Chip

JT smiles at BJ, trying to put him at ease. “Hey there, BJ. Glad to see ya.” He holds out his hand to shake, letting the boy feel quite official. “We’re just going to check a few things out, and you’ll be outta here in no time. How about you following me into the next room, okay? I’m going to show you some really cool machines.”

They follow JT into the adjoining room, Austin and Jason joining them as well. The door is shut to avoid interruption.
Jason stands in the corner, his mood wanting to drag him back outside to wait instead, but his duty forcing him to stay. He had a job to do…

It takes a while, but everything goes smoothly as JT takes x-rays of BJ, all the while talking to him and making him laugh, lightening the atmosphere. Once finished, he sends BJ back out to sit with Angel, and seeks out the privacy of the room to discuss the results of the scans.

The x-rays are put up on the light board, and JT looks at them thoughtfully. He crosses his arms as he stares up at them, and shakes his head. “Well, Mick, you were right. There’s an implant there all right. I’d be shocked, but with you lot, nothing is surprising.” He takes his pen and points to a place on the x-ray. “This is the back of the brain here, you see… and right over here, you can see the edges of something – it doesn’t match the rest of the scan, proving that there is actually a foreign object there.” He eyes it with disbelief. “Whoever did this in the first place knew what they were doing – in order to put something in that deep without causing real damage…or even to put it in such a way that it wouldn’t bother BJ as he grew….it’s amazing.”
JT thinks for several more moments, then points again. “It’s an interesting place…the position it’s in has actually severed some connections here…” He draws a circle in the air around a portion of BJ’s brain near the chip. “Which…” he cocks his head, trying to make up his mind. “…it might have affected areas such as reading… it wouldn’t surprise me if he had difficulties in that area, due to the damage the chip has caused, no matter how slight. Now, on the other hand…” JT continues to study the results. “You see right next to it is a completely different nerve center that’s grown around this chip. There’s no damage there, it appears, though there’s some interesting patterns there. Some of these connections here have been formed as a result of the chip’s interference, which…” he shrugs, unsure of his own theories, though they are medically logical. “…which could very well result in a genius area. Something mechanical, something like putting puzzles together, or doing math. It’s really very extraordinary how this chip has affected BJ’s brain. Thankfully, it doesn’t appear to be anything life threatening at all, as his body has obviously adjusted around it.”

Mick shakes his head, amazed. “Wow…” He glances at Rosetta. “The note was right…Sam was telling the truth…”

JT moves away from the wall, putting his pen in his pocket. “I don’t know the significance of this, nor should I, probably. But I’ve got to tell you – if you had any intention of removing it, I couldn’t recommend it.”

Mick looks to Rosetta again, question flickering in his eyes.


Austin stands back and glances at his watch, knowing that Damien should be arriving shortly.