#cyberaliens

Dent cleared his throat, "You gonna," he hesitated at the word, "Amputate?"

"I am tempted. Seems like the simple solution." Said the doctor, picking up a handheld tool with a long blade. "But I would rather we didn't do that." He set the tool down, "This is usually the part where the hapless scientist gets eaten by the parasite monster trying to protect its host."

Dent frowned at his arm, "It seems harmless enough. Juda accidentally slammed it in the airlock and it didn't eat anyone."

Fel'o turned sharply, "Slammed it in the airlock? Like," He smacked his fist against his arm, "Bam."

Dent nodded and made the same motion, smacking his fist against the arm. It continued to be glossy.

The doctor looked back at the data readouts. "Then maybe." He stepped away from the monitor and paced around a little. "Okay, let's try something else." He walked to his desk and grabbed a smooth, silver ball. He clicked a few buttons on it and it started to hum. He clicked again and the humming stopped.

"We are going to see if vibrations do anything interesting." Fel'o put the ball into Dent's hand. When he let go, the ball fell to the floor.

"Sorry, the hand can be finicky." Dent shrugged.

Fel'o picked up the ball, "But you said you can still move your arm."

"It jerks around sometimes. Like, when Juda went to slap me for getting my arm stuck, it just sprung up." Dent said, poking his arm with his other hand.

"I see," said the doctor. He held the ball over Dent's hand, "Okay, this time I'll have you catch the ball."

Dent sighed, "I dunno if I'll catch it, but I'll try."

Fel'o nodded and just as he dropped the ball, he screamed. A sharp, quick scream that made Dent tense. His hand clenched around the ball as it fell.

"There we go," Fel'o said. "I better note that it responds to reflex stimuli." He walked back to the desk and scribbled his notes.

Dent relaxed his shoulders but tried to focus on keeping his fist flexed around the ball. The hand remained clenched. Fel'o came back wearing a heavy lead protector and a plexipolymer mask. "Alright, let's try some medical science." He tapped a button on a remote and the silver ball began to hum again. Dent screwed up his face and shivered.

"Now that is a strange sensation." He said.

"Does it hurt?" Fel'o asked.

Dent shook his head, "Not really. More tingles. But less of a 'bam' and more of a wave. Like, ocean wave stuff." He said.

Fel'o nodded and observed the arm. It was still glossy but there were ripples spreading across the surface. Then, the ripples began to bubble and small spines were rumbling up from the surface. Little mountain peaks pinpricked across the arm and rose upward.

"Remarkable, it's like a non-nutonian liquid." Fel'o said, shaking his head. "Incredible."

"I think so too, but it is also kind of unnerving." Dent said. "Since, you know, it is my arm."