Sunday December 21, 2003


Note: Readers who grew up in families with multiple siblings of the same gender may confuse the brand-name "Hand Me Down" with the moniker lovingly affixed to articles of clothing outgrown by an older sibling and passed on to a younger one. This practice, though economical, serves to imbue younger siblings with an acute sense of fashion (or "out-of-fashion," which point will be driven home with the cruelty only possible among grade-schoolers.)

The "Hand Me Down" mentioned by Doc "Voyt" Wojtkiewicz is a trademarked and strictly licensed body-part cloner made by Club Medic. It sees wide use in military circles because of the optimization routines that make it almost five times faster than other brands, giving rise to the popular byline "Hand Me Down will give you a hand in the time it takes our competitors to give you the finger."

Book 4: The Blackness Between
 Part IV: A Little First Contact
Sunday December 21, 2003

Transcript

Narrator:The patient awakens.
Voyt:Welcome back to the land of the living, young lady.
Elf:I'm a Lieutenant. If you 'young lady' me again, you'll be learning to talk through a hole in your chest.
Voyt (thinking):Memo to self. . . Talk to triage team about the importance of disarming patients.
Voyt:I'm glad to see you're feeling better, Lieutenant, your stim overdose was a false alarm. Apparently no ill effects there.

Your legs pose a problem, though. The hand-me-down was lost along with our armor platoon when Athens was attacked.

Voyt:I've notified your Captain of your condition. Doctor Bunnigus will be shuttling in.

Elf:Ugh. Commander Andreyasn never does anything small.
Elf:I'll pro'lly end up permanently mounted inside a giant robot, or maybe have a big ol' annie plant 'planted where my pelvis oughta be.
Voyt:Count your blessings, young la. . . uh, Lieutenant. The rest of the wounded have arrived, and there are some much worse off than you.
TRBoE:
Sign:Der Trihs
Pongoryobi
Der Trihs:Stop shaking my jar!