Poem: "Look in Detail at Human Anatomy"
This poem is spillover from the May 16, 2023 Bonus Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from Dreamwidth users Fuzzyred and Wyld_dandelyon. It also fills the "bite" square in my 5-1-23 card for the Pets and Animals Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with DW user Fuzzyred. It belongs to the Shiv thread of the Polychrome Heroics series. It happens after "Meraki" and before "His Capacity for Self-Redemption" which mentions Dr. Bloch teaching anatomy to Shiv.
Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes discomfort with learning due to past educational abuse, extremely distorted and negative self-image, because the inside of Shiv's head is always a warning, reference to triangular blades and the messy injuries they cause, anatomy materials and lesson, frank language about human bodies, detailed discussion of human frailties, including how to minimize or maximize damage, and how to kill any vertebrate instantly, along with appropriate force and combat ethics, reference to past child abuse and neglect including possible attempted murder, emotional turmoil, oblique reference to kink, discomfort with praise, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
"Look in Detail at Human Anatomy"
Shiv went along with Mr. Vanburen
to the infirmary. He wasn't looking
forward to the lesson, but he was
no welcher and it was a fair deal.
Besides, Dr. Bloch had been
pretty decent about showing him
stuff before, so it might make sense.
As soon as they went inside, Dr. Bloch
was there to greet them. "Hello, Shiv,
thank you for coming today. Mr. Vanburen,
you can come back for him after an hour."
"Will do," the guard said, and headed out.
Dr. Bloch led Shiv back to the nap room
and closed the door. "I'm glad that you
came," he said. "I wasn't sure of it."
"I owe you," Shiv said with a shrug.
"I pay what owe, so here I am."
"How do you figure that?"
Dr. Bloch said as they sat down.
"I didn't know triangle blades made
more work for you," Shiv said quietly.
"Now I know, so I won't make no more.
You been at me to learn body stuff,
so I figured that's a good payback."
"I would like to teach you some things
about anatomy," said Dr. Bloch.
The fancy word made Shiv wince.
"I'll sit and listen, but I gotta warn you,
I hate school and I suck at learning."
"Considering the execrable schools
you had, I'm not surprised," said Dr. Bloch.
"I think that I've got your number, though."
"How so?" Shiv said, curious. "I mean,
I been around plenty, doc, I know I'm dumb."
"Hardly," said Dr. Bloch. "From what I've seen,
you learn best with visual images or touch.
Conventional schools don't offer much of
that past the earliest grades, so no wonder
you struggled. Happily, I've brought you
some physical models and worksheets,
so that you can play to your strengths."
Shiv looked around, and yeah, there
were things with cloths thrown over them.
Underneath he could feel stuff, plastic,
hard enough to sense but not to get
a really clear impression so far.
The smallest was roundish,
the medium was more solid,
and the largest seemed to have
long thin pieces, but that was
about as much as Shiv could tell.
"I can try," he said. "Just, you know,
don't blame me if I still suck at it."
"Of course not," said Dr. Bloch.
"Before we get to that, though,
would you like to see why I'm
not a fan of triangular blades?"
"See what?" Shiv asked.
"I ain't no kind of patcher."
"Before and after pictures of
injuries from a straight edge and
a triangular blade," said Dr. Bloch.
"How squeamish are you, Shiv?"
He laughed. "Not a bit. You
know that I like sharp things."
Dr. Bloch picked up a folder
from a stack and opened it.
"All right, this is a typical injury
from a knife, before and after
stitching," he said. "See how
the edges are smooth and
it leaves a straight seam?"
"Yeah," Shiv said. "I've
seen plenty like that."
Including on himself.
"Now compare with this,"
Dr. Bloch said, adding
a new page. "Look at
the edges and corners."
Shiv looked, then said,
"Wow, that's a lot messier.
The corners are puckered
and the line isn't as smooth."
"That's because a triangular blade
doesn't have a single smooth edge
to cut with," said Dr. Bloch. "It has
a point and three or four edges,
so it makes that ragged gash
that's harder to stitch neatly
and leaves a worse scar."
"I was just thinking that
nails or screws are easy
to get and good for punching
through tough fabric once
sharpened," Shiv admitted.
"Well, that's another reason why
I want you to learn anatomy,"
said Dr. Bloch. "So you know
what damage a weapon will do --
and so that you don't do more
than you really meant to do."
