Tool

Chapter four

Elza nodded when she heard Aurelia's plan. "I think it will work, though the skin graft won't last forever."

"I know," said Aurelia. "But we'll deal with that when it happens. Possibly graft more synth skin over when the numbers appear again."

"Can't," said Elza. "You can't graft synth more than once. You can try again with real skin, but the scarring will probably be even more suspicious than the original numbers. Nicholas will need a new plan before long."

"By which point Jonathon will hopefully be leading the empire, and we won't need to worry about Nicholas," said Aurelia. "That's the best we can hope for."

"Mmm," said Elza in agreement. "Alright, I'll arrange for a uniform; that shouldn't be too hard to get hold of. You'll have to do the graft yourself. Have you done one before?"

"A few times," Aurelia said. "It shouldn't be a problem. And I can get everything I need from trauma. I can't bring Nicholas here, so I'll do it in situ."

"Fine. Make sure the synth stays in its sterile packaging until you're ready to put it on. There'll still be a little contamination, but it's unavoidable outside of the surgery vacuum. Give him a couple of anti-infect shots, and he should be fine."

"There is one thing," Aurelia said slowly.

"I know," Elza interrupted. "You'll need a second code to access the materials. I'd give you mine, but in all honesty, I'm not going to be up and around for a couple of days yet. I can barely walk to the bathroom at the moment. I suggest you ask Jason."

Aurelia had hoped to avoid involving Jason, but she had no choice. It would take two med Workers to enter a code to open the cupboard containing the skin grafts. Generally a trauma doctor and a surgeon performed the graft, but in this case there was no surgeon, so Jason it would have to be. She hoped he was willing to ask as few questions as he had with Elza.

***

As it turned out, Jason asked no questions at all. She asked for his code during a busy period the next morning, and he plugged it into the cupboard without a word before going back to his own patient. Aurelia guessed he was simply too busy to worry about it, as she was too busy to worry about performing the graft that evening. It had to be done, and it had to be done soon; Nicholas would need at least twenty-four hours to recuperate before he could travel.

Jonathon was to be her assistant, a role he accepted with alacrity.

"I like watching you work," he said when she asked.

"You might not when you see what's going to happen," she said, but she was grateful for his help.

She'd brought sterile sheets from the hospital, and Nicholas was ready and waiting when they got downstairs. She gave him a sedative shot, but she couldn't risk putting him under completely, so Jonathon talked calmly with him while Aurelia prepared what she needed. Then, there was nothing left to prepare, and she had to start. Taking a deep breath, she approached the bed.

"Okay, I'm going to have to tell you what's going to happen. You're going to see it anyway, and I don't want you panicking," she said, as calmly as she could.

Nicholas swallowed but nodded.

"The grafting of the synth skin itself is fairly easy and will take a few moments. It may sting during the sealing process, but other than that it should not be painful. What has to happen before, on the other hand, isn't going to be pleasant."

"Why?" asked Jonathon. "Can't you graft the skin and be done with it?"

Aurelia shook her head. "It doesn't work like that. Synth skin needs a surface to bind to, and it won't adhere to the smoothness of regular skin. Usually we use synth skin to cover burns or large areas where the skin has been scraped away. Those kinds of uneven surfaces are perfect for binding."