Expansion

The first few weeks with the implant were odd, but the first few days were totally unbearable.

The Doctor practically lost the ability to speak and could barely follow simple instructions.

It was hard to figure whether there was still someone in there.

The team actually considered removing the implant, and the only reason they didn’t do so was the fear that the Doctor might not recover anyway, so they waited a few more days, and the waiting finally paid off.

Speech and thought came back, and both began showing significant improvement over time.

The Doctor became more intelligent, more responsive, more focused than ever before.

The first Brain Expansion implant seemed to be an immense success, and the team couldn’t help but notice how more efficiently the Doctor was now conducting their research.

They all felt proud that they were doing such an important work and that they had been chosen to follow such a brilliant leader.

Inside the skull, the implant connected with parts of the brain and acted as a powerful expansion.

It also replaced the connection between the brain and the rest of the body, storing, buffering, calculating, speeding up decisions.

A failsafe mechanism ensured that the brain would always receive all signals from the body even if, for some reason, the implant was rendered useless.

Which had its downsides, since physical pain couldn’t be prevented by means of the implant.

Nor could one do something like tune off the sound in a loud environment.

But still, everything in the Doctor’s life improved.

It wasn’t just work, but also personal life, social activity.

Every sentence now seemed like a carefully constructed speech.

Every action was now incredibly precise.

Every reaction extremely fast.

Inside the brain, however, the Doctor was terrified as to how no one seemed to notice that it was now the implant controlling and deciding everything, that it had taken over the body and that the Doctor was stuck there, helpless, able to watch and hear and feel, but unable to speak or communicate in any way.

The Doctor had already lost hope that the team would notice, so the only possibility would be that someone else would.

And there was, indeed, somebody else.

The board had assigned someone to keep track of the Doctor at all times, to stalk and spy on every single move and conversation.

The agent wasn’t properly undercover, being seemingly ever present at the lab.

However, no one really knew the reasons for that presence, and it wasn’t until an interview was scheduled that some light was shed into the intentions of the board.

The real Doctor had never paid much attention to the agent; the implant, however, considered this person to be a possible threat, based merely on the lack of excitement and adoration.

They both walked into the room and sat face to face.

- The board has asked me for an outside opinion on the outcome of the implant.

Over the next hour or so, they spoke at length about the benefits of the implant, with the agent constantly considering what the downsides could be.

When the conversation ended, the implant was left without knowing whether it had reason to fear for its security, if fear was an emotion it could feel.

The next day, the board called up the Doctor, and the Doctor gained hope once again.

The room had been waiting in silence.

By the door, the agent and two others who probably worked together seemed to stand guard.

The Doctor sat, smiled and spoke:

- Good afternoon.

- Good afternoon indeed… All evidence points to success.

- It was indeed a major success.

- And how do you feel about yourself?

- I feel both proud and privileged.

- It has, indeed, surpassed our wildest dreams… Well, we asked you here because we have an important question for you…

If the implant could feel anxiety, this would be the moment.

- And what would that question be?

The Doctor — both the real one and the implant — waited for the question, and the body smiled when the board asked:

- When do you think we can have the implants ready for mass production?