"A great deal actually," he coughed, adjusted the collar of his coat in an attempt to regain some dignity. "While not a medical doctor, my doctorates were in medical engineerings and robotics, the one field becoming more and more related to the other before the war. I am one of the few, if not only, professionals still alive in the world who might be able to help."

"The first option is to more or less stabilize him and then put him into what used to be referred to as 'suspended animation.' His body would recover on its own, slowly, albeit far faster than our current conditions would allow for. The benefit of this is that it would be painless for him and he would be able to avoid a great deal of therapy to regain control of his body. There would be some muscle control loss, but it would be only temporary. The downside is the effects: he would be in stasis for a year, completely helpless if unaware... and there is the potential for memory loss. What makes your situations different is that you would know he is alive, whereas he did not know about you."

Easing back into his chair once more, he steepled his hands in front him and continued. "The second option is surgery. Just by looking at him, I would be fairly surprised if he did not have major organ damage of some kind. I retain enough of my skills that I could open him up and see what might be fixed. He would be conscious sooner... if he survives. Let us face it, this is not the most sterile environment in the world and the chances for infection are high. We also do not have access to many of the tools and equipment I had in younger days. The main problem, the real problem," Uncle warned solemnly, "is anesthetic. We have none. True, I might be able to synthesis some form of ether, but that process is dangerously explosive and not meant for long term use. At best, we could get Lucien highly drunk and pray the shock doesn't kill him."

"The last option..." Uncle paused as though trying to think of the best way to phrase it. Shaking his head he went on finally, "You will not like the last option. I am not sure I like the last option. It's a repeat of something we tried before and it didn't work how we had hoped. I say 'we' because you and I were the ones to come up with the idea and to proceed with the experiment. Its results were... mixed."

He focus a serious eye on Cassie, looking at her directly as though to convey his meaning not just by words but by glance as well. "We let him get captured by Androids. They repair him, replace what is broken with better alternatives and rehabilitate him. We let him get converted and we then try to recover him."