[ WP ] In the future , everyone downloads new skills straight into their brain . You have spent weeks/months/years learning a new skill , any skill , the old-fashioned way . Why ?

`` Microwaves and TVs'' 
 - Christopher Fiss 
 
 
 `` They have a Brainwave for this, you know,'' she said with a long sigh. Deborah had the look of a woman who was always a few minutes late for an engagement, and continuously shifted between a care-to-the-wind smile and a nervous twitch in her left cheek muscles and eye. 
 
 `` Yes, thank you Deb,'' Doctor Frost said, sitting down at the dusty old desk and taking a moment to wipe the surface with a clean cloth. 
 
 `` I'm just saying,'' she shrugged, posing awkwardly next to the old office furniture. `` Did n't they say your first appointment is on Monday? That's hardly enough time to-'' 
 
 `` Just because Brainwaves are faster does n't mean I'm incapable of reading a manual,'' Frost laughed, opening his briefcase and pulling out a pair of inch-thick recycled-paper manuals. `` Besides, a little old-fashioned reading and learning never hurt anyone.'' 
 
 Deb knelt down next to him. `` I never have. Nope. Not since Grade Ten. God, what a waste those years were! I wish they'd lower the age restrictions. Thomas and I are planning on children next summer.'' 
 
 Frost decided to let his tact respond with a quiet, non-committal'humph,' then turned to her with a kind smile. `` Can you bring in the equipment? Should be on a dolly outside in the security storage area.'' 
 
 Glad to have something to do other than watch her friend play schoolboy, she nodded and walked briskly to the door, only hindered by the time it took to shove her key-fob into range of the receiver. `` Be right back!'' she promised. 
 
 The doctor allowed himself a long breath, at first enjoying the relative silence of the room without his intern chattering on... but then another breath to take in the smell of real paper. God... had it been that long since he held any? As he mentally skimmed through the last twenty years of his practice he realized that tablets, e-ink and PDAs had pretty much handled the bulk of his work, education and leisure. Real paper, well, that was only for the occasional rare first-edition print or a sentimental greeting card. 
 
 Then, as he adjusted his glasses and gazed down at the books in front of him, his smile faded. `` Nerve Dynamics D-Seven-Nine-Nine-Two Operator's manual,'' he whispered out loud and opened the front page, skimming the disclaimers and dedications and thank yous and all the usual drivel that you could never do in a Brainwave session. He smirked at that and wondered how many high-school graduates could still recite all the publisher's names from every course they downloaded... likely all of them. What a nice way to be immortalized in a generation's subconscious. 
 
 As he began reading, though, he forced fanciful thought from his mind and applied his surgeon's focus and memory to every word and every detail. He had to. It was the only way he would be able to sleep tonight and the many nights to come. 
 
 Deborah came back in, pushing a squeaky-wheeled contraption under a white sterile cover. `` Got it!'' 
 
 `` Good. Sit down. You're going to have to read these manuals too if you're going to be my intern.'' 
 
 Deb groaned, looking at the book in his hand and realizing there was no escape now that her mentor was a good dozen pages in. `` Doc, listen... I'm serious. I can load this up on a Wavedrive and we can get this out of the way within two hours! Come on, do n't you want to go home early and play with your kids? You're not even on the clock yet.'' 
 
 He turned the page and motioned for her to bring the contraption closer. She complied, but not without expending a lot of effort to seem bored. It faded for a moment when he pulled back the sheet and began comparing the diagrams to the actual physical device. `` I told you, Deb. This one is important. I do n't want any portion of this process to be given away to a computer.'' 
 
 Deb reached up and rubbed her cheek, which seemed to be suddenly twitching a little more than usual, likely wondering if she could use it as an excuse to go home. In the end, though, the med-school credit and the curiosity of seeing such an archaic device won out and she pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the desk. `` Why?'' 
 
 Doctor Frost looked up from the book, finishing another pair of pages. `` What do you mean?'' 
 
 `` Well, I mean, why are you so worried about learning this yourself? Someone's already learned it and recorded the process. And it's not like it's that difficult, is it? You've learned a thousand procedures by Brainwave, have n't you? Life-or-death ones, too. I've watched you do three heart transplants!'' 
 
 `` True,'' he sighed, looking over at the machine. `` But those are different. This will be the first time I've been employed to take a life, rather than protect it.'' 
 
 Deborah looked unconvinced. `` So?'' 
 
 `` Because when I press the big red button to end someone's life,'' Frost snapped, `` I want to know that it was my hand that did it. My mind. My brain. My Goddamn soul!'' He stood up and slammed the book down on the desk with all the force of a thunderclap. 
 
 Deb just watched in shock as he shook his head and continued. 
 
 `` I will not automate the process any more than it already has been! I want the poor bastard strapped to the bed to know at least someone took the time to learn how to do it so they wo n't suffer, and maybe, just maybe, they'll forgive me instead of damning me to Hell!'' 
 
 Deb looked away nervously, unsure how to respond. `` Doc, I did n't mean to-'' 
 
 Frost let out a huff and plopped back down to the chair. `` N-No, Deborah, I'm sorry, I did n't mean to yell.'' 
 
 She finally managed to raise her eyes to him again. `` I guess I do n't get why it means that much to you,'' she ventured timidly. `` These are criminals. Murderers mostly. All confessed and guilty and- well, you know if there was even the smallest shadow of a doubt they'd just be in for life in prison. Why did you apply for the job if you were...'' 
 
 Frost looked up to the ceiling. `` Scared of being damned?'' 
 
 Deb allowed herself a small smile. `` Yeah.'' 
 
 The Doc leaned back over the desk and picked up the book again. `` I guess I do n't get why it means so little to everyone else,'' he said. `` The politicians ca n't give this job to a computer - it's not moral. It's not right. I guess I just figured if a human has to kill a human, I sure as hell do n't want it to be like microwaving a sandwich or turning off a television. That means learning how to do it. That means, to me at least, making sure I'm to blame if something goes wrong.'' 
 
 He looked over at the device... one of the few neural-arresters outside of the military. It could kill painlessly and quickly, but nobody had used one for an execution for decades due to the lawmakers continuously changing their minds. 
 
 `` Does that make any sense? Or am I just an old fashioned geezer? I want it to mean something to someone, even if it's just me and the condemned,'' he said finally, looking back to her. 
 
 Deborah shook her head. `` No... I think that makes a lot of sense, actually,'' she said with a strangely sober look on her face. `` Did you want me... I mean... can I read the other book?'' 
 
 Doctor Frost smiled grimly. `` You'll have to wait till I'm done this one. I suppose that means you can go home if you really want. The other copy is in Spanish.'' Deb stood and walked over to the door. Frost did n't blame her, really. `` Have a good weeken-'' 
 
 `` Wait,'' she said, retrieving a small object from her coat pocket. `` I was just getting a Spanish Brainwave module,'' she said proudly. `` That's okay, right? I mean, it's just the language pack, not the manual.'' 
 
 Frost laughed and nodded. `` Yeah, that's okay.'' 
 
 Deborah smiled brightly and plopped herself back down on her chair, reaching to her neck and finding her subdermal data port. `` Should only take an hour, then I'll catch up to you.'' 
 
 `` Thanks, Deb,'' Frost said, reaching across the desk to hold her hand. `` It means a lot to me.'' 
 
 She nodded, plugged in the chip, and fell into a deep sleep as the data streamed into her mind. Frost let out another breath, and opened the book back to the page he had reached earlier. It read like stereo instructions... but that was okay. This was the easy part. 
 
 The hard part would happen on Monday. 
 
 EOF. 

