Under the Knife(60)

“I understand you’ve received funding from the Department of Defense,” Grant pressed.

“Yes. We’re proud of that. Think how many of our brave young men and women in uniform we could eventually save with Delores deployed on the front lines. But that’s only a fraction of Delores’s potential. Humanitarian medical missions. Routine care for remote communities or ships at sea. The possibilities are limitless.”

Damn, but the man can really shovel it.

Sebastian glanced at his watch and sucked his teeth. By now it was clear that nothing else in this morning’s schedule was going to change, and Montgomery’s spiel was wearing thin. Sebastian knew all about the goddamn robot. Delores was key to the job at hand. Finney had provided him with detailed schematics, and a working model, and he’d studied them inside and out. Hell, he could have delivered the presentation better than Montgomery. But if he left now, he’d attract unwanted attention.

He shifted in his seat and wondered what was going on with Wu.

Montgomery stretched his smile wider, and said, “Now. Delores, tell us about your camera.”

“Of course.”

The image zoomed in on a single cylinder.

Delores said, “My camera combines high-definition digital video with state-of-the-art ultrasound technology. The images are beamed to video monitors so that operating personnel may observe and supervise my movements. My onboard computer creates a real-time, three-dimensional map so that I may adjust my movements in accordance with variations in anatomy and blood flow.”

“Delores analyzes the patient’s individual anatomy more accurately than any human surgeon,” Montgomery said. “Delores can detect structures, like blood vessels, that can’t be seen by the human eye, which enhances precision and safety.”

Montgomery’s eyes darted to the side. The PR man and woman materialized from the shadows at the front of the amphitheater. Each held a silver cylinder the length of a baseball bat with circumferential joints spaced along their entire length at two-inch intervals. The man went to the back row of the room; the woman remained in the front.

“Now. This part I’m really excited about. Delores, tell us about your arms.”

“Of course.” The image zoomed in on the three last cylinders, which projected from the central body in parallel. Several small objects—including a small pair of scissors, and a scalpel—protruded from their tips.

“My arms are flexible, precision surgical platforms, each of which contains all of the basic instruments necessary for the performance of any operation: scalpel, electrocautery scissors, needle driver, retractor, suction, irrigation. The microservers in my arms allow me to instantaneously switch from one instrument to another.”

“We call them Swiss Armies,” Montgomery said. The man sitting next to Sebastian chuckled and bobbed his head in understanding. “We’re quite proud of them. There’s nothing else like them in the world. The circular joints allow the arms to bend in any direction. They can work around corners. And, for the first time, ever, every surgical instrument combined into a single tool. Amber and Paul are handing some examples out. Feel free to have a look, then pass it along to your neighbor.”

Amber distributed a few Swiss Armies to the front row, Paul some to the back.

“Based on the software, Delores selects the specific instrument needed and deploys that instrument from the arm—similar to choosing an individual tool from the handle of a Swiss Army knife.”

“I had a Swiss Army knife when I was a girl,” the university chancellor, a former engineering professor, cracked. “There’s not a corkscrew on one of those things, is there, Chase? Or a toothpick?”

“No, ma’am,” Montgomery said through his grin. “No corkscrew or toothpick. But everything a typical surgeon needs. Medical-grade scalpel. Scissors, with built-in electrocautery, to stop bleeding. Needle drivers, for sewing tissue together. The suture—the thread for sewing—automatically feeds into the needle driver, another unique innovation.

“Having all of these different instruments combined together into a single package increases efficiency. Each instrument is instantly available whenever needed. It takes only a few seconds to flip from one to another—much faster than deploying one manually. In some cases, it could mean the difference between life and death.”

“Chase, what’s this for?” the CEO asked. He was holding one of the Swiss Armies, which had been rigged to display several of its surgical instruments at once. He pointed to one of them: a turquoise, flyswatter-shaped object, composed of soft, interlacing meshed fibers.

Montgomery smiled. “That’s an extendable retractor, for holding organs and tissues out of the way during surgery. We call it a fan because it resembles a hand fan.”

The thin, bespectacled man next to Sebastian handed him one of the Swiss Armies. This one displayed a scalpel, its surface dulled to prevent injury. The Swiss Army was light. Sebastian knew that the composition of its ceramic alloy was similar to that of advanced body armor.

Sebastian touched the tip of the dulled scalpel.

He thought about what would soon transpire and felt sorry for Wu.

Not to mention, a guilty corner of his conscience confessed, her patient.

Paul the PR man’s cell phone chirped an electronic variation of “Ode to Joy.” He signaled Montgomery.

“Okay,” Montgomery said. “They’re ready for us over in the OR. Any more questions?”