Chapter 424

James immediately found, after checking into the hospital, that he’d overlooked one major issue. Dagger. The robot was literally armed to the teeth with technology and various types of weaponry, and even though it was all concealed, rather masterfully, in the fur covered visage of an actual dog, that didn’t keep the scanners from finding out as he was led from the standard waiting room, towards his actual appointment.

Luckily, his parents, in their brilliance, had thought of such things, and Dagger had been properly identified as a protective service robot, complete with all the needed paperwork and such required to allow him to accompany James past the lobby. That being said, it had been more than a little awkward for James. Especially when the security personnel had immediately arrived, weapons at the ready, to confront him.

Still, James, knowing full well the weapons that Dagger did have at its disposal, had to wonder how his parents had managed to keep the more, uh, dangerous ones from showing up on the scanner. Because while Dagger had set it off, it had only revealed basic types of self defense tech, that standard defense robots had. The spicier types of weaponry didn’t show up at all. Which made him wonder again just how skilled his parents were, and what their parts in the government programs, as well as DCO, was. Because what they’d done, the realistic robot they’d created, as well as all the tech within it that they’d managed to conceal from a government facility, was down right impressive and terrifying. It was technology that James was certain rivaled, or even surpassed, that of the Enforcers. Technology that, to his understanding, would only be available for the very top of the political world. Meaning, technology a 17-year-old shouldn’t be running around with.

Either way, the encounter had confirmed he would be just fine bringing Dagger with him to school. If the hospital allowed Dagger past the entrance, than his school, which had much less security and safety measures in place, would have no issue with his companion. As long as Dagger stayed quiet and wasn’t disruptive, everything would be okay. Service animals, after all, had been a pretty common part of culture from what James remembered, and society had grown quite fond of allowing people to have companions with them to keep them safe, happy, or offer alerts in the event of medical emergencies. The fact robots were perfectly controllable, eliminating any potential mishaps, made the practice even more widespread. Though, James knew Dagger was still going to turn some heads. It was one thing, after all, to see someone with a robot at their side…but completely different when the robot looked flawlessly like a living, breathing creature.

Come to think of it, James couldn’t help but wonder how far in their projects his parents were. If they could make a robotic dog like Dagger look real, what else could they do? And what would that do, for society as a whole? These thoughts fled his mind as he was led into the room where the doctor was waiting for him for his checkup.

“Ah, just on time.” The man, wearing a white coat, said as James walked in. A quick glance at the clock on his glasses showed he had been a few seconds from being late. “And here I was, preparing the late fee charge.”

James couldn’t help but bristle at that. Had it not been for the security debacle, he’d have arrived with a few minutes to spare. Meaning if he had been late, it wouldn’t have been his fault.

“Kidding.” The doctor said with a chuckle. “I heard about the slight delay. Gave me a few minutes to check on some other things, anyways.” He motioned towards the padded bed, and James walked into the room and sat atop it. Other than Z’s office at the school, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been in a hospital as an actual patient.

The exam room was also different from Alex’s room. Alex was set up on a high-tech bed that doubled as an immersion pod, though it utilized nano technology and magnetic energy treatments to aid in the healing process. This room was extremely spartan, save for the padded exam bed, as well as the chair the doctor was sitting in. Looking up, James noticed a holo sphere attached to the ceiling. That sphere, he knew, would be able to display anything the doctor wished to show him. Additionally, next to the bed, was a device with a variety of sleek tools. All of which were capable of scanning and checking different parts of the human body, in order to test for various ailments and afflictions.

“I understand you’re here for a checkup regarding a jaw and head injury, is that correct?” The doctor said, his eyes flicking between James, Dagger, and then his own AR glasses, and some screens James couldn’t see.

“That’s right.” James replied simply.

“Right, right.” The man lazily wheeled himself towards James and the medical tools, not even bothering to rise from his chair. “And it seems here, you were initially looked over by…” the man paused, his eyes furrowing. “Zach?”

“He’s the school nurse.” James answered.

“He’s more than that.” The doctor said with a chuckle. “He gave a lecture I attended when I was first getting my license. Fascinating man, extremely brilliant and skilled too. Did you know he helped revolutionize modern medicine? Had a team focused on the connections of human bodies, and electrical fields. Something to do with an event he experienced in his past. Though, never did get to find out just what that was. Still, brilliant man.”

The doctor, who had been rambling, eyes distant, refocused his attention on James. “And you said he’s your school nurse?”

“Uh, yeah. Are we talking about the same guy?” James thought back to the kind, somewhat disheveled, laid-back Zach he knew. The man didn’t strike him as a revolutionary medical expert. Just, a nice guy, who liked to enjoy life.

“Trust me. You don’t forget a guy like him. I’d recognize that face anywhere.” James nearly facepalmed as the doctor said that. Of course, the report would have had Zach’s picture next to the name.

“Seriously, it’s a lucky thing he was the one to help you out.” The doctor continued to talk as he grabbed a metallic looking wand and began scanning James’s head with it. The objected immitted a slight buzzing sound with a dull light, but other than that, didn’t appear to be doing anything.

However, James knew it was rendering a full 3d scan of his head, externally and internally, to the doctor’s glasses. At the same time, the system it was connected to, would detect, and record, any anomalies, as well as prescribe different solutions to those anomalies, in real time, to the doctor. It was no secret technology had greatly aided, and somewhat replaced, doctors.

“Hmm.” The doctor murmured as he looked at his glasses, the wand continuing to be lifted up and down over James’s head. “Interesting.”

“What?” James asked, doing his best to keep his heartrate calm. “Is something wrong?”

“Nothing you need to be worried about.” The doctor said, placing the device back on its stand and waving a hand. A moment later, the full scan appeared in the room as a hologram. The doctor drew James’s attention to it, motioning towards his jaw first.

“Your jaw seems to be healing nicely. I’d account the rapid pace it has been healing, to Zach’s initial treatment. Such things he excelled at, after all.” The man made a pinching motion, and the image shifted from James’s jaw to his head. There, his brain appeared, with various areas highlighted in different hues and colors. James knew if the doctor wanted, he could display a variety of information on each section, and even zoom in further to look at more detailed areas.

“Your mind seems relatively fine as well. No signs of internal bleeding, no permanent damage. The interesting part was here. This anomaly.” He pinched the screen again, and it zoomed in even further. A small, dark mass presented itself on the screen.

“And…” James pressed. “What is that anomaly?”

The doctor shook his head, and the screen closed. “I don’t know.”