hose out of a dead man’s ass before.”
Hank wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Sorry.”
“Hey, don’t sweat it. Between you and me, I spent half my first week upchucking on the floor. I’d be more worried if you wasn’t puking. Some twisted motherfuckers get off on gruesome shit like this. I’m just used to it but it still ain’t pretty.”
They removed the catheter from the man’s penis and he was finally free to be removed. Seamus positioned a cart next to the pod and activated a mechanism on the scissor lift to rotate the pod, causing the corpse to tumble out of it onto the cart. They pushed the cart into the furnace room where the body was to be cremated and loaded him in the oven before igniting the fire. It took much longer than he and his family expected, but that retiree was finally laid to rest for good.
After hosing down and disinfecting the empty pod, Seamus took Hank to the room referred to as the warehouse. A single worker was responsible for the thirty coma-induced retirees laid out on tables. Anywhere from sixty to eighty bodies were needed every week for all the boiler rooms so the retirees never stayed in the warehouse for too long. As long as the State kept collecting them at the retirement processing centers, there would always be a steady supply.
Back in the boiler room with a new geezer, as Seamus referred to them, they repeated the process in reverse. They shaved his head bald and then slathered hair removal cream all over his body. Seamus explained without this step, the man’s body hair would dissolve from the thermal conductive fluid and end up as a gritty residue that could damage the precision mechanisms in the main conductors. They placed him in the pod and Seamus showed Hank how to start the IV and attach the diodes, catheter, and waste tubes.
“Okay,” Seamus said. “Time to put this sorry sombitch out his misery.” He removed a device that looked like some sort of futurist ray gun mounted to the wall and brought it over. “This is what zaps ‘em for good. Reach into that bucket yonder and get his head wet with the sponge. It’ll make it more conductive.”
When Hank was finished with the sponge, Seamus placed what looked like a small plunger at the business end of the gun on the man’s forehead. “Two hundred milliamps, coming up. Make sure you ain’t touching nothin’.”
Hank took a step back and Seamus pulled the trigger. A loud snapping noise filled the air and the man appeared to be having a very enthusiastic stretch. Seamus counted to three out loud and released the trigger. He waited a beat and completed another three second shot.
He handed the gun to Hank and pulled a stethoscope from his pocket. Hank watched as he held it to the man’s chest and listened. “Is he dead?”
Seamus nodded. “And he’ll stay that way if we don’t move fast.”
Hank placed the electro-shock device back in the charging station and watched as Seamus quickly attached the cardio module and breathing device. He watched in amazement as they were brought online and the man’s chest rose and fell with every breath. Seamus felt a pulse and gave Hank a thumbs up. “That’s it, man. Another Frankenstein ready to plug into the boiler. Now we just need to seal it up, fill her up, and we’re good to go. What do you think?”
“What do I think?” Hank repeated. “I think it’s fucking crazy.”
Seamus laughed and slapped him hard on the arm. “You alright, Hank. Come on, let’s finish this one up and take a break. I could use a smoke.”
Chapter 9
Sanderson let himself into the apartment as quietly as possible. He was expecting Sara to be in bed, so he was surprised to see her in the living room watching TV. “Hey,” he leaned over the back of the sofa and kissed her on the cheek. “What are you still doing up?”
She shrugged. “I figured I’d just be lying in bed for hours anyway.”
“So how did it go?” He sat down on the sofa.
“About what I
Hank wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “Sorry.”
“Hey, don’t sweat it. Between you and me, I spent half my first week upchucking on the floor. I’d be more worried if you wasn’t puking. Some twisted motherfuckers get off on gruesome shit like this. I’m just used to it but it still ain’t pretty.”
They removed the catheter from the man’s penis and he was finally free to be removed. Seamus positioned a cart next to the pod and activated a mechanism on the scissor lift to rotate the pod, causing the corpse to tumble out of it onto the cart. They pushed the cart into the furnace room where the body was to be cremated and loaded him in the oven before igniting the fire. It took much longer than he and his family expected, but that retiree was finally laid to rest for good.
After hosing down and disinfecting the empty pod, Seamus took Hank to the room referred to as the warehouse. A single worker was responsible for the thirty coma-induced retirees laid out on tables. Anywhere from sixty to eighty bodies were needed every week for all the boiler rooms so the retirees never stayed in the warehouse for too long. As long as the State kept collecting them at the retirement processing centers, there would always be a steady supply.
Back in the boiler room with a new geezer, as Seamus referred to them, they repeated the process in reverse. They shaved his head bald and then slathered hair removal cream all over his body. Seamus explained without this step, the man’s body hair would dissolve from the thermal conductive fluid and end up as a gritty residue that could damage the precision mechanisms in the main conductors. They placed him in the pod and Seamus showed Hank how to start the IV and attach the diodes, catheter, and waste tubes.
“Okay,” Seamus said. “Time to put this sorry sombitch out his misery.” He removed a device that looked like some sort of futurist ray gun mounted to the wall and brought it over. “This is what zaps ‘em for good. Reach into that bucket yonder and get his head wet with the sponge. It’ll make it more conductive.”
When Hank was finished with the sponge, Seamus placed what looked like a small plunger at the business end of the gun on the man’s forehead. “Two hundred milliamps, coming up. Make sure you ain’t touching nothin’.”
Hank took a step back and Seamus pulled the trigger. A loud snapping noise filled the air and the man appeared to be having a very enthusiastic stretch. Seamus counted to three out loud and released the trigger. He waited a beat and completed another three second shot.
He handed the gun to Hank and pulled a stethoscope from his pocket. Hank watched as he held it to the man’s chest and listened. “Is he dead?”
Seamus nodded. “And he’ll stay that way if we don’t move fast.”
Hank placed the electro-shock device back in the charging station and watched as Seamus quickly attached the cardio module and breathing device. He watched in amazement as they were brought online and the man’s chest rose and fell with every breath. Seamus felt a pulse and gave Hank a thumbs up. “That’s it, man. Another Frankenstein ready to plug into the boiler. Now we just need to seal it up, fill her up, and we’re good to go. What do you think?”
“What do I think?” Hank repeated. “I think it’s fucking crazy.”
Seamus laughed and slapped him hard on the arm. “You alright, Hank. Come on, let’s finish this one up and take a break. I could use a smoke.”
Chapter 9
Sanderson let himself into the apartment as quietly as possible. He was expecting Sara to be in bed, so he was surprised to see her in the living room watching TV. “Hey,” he leaned over the back of the sofa and kissed her on the cheek. “What are you still doing up?”
She shrugged. “I figured I’d just be lying in bed for hours anyway.”
“So how did it go?” He sat down on the sofa.
“About what I
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