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Pre-meeting nerves hadn’t covered it. It was more a matter of feeling sick to her stomach, feeling her body stiff with tension. This meant so much for Anya. And Raina was determined not to admit that it meant a great deal to her that it was Alistair who would be taking her case.
He was committed to this project, and when Alistair committed himself to something he rarely failed. He would undoubtedly do his very best for Anya, and that was what Raina wanted. He’d be professional, hiding whatever emotion he had about the situation, because that was what Alistair did supremely well.
He ushered them upstairs, walking into a large office and introducing everyone. Kaia, Ben and Alfie had clearly taken control of their environment, making it look something like a teenager’s bedroom. Kaia was the most outgoing of the three, getting up from behind the large computer screen on her desk and coming over to chat. She wore a filmy pinafore dress over a T-shirt, with sneakers, and looked casual and cool.
‘I’ve got some bricks, Anya. I made them myself.’ Kaia bent down to speak to Anya. ‘Would you like to come and see?’
Anya nodded, looking up at Raina. ‘Yes, that’s all right. Go with Kaia.’ She watched them walk over to a purple sofa in the corner of the room. There was a pile of bricks on the coffee table in front of it, and when Anya picked one up it caught the light, sparkling brightly. It seemed that she was about to get a fun idea of what the 3D printer could produce.
Alistair shot her a smile and sauntered over to Ben’s workstation, peering over his shoulder. Ben had taken the least notice of them, acknowledging their presence only with a nod and the raising of his hand, before going back to the two computer screens in front of him.
‘Do you want something?’
Alistair shrugged. ‘No. Just taking an interest. And pretending I know what on earth that is.’ He nodded at the screen.
Ben responded with a half-smile. These three were clearly young and talented and it seemed that Ben was working on the cutting edge of something that everyone else only barely understood. Alistair had the difficult job of giving them direction and keeping their feet on the ground.
‘It’s the mechanism for closing the hand. It wasn’t exactly right.’
Alfie chuckled. ‘Yeah. Make a fist, Alistair. Ben’s been driving everyone crazy...’
Ben frowned. ‘Because making a fist isn’t just making a fist. If you wanted to punch me, then your thumb would be in a very different place from if you wanted to pick something up.’
Alfie rolled his eyes, in a clear indication that he already wanted to punch Ben. Alistair gave that easygoing grin that could smooth over the most troubled waters.
‘Suppose we resort to real-world expectations?’
Ben’s shrug in reply indicated that real-world expectations weren’t his thing. No wonder they called this the Dream Team. Raina reckoned that it took a bit of work to keep their feet touching the ground even part of the time.
‘What are your thoughts, Raina?’ A smile hovered on Alistair’s lips.
‘Well...’ Raina decided that she should at least recognise Ben’s way of thinking. ‘Most parents would say they wanted their children to pick things up rather than punch them. And I have seen instances of children using their prostheses as a weapon, they put them on only when they want to hit out at something. So I think that the arm should work like a tool and not a weapon.’
‘Yeah, form and function. I get it.’ He nodded and looked back at his screen, muttering under his breath, ‘Finally. Some sanity.’
Alistair chuckled. ‘I heard that, Ben. I’ve got my hearing aid in.’
Ben was already lost in his thoughts. ‘You know one day we’ll be able to make a limb that can feel. Assess temperature and texture...’ He smiled suddenly, as if the impossible was just something that hadn’t happened yet.
‘One day. Not today. At the moment we’re finding out what’s going to be best for Anya...’ Alistair raised one eyebrow, as if this was a conversation he’d already had with Ben.
‘Yeah, okay. Well, I’ll need to see our subject pick up a range of things. In a controlled environment.’
‘Forget it, Ben,’ Alistair replied. ‘This is the real world, and you can’t ask a three-year-old to pick up objects of varying weight and size and put them back down again a hundred times, while you watch her do it. And her name’s Anya.’
‘Uh. Yes, sorry.’ Ben flashed Raina an apologetic look and went straight back to his screen.
‘What about getting Anya to draw something, and then rendering it up as a 3D model and printing it. Then you can watch her play with it and see how she handles it.’ Alistair had hit on a middle way, glancing from Raina to Ben to see if it met with approval from both of them.
‘That would be great, she’d love that. And it would be a way of showing her that what she imagines can be made real.’ Raina hesitated. ‘If it’s not going to take up too much of Ben’s time.’
Alistair shook his head. ‘This project is all about finding out what works. None of that is going to be a waste of time.’
Ben nodded. ‘What are we going to print?’
‘Anything she likes. As Raina said, it’s abo
ut showing her that her dreams can be made into reality.’
