Intellectual Super-Prowess Applied Constructively

20260706

Prompt from Eiiri’s Prompt Foundry, “Pride 2 Disability Boogaloo”.

Quint watched closely as the electric gauntlets were slipped onto his hands and adjusted. Not that they needed it, being a custom made perfect fit.
“Alright.” Dr Mack said briskly, stepping back to observe. “In your own time…”
Which meant right now, because Quint was hardly minded to wait to test these babies!
So he held up a hand and scrutinised it. Hm. A just-visible tremor. But the real test was in manipulation.
Casting his gaze across the items arranged on the table in front of him, he steeled himself and picked up the pencil.
Just… picked it up. He stared fixedly at the implement before drawing a slow line across the paper.
Not straight. Even with being careful. But far more stable than usual!
A huge grin split his face, and he bent over the paper to painstakingly inscribe his signature.
“An excellent test.” Dr Mack said approvingly. “Looks like the stabilisation is performing fairly well…”
“Oh yeah, this is great!” Quint assured them. “I’m going to try the water.”
“Go ahead.”
So Quint set down the pencil to gingerly grip the waiting glass. Which was only half-full - or however you preferred to describe it. Philosophy aside, it meant less risks of spills.
Get a firm hold… lift the glass… ok, so far so good. Now for the tricky part - drinking.
That first sip of lukewarm water tasted sweeter than anything, flavoured by the rich bouquet of empowerment.
“Now, a straw will probably still be easier…” Dr Mack said hesitantly. “But at least we’ve confirmed you have the option of drinking directly.”
“Hey, just being able to pick up the glass so I can reach the straw instead of having to stoop every time will be a huge improvement.”
Dr Mack beamed. Clearly gratified. “Want to try the soup?”
“Oh yeah.” Quint grabbed the spoon, taking a moment to make sure it was settled securely.
Needed to be careful, what with not having much haptic sense through the gloves. Apparently if you made them any thinner the stabilisation wouldn’t work. He was sure he’d adjust.
Alright, lean forward a bit - might as well make it easier for himself and minimise risk of mess. Then just dip the spoon, tip a bit out, hold it up for a moment…
The liquid quivered visibly. If the spoon had been completely full, surface tension probably wouldn’t have been enough. But as it was, nothing happened. No loss.
Quint slowly, carefully, fed himself. Blinking back tears.
He could just… eat. At his own pace. No awkwardly trying to coordinate with someone else’s hand, either!
Setting the spoon down, he beamed up at Dr Mack, who looked almost as overjoyed as him.
“Alright,” the doctor said eagerly, “last test - see if you can cut this.”
A stack of pancakes. His favourite. Though, they were hardly going to be at their best cold. But thinking about the possibilities… heck, that he might be able to make his own pancakes, with a bit of practice…
The sound of the knife making it through to the paper plate was like clumsy applause. It only took him two attempts to load a forkful and pop the food in his mouth. He could use both hands at once! Getting them to do what he wanted was so easy he could maybe multitask!!
“A-and you said these are fully waterproof?”
Dr Mack nodded. “Yes, you should be fine to shower in them. Though, er, I assumed you wouldn’t want to test that here, but I do recommend being supervised while…”
“Right, yeah, of course.” Like he wasn’t used to that!
Setting down the utensils, Quint said “This - this is amazing”, desperately trying to put everything he was feeling into the words and painfully aware no thanks could ever be adequate. “Doc, you’re a miracle worker!”
“Oh, well…” Dr Mack waved a hand, though their attempt to be modest was ruined rather by the huge grin they couldn’t stifle. “I’m just glad my quanta-heterodyning modulators turned out to be useful! Just think, if I hadn’t gotten that grant, I might have gone ahead with becoming a super-villain…”

Prompt was “Dignity”.