The Surgeon in the Mirror

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The Surgeon in the Mirror: Robotic Surgeon Book 1© Copyright 2023 by Roger D. Smith. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author. http://www.rddsmith.com/.No AI was used to write this book. All of the text, characters, plot, and artwork were created by a human author and human artist. Therefore, it is all covered by copyright. Modelbenders Press books may be purchased for business and promotional use. For information, please contact the publisher. Visit our website at www.modelbenders.comPRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICADesigned by Adina Cucicov at Flamingo DesignsThe Library of Congress has cataloged the paperback edition:Smith, Roger D.Surgeon in the Mirror, The/ Roger D. Smith–1st ed.1. Medical Thriller, 2. Science Fiction, 3. FictionI. Roger D. Smith II. Title.Paperback ISBN 978-1-938590-16-0eBook ISBN 978-1-938590-17-7 Fiction by R.D.D. SmithRobotic Surgeon SeriesThe Surgeon in the MirrorAgainst a Viral Threat* Savior of the War Torn*Nonfiction by Roger D. SmithChief Technology OfficerThinking About InnovationIn the Footsteps of FranklinAdvice Written on the Back of a Business CardPatterns of Strength *Coming in 2024 Join our community of readers to receive fascinating news, speculative fiction, and discussions on the future of robotics, AI, and simulation in surgery. www.rddsmith.com/free PrologueSurgical robots are mechanical and electronic devices that assist a human surgeon in performing procedures that have proven difficult with traditional surgical tools. The first crude versions of these were used on a human patient in 1998. By 2000, much more reliable machines were available and began to proliferate through the healthcare systems around the world. The best of these machines could improve the fidelity, dexterity, and stability of the surgeon’s hand, while also magnifying the surgical field to improve visibility of the tissue. Until 2033, these robots were entirely driven by human decisions and movements. The human surgeon looked at the surgical field and used their judgment on how to proceed. In 2033, Intelligent Surgical Robotics Inc. (ISR) introduced the Mark III robot that used sensors and specialized AI to perform a few specific actions like knot tying, cauterization, and suction. But a human surgeon still performed most of the procedure, using the robot to fine tune their movements and magnify their vision. In 2047, ISR introduced the Mark V model of the robot that was powered by a revolutionary new AI that had been trained on millions of surgical videos and the entire world’s library of medical textbooks and journal papers. This robot was able to perform any previously seen surgery with more precision and finesse than a human surgeon could match. The new generation of human surgeons became assistants to the robot, being called on only when a situation arose that had not been recorded in previous videos and trained into the robot’s AI. The number of these original situations diminished every year, pushing the human surgeon further and further into the background.But in 2050, ISR made major modifications to the AI to make the robot smarter and more autonomous … Part I BEFORE Chapter 1 Learning Surgery “No, Monica! You are missing the stitch! The needle has to enter at a perpendicular angle! Yours is way off. That won’t heal right. Mr. Brown here is counting on you to put him back together better than he was when he walked in. Atkins had little patience for these clumsy new surgical fellows. They all thought robotic surgery was going to be easy. Because they held the controls of a multimillion-dollar robot, they thought the machine could correct their sloppy technique. Becoming a competent surgeon still took years of intense practice. “Dr. Atkins, I’m trying,” Monica snapped. “But the robot won’t do what I want it to do. It’s fighting me.” “I hear that lame excuse every day. The Mark V robot is not fighting you. It magnifies exactly what you’re doing. All it does is make your bad technique look even worse. You need to develop finesse. You’re not trying to butcher a hog here. You’re taking out a man’s prostate. If you screw this up, Mr. Brown there on the table will be broken for the rest of his life. He will become intimately familiar with the concepts of incontinence and impotence. But no pressure.” Tears threatened to form in corners of Monica’s eyes. Luckily, she was sitting in the surgeon’s console of the Mark V robot. Her face was covered by the VR/AR glasses so no one could see her eyes beginning to glisten. Mr. Brown was important to her. She had barely met him during the preop consultation. She did not know if his family was waiting for him to come out of surgery. Though he was a stranger, her heart was completely invested in this procedure because she remembered when she had been the one waiting for news. She had only been ten years-old, but that day was one of her most vivid memories. It had been the most painful day of her life. Moments that she could never fully, truly escape from. It was the day that set her on a course to where she was sitting right now. In her hands, she held controls that guided the cameras and instruments inserted in Mr. Brown’s abdomen. Her feet were in wired booties that controlled the rotation and position of the robot above the patient and the OR bed. This really was the most advanced surgical device in the world. It controlled the most flexible set of instruments. Its cameras could visualize the internal organs in 3D. And to top it all off, the robot was smart enough to do this surgery faster and more accurately without her. But the world still needed