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"Yes, sir."
Naomie waited until they left the room, then removed her iPad from her bag and placed it on the table beside Riggs' bed. "Can I sit beside you?"
"If that's what you want." She could tell from his tone and the way his gaze slid away from hers that he was resistant to whatever she would say.
"It is, but I don't want to hurt you."
"I can take it."
"All right, but first things first." She leaned over and kissed him. His lips were stiff for a moment, but then she felt them relax.
"I was so scared I'd lost you," she drew back and whispered. "I love you, you know."
"I do."
"Then I need to ask you something, and you need to be honest with me. Do you trust me?"
"Yes."
"Good," she picked up her iPad and sat beside him. "I want to show you something."
She accessed a file and an image displayed of a beautiful auburn-haired woman holding a trophy with one hand while an equally beautiful brunette woman stood beside her, smiled, and held up their clenched hands in a sign of victory. They were only visible from the chest up.
"The redhead is Georgie – Georgina Williams, and the woman with her is her sister, Tess. This photo was taken the day Georgie became the second woman to win the New York City Marathon."
Naomie zoomed out, and she heard Riggs' intake of breath when he saw the whole photo. "Georgie lost half of her right leg when she was fourteen, just below the knee. Today, she works with a group that started at MIT, developing bionic limbs."
"There's no such thing."
"Oh, but there is, and I created the IMES, the implanted myoelectric sensor being used."
"You're involved?"
"I was and will be again. Riggs, look at this," she started a slideshow of people with bionic limbs dancing, running, swimming, doing gymnastics, playing football and soccer. "Some of these people are world-class athletes, and many had much further to go than you."
She saw how he studied the images and launched into the next phase of her pitch. "I know you've probably seen guys who lost limbs in combat, who don't have state-of-the-art prosthetics, but things have advanced so much. Now we honestly do have mind-controlled bionic prosthetic limbs."
"You're not bull-shitting me?" He looked straight into her eyes.
"Would I lie to you?" She met his probing gaze without hesitation.
"No. Tell me more."
"Okay. This is an incredible clinical breakthrough in next-gen bionic technology. I spent the entire flight getting up to date. Now, we can adapt to an individual's intentional movements and intuitive actions.
"Where I want you to go, they can fit you with a smart limb."
"Smart?"
"Yes, brilliant. They're capable of real-time learning and automatically adjust to their user's walking style, terrain, and speed. You see, movement in a typical non-disabled person starts subconsciously, which triggers electrical impulses in the body that catalyze the appropriate muscles into action.
"The latest technology replicates that process. The electronic impulse from the brain is received by an IMES surgically implanted into the residual limb."
"Which means what for someone like me?"
"It means your prosthesis will become more intuitive and integrative."
"Layman talk, Naomie."