The Connection Chapter 1

As the dentist probed more deeply with the drill, he felt a suddenly intense pain as if it were his own. Quickly stopping the drilling process, he asked his assistant to prepare more anesthetic and to increase the level of D.I. (distracting interference ) on the interface. The patient visibly relaxed in the chair as the dentist deadened the sensitive tooth and proceeded with the repair work. In a less noticeable way the dentist also realized that his assistant was in need of a bathroom break and that the receptionist had a message for him. His own interface was turned way back on all channels except for the patient's so that he could focus on this procedure without distractions. The technology that made this heightened awareness possible had been around for about 20 years and there were still new applications being found for it. This particular patient was in for a hardware augmentation. The procedure involved removing an old dental crown and replacing it with an identical looking appliance that served as implanted interface processor/amplifier. Thirty minutes later the procedure was complete and the device was performing perfectly. Logan got up from the dentist's chair and authorized payment mentally as he was leaving the office. He also put in a quick hello to a friend on the other side of the planet to see how the amplification was working and was surprised to feel his friend's exhilaration at the height of a challenging game of racquetball. With this new upgrade Logan could actually feel what his friend was feeling to whatever extent he chose to receive at, but it would not allow him access to anyone unless they were on the neural interface and willing to share with him. Logan followed the game and congratulated his friend on her win afterwards and then they had lunch 'together' so they could do some catching up.