“Don’t try that again,” Liv said anxiously. “You might make things worse.”
Worse than not being able to talk? Sammi thought, tears still stinging her eyes.
Would she have to go through life as a mute now? What if she wanted to move back to Earth and be a professor again? How would she teach if she couldn’t talk? What was she going to do?
“What is she going to do?” Meg asked, voicing her thoughts, much to Sammi’s relief. “She’s not just a scientist, you know—she’s a professor too. How can she teach without her voice?”
“Well, that’s what we’re here to talk about,” Liv said comfortingly, squeezing Sammi’s hand. “You see, though your original voice box was damaged beyond repair, Samantha, there is still hope for you to talk again. Yipper, here, is an expert at replacing damaged body parts.”
“So…you can build her a whole new voice box?” Meg asked, looking at the hairy little surgeon doubtfully.
“Yes I can, yes I can!” He nodded vigorously, his long ears flopping with the motion. “But…there is one problem. Yes there is, yes there is,” he added, looking more subdued.
“What?” Meg demanded as Sammi mouthed the same thing.
“Well…voice boxes are a very unique part of the body, yes they are, yes they are. No two human’s vocal chords are the same,” Yipper explained earnestly. “So while I can build a new voice box for you, Samantha, it will never quite sound exactly as your old one did. Your voice may never sound completely right to you. No it won’t, no it won’t.”
“So, you won’t be able to match her old voice?” Meg asked.
Yipper shook his head sadly.
“I will try, of course. Yes I will, yes I will! But I will not be able to make an exact match. However, any recordings you have of your old voice will be most helpful,” he added, looking at Sammi. “I will listen to them and try to ‘tune’ your new vocal chords to sound like the old ones as much as possible. Yes I will, yes I will.”
“I have recordings of lots of her lectures,” Meg volunteered. “From when I audited the very first class you taught,” she added, looking at Sammi. “Because you asked me to take it and let you know how you were doing?”
Sammi nodded gratefully at her friend. It was amazing that Meg still had those recordings—but they were from years ago. Would her new voice sound like her younger self? Would it sound like her at all? The little Tolleg surgeon was promising earnestly to do his best and it was amazing that he could replace a voice box, but what would she really sound like after the operation was complete?
“We’re not ready to do the operation yet, of course,” Liv said, breaking into her thoughts. “Yipper will need time to build your new larynx. But in the meantime, I’m releasing you from the Med Center. I understand you have a, uh, ceremony to attend in the Sacred Grove this afternoon?”
Yes—the Severing, Sammi thought as she remembered all over again that she and Roark would soon be splitting up forever. The thought made her want to cry and tears stung her eyes. She blinked them away and nodded shortly, trying not to let her emotions get the better of her.
“All right then.” Liv squeezed her hand comfortingly. “I’m going to release you from the Med Center and I’m going to ask you to continue to rest your throat and not try to say anything or make any kind of sounds. We’ll need you to be healed up completely before Yipper can replace your injured larynx with the new one.”
Sammi nodded dully. Why should she try to talk? She had nothing to say and no one to say it to.
Well, that wasn’t quite fair, she reminded herself. Meg was there with her and she knew her best friend would be by her side every minute of the day if Sammi needed her.
But right now, she just wanted to be alone.
I understand, she mouthed to Liv, who nodded.
“Good. Then you can gather your things and go whenever you want to.”
“We’ll be out of here in no time,” Meg promised, looking relieved. Sammi remembered that her friend wasn’t a big fan of hospitals, since she’d had to watch her grandmother die in one when she was in high school. But she had stuck by Sammi anyway, despite her own discomfort. She was a true friend.
She reached for Meg’s hand and squeezed it gratefully.
“I know—you’re going home!” Meg grinned down at her.
Sammi shook her head and mouthed, Ceremony.
“Oh, right.” Meg frowned. “Well, that shouldn’t take long, right? And afterwards I have an amazing girls night planned. We’re going to stay up late watching chick flicks and eating ice cream. I’m sending Berik to bed early so we’re going to have the whole suite to ourselves!”