Between Blood and Bone

In the space between blood and bone, the gap between gut and sinew, the nanobots set to work, sculpting and reshaping. There was no time to spare: he couldn't afford to go slowly or be gentle, so the process was brutal. A kaleidoscope of pain flooded his being--piquancy layered upon dull ache followed by deep throb--waves of hurt that chased each other across his awareness and back, as mass redistributed to conform to his will. The pain was an old friend, though.

Finally, after eternal seconds of exquisite agony, it receded, ebbing away like a sigh lapsing into silence. His appearance was entirely transformed. Gone was the athletic dark-haired young man in matt black nonreflecting body suit. In his place, a far shorter, plumper woman: a slightly hunch-shouldered senior citizen in faded skirt and ill-fitting top. Instinctively he reached to finger the stolen data chip, just to reassure him/herself that it had survived the transition unaltered.

They were on him even as s/he let go of the precious prize. His/her shock as two uniformed security guards and a sleek blue-liveried sniffer drone came barreling round the corner didn't need to be feigned. They almost knocked him/her over.

"Have you seen this man?" the lead guard demanded, with no preamble or thought of apology. The drone displayed an impressively clear image of the person s/he had been mere seconds before.

For a fleeting moment she was tempted to misdirect them, but that risked unwanted attention should they recognize the deception and retrace their steps, so she simply said, "No." Her voice emerged as cracked, dry, and higher pitched than intended.

"He must have gone straight on," the second guard said. "Come on, or we'll lose him!"

The two guards turned to go but the drone remained, hovering in the air an arm's length from her face. She eyed it warily. The drones were a pain and were fast becoming her biggest threat. Designed to isolate and follow individual pheromone traces even through a crowded urban environment, early models had been notoriously fallible, but they were getting better. Much better.

"Oh for pity's sake," Guard One said, turning to Guard Two. "Do something about your pet, will you? It'll be telling us a dog is our perp next."

"I'm trying!" the other said, fingers tapping at a wrist display.

Finally, almost reluctantly, the drone jerked and then turned to follow its handlers.

"Sorry about that, ma'am," Guard One said--an apology at last. "Technology, where would we be without it?" His voice was rich with sarcasm.

"Where indeed?" she replied softly, with no sarcasm at all.