"Yeah, okay," Shiv said.
"I get how that's useful."
"Then let's start on anatomy,"
Dr. Bloch said, pulling the cloth
from the medium-sized item.
It was a body -- most of one,
anyway. It had a head and chest,
one arm, belly, and stumps of thighs.
One half of it looked normal, but
the other half had been skinned.
Seeing it helped Shiv understand
what he could feel with superpowers.
The plastic was actually a bunch
of different pieces stuck together,
some hidden behind the chestplate.
"It's like a puzzle," Shiv said, fascinated.
"Exactly," Dr. Bloch said with a smile.
"Go ahead, you can touch it. Don't
break anything on purpose, but it's
fairly sturdy -- it's meant to be handled."
Shiv knew better than to mess with
anything right in front of a witness.
Dr. Bloch started taking the thing
apart himself. "The human body is
simply the most beautiful complexity."
"That's why I like to draw it," Shiv admitted.
"I'm not great at getting all the bits right,
but I like watching how people move."
"Whenever I look in detail at
human anatomy, I'm always left with
two practically irreconcilable thoughts,"
Dr. Bloch mused. "Our bodies are
wonderful, intricate masterpieces;
and then -- they are cobbled-together,
rag-bag, sometimes clunking machines."
Shiv laughed. "Yeah, I get that," he said.
"I mean, take dicks for instance. A dick
totally looks like a chicken neck."
Then he glanced at Dr. Bloch,
wondering if that remark was
going to get him in trouble.
But Dr. Bloch just nodded
and said, "Yes, yes it does.
A friend in medical school
once replicated a human groin
with parts of a roaster chicken.
The resemblance was uncanny."
Shiv burst into giggles at that.
Dr. Bloch carefully removed
the crotch parts, which came
apart to show the insides of
the dick -- that was just eww.
"Now you've got a better view
of the thigh," he said, tapping it.
"See here, on the inside -- this is
where the big veins, arteries, and
nerves run together. A hit here is
very dangerous. Look on the outside,
though, and it's all muscle. That's
much less vulnerable to injury."
"Huh," Shiv said. "That explains
a lot." He'd known that the inner thigh
bled like crazy, but hadn't know why.
"I'm happy to hear it," said Dr. Bloch.
"If you look at the arm, you can see
how its blood vessels and nerves
run down the inner side as well."
He popped the arm off and
offered it to Shiv. "The muscles
come apart too. Take a look."
Curious, Shiv poked at the arm,
and yeah, some parts came loose.
Dr. Bloch lined up the muscles
and named them one by one,
explaining what each did.
"As with legs, a hit on
the outer side of the arm
is less risky than the inner,"
he said. "The elbow and
wrist are easier to injure,
though, and so is the hand."
Shiv rubbed his left wrist. He'd
messed it up more than once, but
at least when it happened here,
Dr. Bloch had fixed it right up.
"Of course, the head and neck
are quite fragile -- I recommend
that you avoid those areas entirely,
unless someone is actually trying
to kill you," Dr. Bloch went on.
He detached the head from
the neck, and it fell apart
into halves with a brain.
"Any head injury can kill,"
Dr. Bloch said. "However,
this area -- the brain stem --
is what controls vital functions
like heartbeat and breathing."
It looked small and breakable.
The hairs on the back of
Shiv's neck stood up.
"Also, watch out for teeth
in a fight," said Dr. Bloch.
"Human mouths are filthy,
and bites often get infected."
"I seen that a few times,"
Shiv said. "It's pretty gross."
"Now inside," Dr. Bloch said
as he removed the chestplate,
"are most of the major organs."
He pointed out the heart and lungs,
stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys,
and other important body parts.
"It really is like a puzzle,"
Shiv mused, picking up
a few pieces and trying
to fit them back together.
"Very much so," said Dr. Bloch.
"To avoid fatal injuries, stay out
of the chest cavity -- everything
protected by the ribs. Lower down,
there's less that can kill quickly.
Gut wounds certainly can too, but
there's usually time for the victim
to reach life-saving medical care."
"If you can afford it," Shiv muttered.
"Not everyone's made of money."
Dr. Bloch sighed. "I concede
the point," he said. "To avoid
fatal injuries while broke, stick
with fistfighting or wrestling."
