He reached a hand up to probe a lingering soreness around his collarbone and neck. The flesh was tender but smooth; he felt no stitches, no scars, no sign of a surgery at all. This surprised him a bit; he'd had visions of eating through a tube for weeks or months, or maybe waking up with no voice, or something like that. Hell, his arm was more sore where the machine had injected the anaesthetic than where the cancer was supposed to be.
I wonder how they did it? he thought, followed immediately by, I wonder where that doctor is? "(Hawkeye?)" he asked, looking around cautiously. The dizziness and nausea faded rapidly, and as Ranma sat up and moved a bit he found it faded faster with each movement. "(Where could he have gone?)"
As soon as the question left his lips, Ranma saw the hallway outside the automed room light up- back the way he had come. Shrugging, he slid off the bed and walked down the corridor, retracing his steps to the control room. When he saw Hawkeye speaking with a blonde female nearly as tall as Hawkeye, nude and stacked, the blush turned his face as crimson as his shirt.
The female looked at the new arrival. "This the kid?" she asked, jerking a thumb in his direction.
"That's him," Hawkeye said. "Hot Lips, meet Ranma. (Ranma, meet Nurse Margaret Alexander, formerly Major Houlihan, 4077th MASH, US Regular Army.)"
"(Nice to meet ya,)" Ranma said.
"Well, tell him to get me my clothes," Hot Lips grumbled. "And then ask him why he's the only one the machines will work for."
After a bit of translation, clothes were provided for, along with a pair of glasses. The design, if anything, made Hot Lips look even more exotic- like a librarian from an erotic fantasy, if that librarian dressed in a Class A uniform, United States Army c. 1951. A brief comment about the computer's wardrobe selection, and the resulting translation for Ranma, revealed the reason for the glasses (if not the uniform). "Damned if I'll get used to reading subtitles," she muttered, "but I guess this works. Now how about my question?"
Ranma keyed the question into the computer, which responded:
This system is designed for single-operator use only. Multiple users are not supported by software or hardware.
"So the kid is it, huh?" Hot Lips folder her arms grimly. "Why him, then?"
CRITERIA FOR EMERGENCY OPERATOR AUTHORIZATION
Operators from subject species Homo sapiens terranesis are acceptable only in the absence of normally authorized operator. When authorized operator fails to provide input for 1010 seconds subjective time, and when no authorized operators are available from other facilities, system is authorized to select a study subject to become the new operator.
CRITERION #1: Organic. Transferred soul technorganic humaniform subjects are not acceptable as operators. Operators must be free of possible mental influence by past operators. This criterion, in the most recent crisis, narrowed possible choices from 23,191 to 37.
CRITERION #2: Youth. Emergency operator must be young enough to absorb new concepts and procedures at a rapid rate. Operator Ranma Saotome scored fourth youngest of 37 possible candidates.
CRITERION #3: Intelligence and knowledge base. Emergency operator must be both intelligent and knowledgable enough to understand situation and basic principles for education to proceed. Ranma Saotome scored above minimum requirements for both intelligence and knowledge base.
CRITERION #4: Charisma. Emergency operator will need to direct lives of fellow humans from a position of superiority without conflict. Ranma Saotome played a central role to dozens of people in his environment, most of whom have been preserved in Dome #4. This demonstrates a high charisma.
CRITERION #5: Motivation. Ranma Saotome is uniquely motivated to become operator due to the interrupt in the preservation process of his honor-fiancee Akane Tendo. Ranma Saotome must accept role in order to complete process and thereby preserve Akane Tendou's life.
Based on these criteria, system awakened Ranma Saotome and registered him as operator.
Reading along in subtitles took Hot Lips a bit longer, but she finally caught up with Hawkeye and Ranma. "Fiancee? That's rough, but..."
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(Posted Thu, 23 Feb 2006 19:39)
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