Template:Featured Articles/5-2023
 "Hm." Doug thought a bit more before replying. "So in terms of visualizing, how in-depth does it usually get? Do you tend to sketch the broad strokes and then the rest gets filled in as you go?" He wasn't sure whether he was asking the right questions of Kevin, but to some extent finding the 'right' question wasn't as important as just having a conversation that might spark an insight into his own situation. "Utility over appearance most times. I need to think about what I want it to be able to do." "So function is the usual focus." Doug held up his hand and looked at it assessingly. "Almost seems like the opposite in my case," he mused. "I'm not trying to do anything particular with it, and the main concern is not giving away that it's anything other than an ordinary arm." "There's another possibility." Kevin paused, furrowing his brow for a second. "The nanites are reactive, right? They do what they do because you have a clear understanding of how your hand and forearm are supposed to work. Like a... well, like an operating system they follow." That definitely was a thought. Doug pursed his lips and tilted the scotch back and forth in the tumbler, watching it as he considered. "So you think that if I develop a clear understanding of the appearance I would like them to keep, that they'll go from there?" "Something like that. Here-" Kevin got up and rolled up his shirt sleeve as he came around the desk. As he got closer, he pressed two fingers into Doug's neck lightly for a second. It was odd. He could feel everything about Doug, including the point that the arm ended, but he could also vaguely sense the nanites with his powers. He assumed that wouldn't be the case. His left arm shifted in front of Doug, shifting to the stump. He held it up for a minute. "Now watch this." The transformation process was always weird to watch with Kevin. It wasn't so much a process as a blur to witness. Doug saw Kevin's arm replicate the look of his own, with the obviously artificial nanite exterior. This time, the transformation was slower, so he could watch as starting from the line of the stump, the nanite exterior shifted steadily up until it reached the tips of his fingers, leaving behind a largely normal looking arm: his arm, in fact. The copper-on-black traceries on Doug's arm swirled and drifted for a few moments as Doug observed Kevin's replication of his form, and then slowly patches of peach-color skin tone began to grow in several locations. "Thank god I'm not very hairy," he decided as he watched his arm begin to match. Up close, the nanites wouldn't necessarily be able to duplicate every aspect of living tissue, but the facsimile they created would certainly pass muster from a casual inspection. |
