The Machine · Relic 04/30
Processed
A brushed-steel morgue toe-tag. Engraved: PRODUCT: HUMAN / CAUSE OF DEATH: EXPOSURE.
They tag you at both ends of the line.
Barcode at the till. Barcode at the morgue.
Product: human. Cause of death: exposure.
You were always inventory.
The system has always known what it does to people. It fills in the paperwork in advance. You arrive in the world and you are tagged, catalogued, filed.