming patience while Zarenna works through whatever thoughts are in her mind. Or perhaps silent expectation would be a better way of describing it. He wouldn't expect her to change her mind now, now that she's already endured the surgery. Yet there's also his own subtle mental shift that makes him ever so slightly more content with himself when she's pleased. "It's designed to be plug and play, to use an old phrase," he answers. He turns it around, cupping his hand under the arm's elbow so that she can better see the interface. "It may be a little troublesome the first few times you couple and uncouple it, but it will come with practice. Not that you should need to remove it all that often, aside from maintenance or repairs."
Kari Wolf	Zarenna makes a face. "I'm not sure how this is going to affect the itching I'm feeling in an arm I don't have..." She reaches to get the arm from Taro with her good arm and quietly examines the workmanship before putting it on carefully. She's not as coordinated with her left arm, so she's trying to be careful. "I can imagine... I wasn't born a leftie." She chuckles.
Taro	Taro lets her take it from him, thogh he stands ready just in case she might accidentally drop it. "A bit more clockwise, yes, like that." It's designed so that it will attach only when the tongue-and-grooves match up exactly. Once she manages that, there's a few faint clicks as arm and interface intigrate... ...followed by what most likely feels like a sudden if faint sensation of pins and needles as the interface goes live.
Kari Wolf	She follows Taro's directions, making sure she has a good grip on the new arm. Zarenna looks startled at the sensation of pins and needles. "Is that normal? The tingling?" As it comes on, Zarenna tries not to flex everything too much too fast. No sense in smacking herself with her new cybernetic limb. It's probably going to take her a little bit to adjust to the new motor controls, at least a bit for her to get used to making fine motor movements with it. As she checks the range of motion and fluidness of the limb, she looks at Taro, dead serious. "So what else did you add?" Because between Kari and Taro, Zarenna is sure it's not just a replacement limb.
Taro	Taro keeps a close on her as the limb activates, though not so close that she's liable to smak him by accident while she goes through her first motions. It will feel somewhat numb, like her arm had fallen asleep and is now just starting to wake up again. "I placed it in its lowest tacticle feedback setting," he explains. "Starting with the normal setting tends to be more of a shock, I've learned." He takes a prudent step back as she continues working through its range of motion, and as he watches, he makes a pleased nod. "There are a few additions, though most of them are disabled and one will not be installed until you're fully accustomed to your new arm. Consider it a graduation gift once you've finished therapy."
Kari Wolf	Zarenna nods, making a loose fist with the hand. "I hope you didn't listen too closely to Kari's suggestion of a laser cannon."
Taro	Taro almost never has reason to clear his throat. But he does so now. "I did not want to leave you unarmed, in either sense of the word."