keep the geezers fresh ‘till we need ‘em.”
Hank had to remind himself Seamus was talking about people. Never in his life had he referred to a human being as fresh .
Seamus approached a keypad and punched in a few buttons. One of the pods near the ceiling moved sideways into the empty space in between the columns of pods and slowly moved down a track. A bright red LED at the base of the pod flashed, announcing to the world the failing retiree inside.
“First thing we do is take it off-line and drain the thermal conductive fluid. Otherwise known as the green shit,” Seamus said. As the pod moved into position at waist height, Seamus showed Hank which buttons to push to shut down the pod. The liquid slowly drained and the man inside settled to the bottom of the pod.
Seamus wheeled a hand operated scissors lift over to the pod and placed it underneath. He released four latches at the base of the pod, raised it slightly with the lift, and pulled it free from the machine. He lowered the safety goggles resting on the top of his head over his eyes and put on his gloves.
“The green shit will burn your fingers if you touch it long enough. Won’t feel a thing now, but later tonight it’ll feel like you got ‘em on a skillet. Learned that the hard way. And don’t even think about getting it in your eyes.”
Hank put on his gloves and goggles and watched as Seamus released two latches on the top the pod. Hank opened the pair on his side and was greeted by a hiss as the pod depressurized. They removed the top half of the pod and that’s when the smell hit Hank’s nose. He let out a groan and took a few steps back.
Seamus let out a deep belly laugh. Judging by the surly face he’d worn all morning, Hank never expected to see the man smile, much less laugh. “Man, I never get tired of that,” Seamus mused. He lifted his goggles and wiped his eye with his sleeve. “Smells like shit, don’t it?”
Seamus bent over the body and inhaled deeply through his nose. “Take it in, baby. Won’t be long before you don’t even notice it. All part of being a boiler monkey.”
Hank waved at the air in front of his face. “I really find that hard to believe. God, it’s awful.” He never wanted to know what rotting flesh marinated in some evil green gravy smelled like before, but it was too late for that.
Seamus’s light mood quickly evaporated and he waved Hank closer. “Come on, man. He ain’t gonna hurt you.”
The man inside of the pod was grey and bloated. His skin had almost a greasy looking transparent quality to it like boiled sausage. Hank could almost see the muscles and tendons underneath.
In order to remove the body from the pod, they needed to disconnect it from the various life support systems. The device over his mouth supplied fresh air for the lungs and removed the exhaled carbon dioxide. Diodes and wires attached to various body parts for reading vital signs. Intravenous ports for supplying nutrients and fluids.
Seamus pointed to a device mounted to the man’s chest. “This here is called the cardiovascular support module.” He tugged on it with some difficulty. “It zaps the heart with a charge to keep it beating, probably the most important part in the whole system. We stick it on with glue but this one don’t want to come off.” He gave it a final tug, removing most of the flesh underneath with it. “Ain’t that a bitch? Gotta clean that off later.”
Hank was glad he skipped breakfast. Between the foul odors and ripping flesh it would’ve been all over the floor by now.
“Now for the poop chute,” Seamus declared. He reached between the man’s legs and pulled a tube from his rectum. He held it up and grinned at Hank. Despite his breakfast-free stomach, Hank finally lost it and gagged. He leaned over and vomited on the floor, adding to the mess already there from the dripping tube in Seamus’s hand.
Seamus laughed again. “Come on, man. You act like you never seen a guy pull a
Hank had to remind himself Seamus was talking about people. Never in his life had he referred to a human being as fresh .
Seamus approached a keypad and punched in a few buttons. One of the pods near the ceiling moved sideways into the empty space in between the columns of pods and slowly moved down a track. A bright red LED at the base of the pod flashed, announcing to the world the failing retiree inside.
“First thing we do is take it off-line and drain the thermal conductive fluid. Otherwise known as the green shit,” Seamus said. As the pod moved into position at waist height, Seamus showed Hank which buttons to push to shut down the pod. The liquid slowly drained and the man inside settled to the bottom of the pod.
Seamus wheeled a hand operated scissors lift over to the pod and placed it underneath. He released four latches at the base of the pod, raised it slightly with the lift, and pulled it free from the machine. He lowered the safety goggles resting on the top of his head over his eyes and put on his gloves.
“The green shit will burn your fingers if you touch it long enough. Won’t feel a thing now, but later tonight it’ll feel like you got ‘em on a skillet. Learned that the hard way. And don’t even think about getting it in your eyes.”
Hank put on his gloves and goggles and watched as Seamus released two latches on the top the pod. Hank opened the pair on his side and was greeted by a hiss as the pod depressurized. They removed the top half of the pod and that’s when the smell hit Hank’s nose. He let out a groan and took a few steps back.
Seamus let out a deep belly laugh. Judging by the surly face he’d worn all morning, Hank never expected to see the man smile, much less laugh. “Man, I never get tired of that,” Seamus mused. He lifted his goggles and wiped his eye with his sleeve. “Smells like shit, don’t it?”
Seamus bent over the body and inhaled deeply through his nose. “Take it in, baby. Won’t be long before you don’t even notice it. All part of being a boiler monkey.”
Hank waved at the air in front of his face. “I really find that hard to believe. God, it’s awful.” He never wanted to know what rotting flesh marinated in some evil green gravy smelled like before, but it was too late for that.
Seamus’s light mood quickly evaporated and he waved Hank closer. “Come on, man. He ain’t gonna hurt you.”
The man inside of the pod was grey and bloated. His skin had almost a greasy looking transparent quality to it like boiled sausage. Hank could almost see the muscles and tendons underneath.
In order to remove the body from the pod, they needed to disconnect it from the various life support systems. The device over his mouth supplied fresh air for the lungs and removed the exhaled carbon dioxide. Diodes and wires attached to various body parts for reading vital signs. Intravenous ports for supplying nutrients and fluids.
Seamus pointed to a device mounted to the man’s chest. “This here is called the cardiovascular support module.” He tugged on it with some difficulty. “It zaps the heart with a charge to keep it beating, probably the most important part in the whole system. We stick it on with glue but this one don’t want to come off.” He gave it a final tug, removing most of the flesh underneath with it. “Ain’t that a bitch? Gotta clean that off later.”
Hank was glad he skipped breakfast. Between the foul odors and ripping flesh it would’ve been all over the floor by now.
“Now for the poop chute,” Seamus declared. He reached between the man’s legs and pulled a tube from his rectum. He held it up and grinned at Hank. Despite his breakfast-free stomach, Hank finally lost it and gagged. He leaned over and vomited on the floor, adding to the mess already there from the dripping tube in Seamus’s hand.
Seamus laughed again. “Come on, man. You act like you never seen a guy pull a
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