Reboot, part 2

Posted on Sat Dec 22nd, 2012 @ 12:14pm by Lieutenant Three of Seven & Senior Chief Petty Officer Hiram Frost

Mission: Funzone
Location: Daystrom Research Institute
Timeline: 1 week later...

The cybernetics lab had an auditorium overhead that was generally sparsely filled with various cadets working on specialized programs in engineering science. Instead, it was now full with observers from Starfleet Command, Starfleet Medical, the Corps of Engineers, and the crews of the USS Comanche and USS Arizona. Hiram couldn't be certain, but it wouldn't have surprised him if Admiral Cowell himself weren't up the seats.

"I'm Hiram Frost, Senior Cybernetics System Specialist for the Daystrom Research Institute," the engineer remarked, standing up at the podium and pausing to review the prepared notes on the padd in his hands. Turning his head, the engineer acknowledged a medical officer standing in the room. "With me is Commander Geraldine Fortson, Chief of Neurological Medicine and Surgery, for Starfleet Medical."

A series of holographic displays appeared overhead, showing different views of a horrifically mutilated cranium with metal and cables running through it, including the vacant eye sockets. "Our subject is a cybernetic organism created out of an Ocampa child's brain by the Borg in about 2340," Senior Chief Frost said, continuing to read from his notes. Pausing to reach a hand up to indicate the displays as they switched to pictures of a probe-like mechanism, the man lectured, "Here you see recordings taken by the USS Hawkings upon the discovery of the Borg probe-drone, in which this specialized brain had been implanted as the central processor."

The views changed to a laboratory-like environment, with white coat engineers working around a table on which the skull fragment rested. "The cybernetic brain came to us here at the Daystrom Insitute, where we successfully integrated it into an android housing unit for research and possible social rehabilitation," the man said, as the views shifted to the figure of a small, bald, roughly humanoid figure. "The organism refers to itself as Three of Seven, or just Three, as was its Borg designation. Recently, it has also decided upon a male gender identity, in order to better relate to humanoid social expectations, and demonstrating the ability to adapt to what it perceives as community norms. In other words, the successful reintegration of a being so... scarred by the Borg assimilation process as to be rendered inhuman, is still capable of human behavior and of functioning in our society," the professor went on the lecture.

"The prototype android housing unit lacked any specific humanoid features and was, instead, a simple bipedal locomotion unit constructed of a duranium allow shell over isolinear relays, which functioned for motion but did not allow Three to process any tactile or olfactory sensory input. Merely process audio and visual data," Hiram continued, as the views overhead shifted to differing views of internal circuitry. "This unit was heavily damaged during emergency repair operations aboard the USS Arizona, as you can see here."

Setting the padd aside for a moment, the engineer leaned across the podium and said, "Our purpose today is to successfully extract the cybernetic organism from the android housing. We'll also be performing repair and maintenance work on the primary Borg cybernetic components while simultaneously working to repair any necrotic brain cells that may have occurred, either as a result of the damage or the Borg components themselves."

"When complete, we hope to reintegrate Three into a new android body that will better incorporate both his identity development and technological advances since the construction of the original body," the engineer added, as a series of blueprints went up overhead. "In place of isolinear relays, bio-neural fibers have been laid out in a nervous pattern that we believe may enable to Borg nanites to process genuine sensory input. We believe, when completed, he will be able to smell and to touch. Which, if true, will give us new insight into possible medical applications for nanite technology for nervous system disorders."

Stopping, finally, the man surveyed the blur of indistinct faces from the gallery overhead. "If you will hold your questions for the end, we will get started," the engineer remarked, stepping down from the podium to join the brain surgeon at the table upon which the partially melted remains of the android construct now lay. Taking a laser drill in hand, the team of skilled engineers and surgeons artfully cut away the framework from around the skeletal shell, monitors overhead focused in on the detail work.

Severing the internal connections, including removing the artificial eyes and breaking the spinal connection, Hiram drew a cranium of blackened bone and metal wire out into the light. "Ladies and gentlemen, meet the real Three of Seven," the engineer remarked somberly, before setting the cyborg brain down on a specially prepared unit. "We're now energizing a bio-regenerative field that will protect the organic cells while we neutralize the active Borg nanoprobes in order to prevent them from assimilating our systems."

"There is some necrotic tissue surrounding the Borg's cortical array," Doctor Fortson commented. "We'll remove those dead cells and replace them using genitronically cloned cells."

"While Doctor Fortson does her brain surgery, I'll be removing the cortical node in order to inspect it for any damage," Hiram remarked, picking up as soon as the woman finished, and extracting a cylindrical object from out of the cranium as he continued to lecture through the surgery. "This cortical node is the primary control point for a Borg's cybernetic systems..."