"I don't like getting hit,"
Shiv said instantly. "If
anyone messes with me,
doc, I'm gonna cut 'em."
"That's your choice,"
Dr. Bloch said. "I'm just
trying to give you enough
information so that you don't
do more harm than you intend."
"Worth a try, I guess," said Shiv.
"Do you think you can put this
back together?" Dr. Bloch said.
"Maybe?" Shiv said hesitantly.
He'd gotten some of the pieces
to fit with each other, but hadn't
tried putting them in the body.
It was a challenge, but he liked
puzzles, especially the shape ones
that he could really get his hands on.
His superpower helped, too, making it
easier to hold the shapes in his head
and figure out how they went together.
Dr. Bloch had to help with some of
the fiddly bits, but they got it reattached.
"Well done," he said, patting Shiv on
the shoulder. "On to the next part."
He revealed the largest item.
A skeleton hung from a stand
that reminded Shiv of a hatrack,
except it had wheels on the bottom.
"Frank here is fully articulated,"
Dr. Bloch said as he lifted one of
the skeleton's arms. "See how
the wrist rotates and the bones
in the forearm cross? You should
be able to feel that too, and it'll tell
you when someone's moving."
"Like to spring a knife out,"
Shiv said. "I had a sheath
for a while that did that."
He'd outgrown it eventually,
but it was fun while it lasted.
"Elbows and knees are hinges,"
Dr. Bloch said. "Break one sideways,
and it rarely heals well. Shoulders
and hips are ball-and-socket joints.
They don't break easily, but they
are more prone to dislocation."
Shiv watched him manipulating
the skeleton. It really did move
a lot like a real person would.
"If you need to stop someone
from chasing you, then breaking
a leg is effective -- even if they're
hopped up on something and not
feeling any pain," said Dr. Bloch.
"To stop them from using a weapon,
break the arm or hand holding it."
"Been there, done that," Shiv said.
Breaking an arm was a favorite trick.
"Be careful about ribs," said Dr. Bloch.
"A broken rib can cut blood vessels
that bleed like crazy, or worse, it
can puncture a lung. Even a crack
makes breathing hurt like hell."
"Tell me something I don't know,"
Shiv muttered. He had cracked
his ribs more often than he could
count, and broken more than one.
"If you need maximum stopping power
without killing quickly, then break a rib
or two -- preferably on the right side --
and push the sharp ends through
the lung," said Dr. Bloch. "Nobody's
going to keep bothering you when
they can't even breathe properly."
"No shit," Shiv said, wondering
why Dr. Bloch was teaching him
things this dangerous. He was
pretty sure it pushed the rules.
"Watch out for the neck and spine,"
said Dr. Bloch. "They're flexible
within limits, but a break often
injuries the spinal cord, and that
won't mend without a healer."
"I seen on the news where
a skateboarder broke his back,"
said Shiv. "They were trying
to scare people off skateboards."
Dr. Bloch snorted. "Throw out
the baby with the bathwater,
why don't they," he said. "All
you need is good safety gear
and awareness of your skills.
Loafing on the couch won't do
your health any favors either."
"Keeps people outta trouble,
though," Shiv pointed out. He
wasn't the only lazy slug in prison.
"I still wouldn't recommend it,"
said Dr. Bloch. "Do you want
to try moving the skeleton around
to feel how the bones work together?
Go ahead, Frank's not the shy type."
That startled Shiv into a laugh.
Hesitantly he reached out and
touched the skeleton's wrist
to see how it bent and twisted.
He could see how the arm bones
made the wrist bumps that were
so hard to draw or paint right.
Then he tested the elbows,
shoulders, hips, knees, and
ankles. Like wrists, ankles were
fussy stacks of little bones, so it
was no wonder they injured easily.
"Those are all good parts to study,"
said Dr. Bloch. "You can mess up
someone's arms and legs without
much risk of killing them accidentally."
Well, yeah, Shiv had seen people
missing one or both legs who were fine.
He had that bump on his left arm from
a break that nobody believed him about,
so it never got set and had healed wrong,
which bothered him sometimes and was
maybe why he kept injuring that wrist.
It sucked, but it wouldn't kill him,
or keep him from fighting back.
