They entered a room that had several machines along the far wall. Her legs protruded out of the side of one of them, supported on a cushioned shelf. They looked so small, so short. They didn’t look as skinny as she

remembered them. Next to her legs was another machine with one leg. It was obviously a more muscular and hairy leg, that of a man.

Kathy went over and looked at her legs. “I’ll get the laptop and get started.”

The doctor nodded and left.

At first Kathy felt strange looking at the legs that were hers. The first touch really required a lot of effort. The rest of the day was spent thinking of sensations and simulating them on her legs. They sent out for ice, matches and pins. They even tickled the soles of her feet and used itching powder to complete the project. This took five days but at the end of that time, they could again predict the patterns of nerve impulses. Another two days were spent feeding the impulses to her stumps and matching the sensation to the impulses and locations on the chips. Kathy had prepared a scanning algorithm that scanned the chip sending impulses till they hit the right spot.

The major portion of the bandage was taken off Joyce’s hand and she could use it for light work toward the end of the period. She and Kathy started spending one hour in therapy every day. By now Kathy could walk comfortably with the artificial legs but with a slightly halting gait. She still used the wheel chair for long trips but started to have some substantial mobility without it.

On Friday evening Bill came in to visit. He had a surprise for her. It was a pass to allow her to leave the hospital.

“Where do you want to go to eat?” he asked.

She thought for a few minutes and then replied, “Anywhere but the hospital. How about Mexican food?”

“Is there some place here?”

Kathy named a place and Bill agreed. The conditions of the pass were clear. She must be back by Sunday evening at six. She must use her wheelchair except to transfer to a bed, a car or use the toilet. The nurse

gave her some medication to take with her. While she was with the nurse Bill left for a minute to make a phone call.