Things moved very quickly after that. First a full-body topology scan, laser light making quick stuttering sweeps in random directions as it built up a map. Then came the rather more invasive procedure of upgrading my implant, using targeted anaesthetic. I spent the whole time in full visualisation – watching random pictures swim in and out of focus, connecting to various diagnostic servers, being taught how to access the additional features offered by mil-spec neuroware.

Then into the assembly chamber. They swapped out the smaller pneumatic arm and replaced it with hydraulic ones, for both my injured and uninjured arm. The odd sensation of having two more arms than I should did not go away, but I could control them just fine provided no fine motor skills were required.

They were brutal-looking slabs of metal. There was a rough, angular beauty to them, I thought, but it was the kind of aesthetic seen in weaponry – of engineering designed and honed to perfection for a single purpose.