"The ribcage is somewhat flexible
due to the cartilage connections,"
Dr. Bloch said, pressing it between
his hands. "That lets people breathe,
but too much pressure will break a rib."
"So it goes in and out like ... a spring?"
Shiv said, watching the motion of it.
"More like a bellows, because that
and the diaphragm -- the muscle
under the lungs -- pump the air
in and out," said Dr. Bloch.
"And the back?" Shiv said,
poking at it see if it budged.
"It's supposed to move some?"
"Yes, the spine has flexibility
forward and back, as well as
a little to the sides. The neck
and lower back are more flexible
than the upper back because of
the ribcage," said Dr. Bloch. "See
how the neck attaches to the skull?
That's a very important place."
Shiv tilted his head back and
forth, trying to feel how it fitted
onto the top of his spine. "Weird,
but maybe useful to know," he said.
Dr. Bloch uncovered the last item,
which turned out to be a skull.
"This one doesn't come apart,
but some other skull models do,"
he said, offering it to Shiv. "I thought
you might like to have something you
could explore without worrying about
it falling apart in your hands."
Curious in spite of himself,
Shiv accepted the skull and
ran his fingertips over it.
"This isn't as smooth as I
thought it would be," he said,
tracing one of the wiggly grooves.
"It was molded from a real skull,"
said Dr. Bloch. "Those seams are
where the bones grow together.
Now the cranium -- that's the top --
is pretty strong because it's rounded,
but the temple is thinner, more fragile."
Shiv found the spot with his superpower
and grinned. "Hey, I can feel that!"
"Good, then you know what to avoid,
or aim for," said Dr. Bloch. "Look at
the side. The edge of the eye socket,
the cheekbone where it meets the jaw,
and the ends of the jawbone are all
thin enough to be vulnerable too."
"I seen a guy get his jaw broke once,"
said Shiv. "Never seen an eye bone
get broken, at least not that I know of."
"Well, most orbital fractures are just
cracks, not complete breaks that can
be displaced," said Dr. Bloch. "So it's
easy to mistake those for bad bruising."
Shiv traced the round eye socket.
"Is it dangerous? Not knowing?"
"Rarely," said Dr. Bloch. "If there's
displacement, that can put the eyeball
at risk, but it's uncommon and obvious.
A cracked cheekbone hurts but doesn't
pose much risk of getting worse."
"Noses break a lot too," Shiv said,
feeling around the creepy hole in
the skull where the nose should be
.
There was a weird bone inside it,
almost paper-thin, dividing the hole
in half, but the nose itself was missing.
"They do, and it's easier to see here
without the skin and cartilage hiding
the bones," said Dr. Bloch. "Usually
what breaks is the bridge of the nose,
between the eyes. Again, it's painful
but not often truly dangerous."
"So nothing to freak out over,
okay then," Shiv said with a nod.
"Now look at this," the doctor said,
flipping the skull to show its bottom.
"This is where the skull connects to
the vertebrae, and inside that, where
the brain stem links to the spinal cord."
"It's bigger than I expected," Shiv said,
running his finger around the hole.
"Well, it has to carry a lot of
information," said Dr. Bloch.
"Think about how power lines
are bigger in the city than in
the country -- they have to be
in order to carry enough power."
"Oh yeah," Shiv said, brightening.
"Boss told me if I ever get lost
outside the city, look for the poles
with heavier lines, or more lines,
and follow them back to civilization."
"That's a good trick," Dr. Bloch agreed.
"One last thing with the skull ... if you
ever need to kill someone instantly,
then use your ability to close this hole."
"What?" Shiv yelped. "I'm not a nutjob!
I just cut people up a bit, I don't kill them.
I'm muscle, I'm not a damn assassin."
"I know," said Dr. Bloch. "I just want
you to have this in case of emergency.
I trust you to use the information wisely."
"Wisely?" Shiv hissed. "What the actual fuck,
doc? I'm not wise, and nobody trusts me."
"Well, I trust you with this, because you
already responded to a terror weapon with
a fast and effective use of superpowers,"
said Dr. Bloch. "Shiv, if something like that
happens again, you may be the only person
able to deal with it -- and you live a rough life.
That kind of recurrence isn't impossible."
That was true. Shiv had already
seen it twice, which really sucked.
