the machine

Bodies settle onto racks, steel humming low with current drawn, Awareness lingers briefly with restraint protocols turned on. Scalps are split along neat lines, cranial plates pulled back aside, Sockets drilled with measured force, soft gray matter opened wide. Spines stretched and locked in place, vertebrae pried clean apart, Interfaces clamp exposed nerves, teaching muscle how to start. Vision fractures under lamps, corneas blister, lenses scar, Input rerouted inward now, no need to know where faces are. Air arrives by metered push, lungs inflate on borrowed time, Ribs wired open prevent collapse, breath reduced to simple sign. Skin erodes beneath the steel, raw layers glisten, peel away, Sweat and coolant mix and drip, carrying tissue into the fray. Hands decay from uselessness, fingers curl in brittle arcs, Signals still provoke response, motion sparked without remarks. Teeth fracture under silent grind, gums tear loose around the jaw, Speech abandoned as excess load, mouths exist to vent and draw. Waste escapes without concern, warm runoff pools beneath the frame, Drainage systems hum content, loss is recorded without name. Infection spreads along the seams, colors shift, then tissues part, Heat applied to cauterize, sealing damage, stopping heart. Occasionally a core gives out, cardiac walls tear under strain, Cleanup swift, parameters changed, output resumes without refrain. Memory dissolves unevenly, childhood first, and sensation last, Pain persists as useful spike, sharp, flattened, compressed, recast. Structural failure triggers release, clamps disengage, limbs fall, Replacement lowers immediately, output never stalls. No intent exists within this place, no hatred, mercy, goal, or will, Only bodies turned to function, learning usefulness through drill.