Welcome to Gaia! ::

Morto couldn't stop the small smile of satisfaction when he took a step to stand near the last one. This one had a silver pupil.

"This one is my personal favorite," he told Bubba. "This is the ARL 009. It functions like a regular eye, but it is actually a miniature scouting robot that has four legs built-in with a shield made of a powerful titanium and steel alloy. It can detach from the body and - powered by a small battery that uses nuclear fusion to power it, thus making changing the battery obsolete - shift into several forms that can be used for scouting or infiltrating maneuvers. Using the small but powerful computer database, it can record conversations and take pictures and video. It can sketch out digital maps while it is scouting a new area, and - if it is ever found - it can explode at an instant's notice, taking all of the information it possessed with it, but not before that information is processed and transferred to a computer that is constantly connected to the eye. It also carries a plug-in that can plug into almost any computer and hack into it easily. It's also rather good at serving up a nice strong shot of espresso, espresso-maker not included."

((I told you, Morto has a habit of putting strange quirks into his machines.))

Morto nodded and pressed a button on the table, the fifth and the second one.

"So you've chosen the ARL 009," he stated. "I'll keep the SSK 1.0 in storage, just in case something happens to the ARL. All others will go back to testing." He motioned Bubba into another room. "We'll be getting your measurements now so that we can attach the new eye comfortably. One of the other doctors will meet you in there while I put the finishing touches on the ARL prototype and make sure it's functioning normally."

Another doctor greeted both Morto and Bubba, a woman this time.

As Morto departed, the nurse motioned for him to sit down.

"The name's Rena," she stated simply. "Pleasure. Take a seat and get comfortable, please."

Rena shrugged, pulling on some plastic gloves.

"About six months ago, yes," she replied. "Miss Marie stole me from the Canadian government." She winked at Bubba good-naturedly as she readied her tools and the small hand-held scanner she would use to take his measurements. "They were pissed as hell. I gotta tell ya, that woman really knows how the human mind works. It was really nothing short of amazing." She laughed. "Ah! Sorry! Didn't mean to blab." She plucked the eye patch off of Bubba's face. "Let's begin then! It should only take a few minutes."

Taking the scanner in hand, Rena switched it on and attached it to the computer near her, running the black light along Bubba's skin with the utmost care, her eyes narrowed in concentration as she worked, mapping out the large man's skull.

Slowly, with every wave of the light, a digital blueprint of Bubba's skull began to appear on screen, every measurement imaginable being calculated and recorded in the database.

Lifting Bubba's head up gently, she took the machine and scanned the back of his skull, holding his head there as she took the measurements of both sides of his head before laying it back down gently on the seat - more out of habit and necessity than actual fear of causing him discomfort.

After about thirty minutes of scanning his skull from all angles repeatedly, Rena surveyed him for a moment, gazing at his forehead in thought, before glancing at the screen next to her and nodding, pulling away and turning off the device as the lights dimmed on again.

"Thank you very much!" She stated simply, straightening her back from where she had been leaning over him. "You're all done! I'm sending these measurements to Morto now. Thanks very much for lying still."

Bubba sat up, scratching an itch on the top of his head. "Sure... no problem," he replied. Suddenly a wave of exhaustion overtook him, but it would surely fade once his nano machines kicked in.

Anthony wiped the spit off his face and flicked it at Rose. He then grabbed her throat and hissed "because I don't want to be offed!".



The police cars were getting closer to Anthony's house. He was not there.