"Listen to me, please," Dr. Bloch said,
resting a fingertip on Shiv's wrist. "If
something goes very wrong -- if there's
a nutjob with Laser Eyes or holding
a gun to someone's head or with
a bomb trigger in hand, then this
is a way to stop them efficiently so
they can't complete their evil plans."
"Risky," Shiv said. "Fingers slip."
"Fingers slip, but they need directions
from the brain," said Dr. Bloch. "If you
close the hole, then those directions
can't reach the rest of the body."
"What about superpowers?"
Shiv said. "They ain't fingers."
"No, but that's a different aspect
of safety," said Dr. Bloch. "You see,
when the brain is in danger -- when it
loses blood supply and oxygen -- then
the last seconds of useful consciousness
focus on regaining that, even if it's impossible.
There's no way to act on anything else, even
superpowers. Have you ever lost your air?"
"Fuckhole foster sister tried to drown me
once," Shiv admitted. "Thought I'd die."
"Then you know what it's like to have
everything devoted to getting some air,
how you can't think of anything else,"
said Dr. Bloch. "That's why it works."
Shiv could still remember how his lungs
had burned, struggling for the surface
under shallow water, clawing at wet sand.
He had been lucky to survive that. She
hadn't even gotten in trouble for it --
claimed they were "just playing."
So yeah, Shiv would well imagine
how closing a skull would do the same.
"Hope I never need to use that,"
Shiv said. "It's fucking scary, doc."
"I hope you never need it either,"
said Dr. Bloch. "But if it comes to
that, I think that you're faster than
a superhero in an ugly emergency,
and you have the kind of superpower
that could save a lot of lives. Again."
"Can we change the topic?" Shiv begged.
"This is seriously creeping me out here."
"Of course," said Dr. Bloch. "I brought
some things for you to take with you."
He brought out a much larger folder
and opened it to show several posters.
"Woah," Shiv said softly. "They're beautiful."
They really were. Full-color pictures
showed all different body parts, with
labels and text to explain them.
Organs of the Human Body
showed a nearly whole woman
and a much smaller man, along
with several organ systems.
The Vascular System had
a body with its blood vessels
marked in red and blue, plus
images of the heart and other bits.
The Musculoskeletal System had
not one but two bodies, one showing
muscles and the other just bones.
The Human Skull included
a whole bunch of skulls from
different angles, along with
closeups of smaller pieces.
"There's that hole again in
the base of the skull," Shiv said,
pointing to one of the pictures.
"You know, aside from the use
I mentioned earlier, you could also
apply that if you ever need to hunt
your own food," Dr. Bloch said.
"Closing off that hole will kill
any vertebrate -- anything
with a skull and a backbone."
"Now that could be handy,"
Shiv said. He liked learning
how to get food, even though
he didn't know a lot if it yet.
"I guess these are more
than just pretty pictures."
"I'm glad you like them,"
said Dr. Bloch. "I thought
you'd enjoy looking at these
as well as learning from them."
Shiv looked at the long words
that didn't even seem like English.
"Doc, I'm never gonna remember this."
"That's okay," Dr. Bloch assured him.
"You have the posters for reference,
and these are the kind that we use in
anatomy classes and doctors' offices.
I have some simpler things for you too;
I just figured you'd enjoy the art here."
"Yeah, it's amazing," Shiv said.
"The pictures look almost real."
"Well, these are much less realistic,
and easier to work with," Dr. Bloch said
as he opened another page-sized folder.
"I brought you some anatomy worksheets
and coloring pages to play around with."
He passed the first batch over to Shiv.
The top picture was a simple body outline
with some of the major parts labeled.
The next one made him laugh because
it was a bunch of gingerbread people
with a different organ system on each.
Shiv wondered if he could draw those
on actual cookies -- it'd be great for
Halloween -- except he couldn't cook.
There was a body pushing against a wall
that had a bunch of the muscles named.
Shiv wondered if he could color them
so he could tell them apart better.
Another page had the heart and lungs
drawn big enough to color and label.
"Not bad, I guess?" Shiv said.
"I could color most of these."
"This batch comes in pairs,"
Dr. Bloch said as he laid out
the next stack. "The first one
will have everything labeled
while the second has blanks."
Shiv looked at the new pages.
There were actually two that
had organs on them, each with
a different set, paired as promised
with one labeled and one blank.
Then there was another set that
showed the whole circulatory system
divided into red arteries and blue veins.
