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After all, heroes are supposed to behave in very specific ways. They’re supposed to fight, even if it means risking their lives.
If the soul does not exist, eBay could not allow the auctioning of the soul because there would be nothing to sell. However, if the soul does exist, then in accordance with eBay’s policy on human parts and remains we would not allow the auctioning of human souls. The soul would be considered human remains; and although it is not specifically stated on the policy page, human souls are still not allowed to be listed on eBay. Your auction was removed appropriately and will not be reinstated. Please do not relist this item with us in the future.
would you rather die, or be unwound?”
“Because Unwinds aren’t really dead. They’re still alive… sort of.
“if every part of you is alive but inside someone else… are you alive or are you dead?”
“Like I said, the lung’s got asthma. It was the best we could afford.”
“What happens to your soul when you get unwound?”
“maybe an Unwind’s spirit stretches out, kind of like a giant balloon between all those parts of us in other places. Very poetic.”
She believed that if someone actually gets unwound, then they never had a soul to begin with. She said God must know who’s going to be unwound, and he doesn’t give them souls.”
“She believed Unwinds are like the unborn.”
“If there’s such a thing as a soul—and I’m not saying that there is—then it comes when a baby’s born into the world. Before that, it’s just part of the mother.”
A person don’t got a soul until that person is loved. If a mother loves her baby—wants her baby—it’s got a soul from the moment she knows it’s there. The moment you’re loved, that’s when you got your soul. Punto!”
what about all those babies that get storked—or all those kids in state schools?”
when do we start to live?”
The large girl isn’t as overweight as Risa had thought. Tina isn’t as tall. The nicotine girl isn’t nearly as ugly.
“Please,” he says. “Do anything. But don’t unwind me.”
She’s immediately promoted from dishwasher to medic.
“I’d rather be used whole than in pieces,”
It’s just that unwinding makes slavery look good. It’s always the lesser of two evils.”
Makes you wonder how much more of him comes from us. Makes you wonder if there’s anything left of the original Admiral at all.”
because now it’s about one thing and one thing only: how much each side hates the other.”
“Of course, if more people had been organ donors, unwinding never would have happened… but people like to keep what’s theirs, even after they’re dead.
The Admiral was a darkly obsessed man, but his obsession saved lives.
“Totally and completely.” Someone has to pay for the unfairness of it all. Everyone has to pay. He’ll make them.
smiling picture of his son Harlan—better known as Humphrey in modern folklore, but those who loved him know his real name. Yes, the Admiral is redeeming himself, and setting things right, bit by bit by bit.
The Parents’ Unwinding Handbook
Risa had quickly realized that the basketball game wasn’t to keep the Unwinds entertained, but to help put a cash value on their parts.
What good are you?
“It was just one freeway—and they didn’t shut it down. I did. Sort of.”
What a nightmare of identification it must be when other people get an Unwind’s hands. What can fingerprints mean when they’re not necessarily yours?
Lev knows there’s another reason for the high triglyceride level. It’s not actually triglyceride in his bloodstream at all, but a similar compound. One that’s a little less stable.
This is what they filled Lev’s mind with, and it was no different than the deadly stuff they filled his blood with.
And they will know the moment he raises his hands in applause.
Connor knows they would take this further if they could—but not here, not in a place like this. It will never happen for them, but somehow he’s content in knowing that in some other place and time it would have.
Even an acknowledgment from someone who hates him is better than having no one but strangers watch him perish.
Chop Shop.
plays. He wants to scream, but here, so close to the Chop Shop, his screams will be drowned out by the band.
The Chop Shop is soundproof.
In this way it is not unlike death itself, for no one knows what mysteries lie beyond those secret doors, either.
“Not at all,” she says. “By law, we’re required to keep you conscious through the entire procedure.”
She’s read his file. She knows everything about him. The good and the bad. The things he never talks about. The things he can’t stop talking about now. “I think it’s horrible what your stepfather did.” “I was just protecting my mother.” “Scalpel,” says a surgeon. “She should have been grateful.” “She had me unwound.”
“I’m sure it wasn’t easy for her.” “All right, clamp it off.”
“Just let it go.” The nurse was holding his hand before. She’s not anymore.
Now Roland feels discomfort in his gut. Discomfort, a tickling sensation, but no pain. The surgeons lift things away. He tries not to look, but he can’t help it. There’s no blood, just the oxygen-rich solution, which is flourescent green, like antifreeze.
“I’m afraid we need to stop talking now.” “Don’t go away.” “I’ll be here, but we won’t be able to talk anymore.”
“I’m afraid you’re going to have to stop blinking now.”
“Did you see yesterday’s game?” “Heartbreaker.” “Splitting the corpus callosum.” “Nice technique.” “Well, it’s not brain surgery.”
he broke his arm. The doctor told his mom he could have a new arm, or a cast.