Nu Trilogy 1: The Esss Advance by Charles E. Waugh Read Free Book Online Page B

then take your time relearning the walking process.”
     
    “Let’s not worry about that now,” Sted replied. “I have no intention of going back down to Earth anytime soon. If the need arises, I will probably make do with a wheelchair for the duration instead of spending the time reprogramming these legs and then reprogramming my brain. Right now, I want to begin working out my body to get back into full military shape, and I need your approval to begin a rigorous exercise routine. What do I have to do to get it?”
     
    “When you can walk without assistance from the PT lab to the cafeteria, up four flights of stairs to your room, and then back down four flights of stairs to the lab again without falling, then you will have my approval. You can begin working on that anytime now, but I will have to accompany you on the final test. I specifically want to accompany you on the stairs portions of the journey to make sure you are not getting assistance from the handrails. Going down the stairs will be your biggest challenge.”
     
    “What about jumping and landing? How much pressure can I put on the interface between my thighs and the prosthetics?”
     
    “You should not have to worry about that at all. The fusion of the prosthetic to the femur should be able to absorb all the pressure without impacting the soft tissue interfaces. Just remember to flex your knees before landing like you would normally, and everything should be fine. Also, remember to keep your leg batteries charged. You wouldn’t want to land and not have enough juice to bend properly.”
     
    “I plug in every night while I sleep, Doc,” Sted replied. “Did you order a backup battery core like I asked?”
     
    “Yes. I got approval from Vice Admiral Bunting yesterday, and the core should be on the next shuttle.”
     
    “Great. Now let’s try the walk to the cafeteria for lunch without this walker. Can you walk next to me with your hand on my elbow for some added stability on my first attempt? I don’t want to sprawl on my face in the corridor. If I begin to fall and you catch me, I’m buying lunch. If I make it the whole way without a problem, you buy.”
     
    “I’ll take that challenge,” Alice said, knowing full well that her money was safe.
     
     

Chapter 17 – Back Into Shape
     
    Once cleared by Alice to begin his new exercise routine, Sted went to work on his body in much the same manner as he did during his basic training on the Council of Eight (C8) platform. This, of course, was much less rigorous than on C8, because neither Tranquility Hospital nor Tranquility Base had the training facilities built into the Space Naval Academy there.
     
    In particular, Sted did not miss his exercise time in the “Hell Wheel.” All of the fresh recruits just up from the deep gravity well of Earth had to learn to handle weightlessness and to become accustomed to the standard one lunar gravity used as the default for all orbital facilities. However, those recruits coming from one of the many lunar communities needed to learn to handle Earth’s gravity and more.
     
    The compromise for getting all recruits trained to the same degree was time on the Hell Wheel. This particular section of the C8 platform offered six levels of training, ranging from zero gravity to one-and-a-half Earth gravities. Everyone had to pass a rigorous test at each of the six levels.
     
    The six levels referred to the five rings on the rotating wheel plus the zero gravity gym in the hub. The centrifugal force increased as you moved from level to level. The sixth level at one-and-a-half Earth gravities was the reason the facility was called the Hell Wheel. The cardio workouts on level six made anything they had at the SEAL training facility in San Diego look tame.
     
    In the gym at Tranquility Base, Sted was able to simulate higher gravity workouts with what they called “The Rubber Band Machine” or “RBM.” By strapping into the RBM, Sted could attach various