Story code: ST-001298
Part 3: The Coordinate Test
I stepped up to the control panel of the Vectra H2 scanner and initialized the calibration sequence. The system hummed, emitting a soft, cycling blue light that swept across the consultation room.
“Chloe, please rest your chin on the support cup and look directly into the central lens,” Dr. Thorne instructed.
Chloe complied, her movement slow and deliberate. She kept her eyes wide and fixed on the camera lens, her breathing shallow enough that the fabric of her trench coat barely moved. Eleanor stood just behind her, arms crossed, her eyes locked on the primary wall monitor. Her foot tapped against the baseboard, a fast, impatient rhythm.
“Jamie, initiate the capture,” Dr. Thorne said.
I clicked the console screen. The scanner captured a series of high-resolution images from multiple angles, combining them into a fully articulated, three-dimensional rendering of Chloe’s face. Within seconds, a photorealistic model appeared on the wall monitor. The software automatically aligned the skeletal structure underneath the transparent soft-tissue overlay, mapping the contours in green and blue vector lines.
Dr. Thorne took the silver digital stylus from the charging dock and offered it to Eleanor. “The mapping software is live. If you touch the stylus to the screen, you can draw the exact boundaries of the naso-temporal deflection you diagnosed. The system will calculate the bone depth and simulate the structural changes in real time.”
Eleanor did not immediately take the pen. Her fingers hovered over her designer handbag, her knuckles tensing. “I am not the technician here, Dr. Thorne. Surely your staff can input the parameters I have already described.”
“The terms you used are highly specific, Eleanor,” Dr. Thorne replied, his voice remaining smooth and neutral. “I want to ensure we target the exact anatomical coordinates you are referring to. Please, show us where the bone needs to be shaved.”
Chloe turned her head slightly, looking from her mother to the glowing screen, then back down at her lap.
Eleanor snatched the stylus from Dr. Thorne’s hand. “It is perfectly obvious to anyone with an eye for balance,” she said, her voice rising in pitch. She stepped closer to the high-definition monitor. She paused, the silver tip of the pen hovering inches from the virtual rendering of her daughter’s cheek.
I zoomed the display in on the midface region. The system displayed real-time anatomical labels as the stylus approached the screen.
Eleanor pressed the tip of the stylus against the display. She drew a thick, diagonal line starting from the lower edge of the cheekbone, dragging it down toward the corner of the jaw.
As the line registered, the software instantly flashed a bright orange warning box on the screen. The automatic label text populated in bold letters next to her red mark: *Zygomaticus major muscle & Parotid gland pathway*.
“There,” Eleanor said, drawing a second line parallel to the first. “This is the deflection zone. The bone must be shaved down along this entire trajectory to correct the profile alignment.”