This was written a while ago while I was trying to do the joss100.

Disclaimer: I don't own it and the few assets I have are invested in moldy sci-fi texts.

Simon Tam is eight years old. Today was his first day in the fifth grade and in general sciences class, his instructor explained that they will begin their study of the human body this year. To aid them in their discovery of the nervous, circulatory and digestive systems, they will be using a life-sized head and torso with organs that can be removed. The dummy is wooden and roughly the size of a child, with glazed eyes that stare – though these are a minor feature considering the quarter of the skull that is missing, exposing half of the brain. The instructor, an older man with pale eyes, stoops as he smiles apologetically and asks that the students keep an open mind while using this antique instead of relying solely on the flashy animations and bio-discovery programs of the Cortex. Even when the students roll their eyes at this relic, he reminds them that science can not rely on simulations alone.

During recreational time, while the other children are racing around the perimeter of the classroom or turning cartwheels or downloading Cortex games, Simon opens the dummy’s chest. Its two peach slabs of wood are held in place by hooks and metal rings. He carefully detaches the skin and muscle block, and places it gently next to the base of the dummy. With his legs neatly folded under his body, Simon begins to remove the organs one-by-one. Lungs. Heart. Stomach. Liver. Left Kidney. Right Kidney. With steady hands, Simon slips the hooks from the rings and carefully organizes the organs in a circle around him. The lungs and the heart and the liver break down into smaller sections, the major veins and arteries are painted and labeled, and Simon studies them all. Shifts them in his hands to feel their wooden weight. Before the chimes ring to call the children back to class, he puts all the pieces back as though the torso was a puzzle. H