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page0017.mm
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<p>Page 17.</p>
<p>“Oh,”
Lola said. “I see.”</p>
<p>She walked in a
circle around my prototype leg three times. She stopped beside the
Clamp, the big pre-fab die stamp that had crushed my old leg,
although she didn’t know that. The Clamp was gleaming clean.
You didn’t leave machinery of that caliber idle just because
some idiot managed to lose a limb in it. It was expensive as all
get-out.</p>
<p>“It looks
heavy.”</p>
<p>“It’s
about 180 pounds,” I admitted. “It tends to dent the
floor.”</p>
<p>“How do
you lift it?”</p>
<p>“I don’t.
It walks by itself.”</p>
<p>Lola looked at
me.</p>
<p>“The foot
rotates. It’s essentially an orbital wheel, on a shifting
multi-dimensional axis.” I wanted to tell her its top speed,
but didn’t, because she’d think I was boasting.</p>
<p>“And
what’s this?” She pointed at a squat black box, which
protruded from one side.</p>
<p>“Oh. The
processor. I’m not really happy with the positioning on that.
It’s a little vulnerable.”</p>
<p>“What does
it do?”</p>
<p>“You know.
Basic monitoring and control. GPS. Data storage. Wi-fi.”</p>
<p>“Your leg
has wi-fi?”</p>
<p>“It has
to. Otherwise it couldn’t interface with the online
path-finding API.”</p>
<p>Lola’s
eyes rose to mine.</p>
<p>“You shouldn’t need to keep telling your leg where to
step. You should tell it where you want to go and let it calculate
how to get you there. That’s basic encapsulation.”</p>
<p>Lola looked back
at the leg. I don’t think she really understood encapsulation.
But she was impressed with my leg. She knelt on the floor before it.
The leg was under a lab spotlight, looking a little like a steel
vase. It bulged at the bottom, because the foot was the size of a
backpack, and tapered to a slimmer thigh. My lab assistants had
performed excellent work in metals fab this week. I had never seen
them so motivated.</p>
<p>Lola reached out
and touched the leg. I cleared my throat. “What do you think?”</p>
<p>Her fingers ran
down the metal. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve
ever seen.”</p>
<p>It was a moment
before I could speak. “Thanks,” I said.</p>