Then he saw John bending over him, and the others in the background. "How did you do it—What's happened—Am I dreaming?"
"No, old chap, it's real enough, but the old ones must have done it for you."
A high, thin voice interrupted—"We're glad you are pleased."
They whirled toward the wall screen. Old Senegar faced them from his purple couch, leaning wearily on an elbow—"It was quite a bit of trouble, but interesting."
John fumbled through his lexicon and found the word for "how?" and scribbled it on the white wall plate.
"We thought you would want to know—Sit down, it will take a few minutes. I will try to be elementary in my discussion."
They squatted in a half circle on the floor, all except Jake—who refused to sit, and teetered around feeling the muscles of his new legs, jumping, stretching, rocking on his toes, but listening all the while.
"To us, it is relatively simple," went on the old man. "First we stimulate the bone cells to grow down a plastic hollow tube. This is done by depositing a calcium compound in the tube and focusing a ray of complex force upon it. Of course, the tube is made to order in relationship to measurements of the patient's other bones. Artificial veins and arteries are introduced. We do not bother with all the tiny capillaries. They will grow in later. Synthetic cell tissue is moulded into the shape of muscles and stimulated with pinealin, which we have at last isolated. Strangely, one of the most difficult techniques is that of skin grafting. We grow skin on a hairless type of laboratory animal and patch it on with grafting glue. The healing is hastened by a special ultra violet and electrodynamic apparatus. Of course, the artificial arteries are connected when installed. Their wall composition allows blood to flow out into the cell tissue in about two days. With the arteries is laid down a series of main nerve sheaths. We do not try to restore all the original sensitivity, because the procedure is too complex. We find that a clumsy subsidiary nervous tentacle is developed, under high pressure electric nerve currents introduced briefly through the central nervous system before the lower frequency body current is allowed its own way. His legs will never be quite as effective as the original pair but do well enough, and only a doctor could detect the difference."
Hilda stepped forward and wrote on the white square the words she had been finding in her lexicon. "Your kindness is almost beyond our understanding. I knew you were good people. We wish we could do something in return."