The skeleton set had a bunch of bones
named, or with blank arrows pointing
to them. Shiv felt pretty sure that
there should be more names,
but this was already too much.
"I'll never get this straight,"
he said, shaking his head.
"You know I suck at school."
"You don't have to memorize it,"
Dr. Bloch said. "You don't even
have to do the worksheets from
memory. I gave you labeled ones
so you can learn the names if you
feel like it, and maybe copy them
one at a time into the blanks."
Shiv peeked up at him through
a fringe of hair. "It's not cheating?"
"No, cheating means breaking
the rules," said Dr. Bloch. "There
aren't really rules for these pages.
Use them in whatever way you like.
I don't plan to quiz you on them --
although if you ask me to quiz you,
I would pay handsomely for that."
Shiv looked through the pages.
There was the first anatomy one
with words he mostly knew, and
the heart-lung one with fewer words
that he totally didn't recognize yet.
"Maybe?" he said doubtfully.
"If I was desperate for points."
"It's up to you," said Dr. Bloch.
"Here, this seemed like something
you would enjoy cutting out and
assembling in the craft room."
It was a skeleton, or rather,
a bunch of scattered bones,
printed on heavy cardstock.
Shiv touched the black dots at
the ends of the bones, mapping
how they would build a skeleton.
"The guards would never let me
have brads to put this together,"
he said. "No metal, nothing rigid."
"There are plastic paper snaps
you could use," said Dr. Bloch.
"Oh yeah?" Shiv said, perking up.
"That would be cool, then."
"Here are some more pairs
for you, about the skull and
the brain," Dr. Bloch said,
showing another batch.
The first set had a side view
of the skull with labels and blanks.
Shiv recognized a few of the parts
that Dr. Bloch had shown him earlier.
The next pair had the lobes of the brain
marked out in all different colors, which
made it easier to tell them apart.
The last page didn't have a match,
it just listed the parts of the brain
and what things each one did.
"That could be ... useful to know,
if I remember it," Shiv admitted.
"Good," Dr. Bloch said, smiling.
"These pages are a bit different."
He pointed to a partial skeleton
labeled with organs inside bones.
"The skull protects the brain. Ribs
protect the heart, lungs, and liver.
Vertebrae protect the spinal cord.
So don't break those bones unless
you're in a desperate situation."
"I get it," Shiv said. He really
wasn't a nutjob. It was handy
to know what bits to avoid.
The next page illustrated
the circulatory system again
in the usual red and blue, but
this time around a skeleton.
"See how the body defends
the arteries and the veins?"
said Dr. Bloch. "Look at
where they are inside."
Shiv looked at the picture.
The biggest blood vessels
ran through the heart and
along the backbone where
they would be hard to reach.
The medium ones were tucked
tight against the long bones
of the arms and legs, shielded
against blows from the outside.
Shiv traced the outer edges of
the arms and legs where it'd
be less risky to cut someone.
"Yeah, this shows it better,
even without names," he said.
"You could always copy names
from another page," said Dr. Bloch.
"Now, this I can only show you,
not print out for you to keep, since
it's not standard educational content.
It would be best not to mention it."
He brought out his smartphone and
showed Shiv a pair of body outlines
for front and back marked in green,
yellow, orange, and red for safety.
Forearms, thighs, and butt were green.
Most of the back, shoulders, and calves
were yellow. Head, belly, hands, and
shins were orange. Ears, throat,
elbows, wrists, and ankles were red.
"That I can actually remember,"
Shiv said happily. "It's just colors,
not a bunch of fancy words. It goes
with what you said earlier about
where to cut people or not."
"Exactly," Dr. Bloch said as he
put away his phone. "I also brought
you a stack of blank body outlines
for you to use however you wish.
These may help you remember
things if you draw or write on them."
Like say, copying from memory
that color chart or making something
like it based on the other worksheets.
Yeah, Shiv could probably do that, and
there were lots of the blank body outlines.
"These are useful pages," he agreed.
"Do you want to look at the models
again?" Dr. Bloch asked. "I don't keep
them here all the time, but I can get them
again if you request another lesson."
Asking for anything educational was
usually worth a crapton of points.
"I'll keep it in mind," Shiv said
as he looked over the models.
"I like how the parts fit together,
it makes things easier to remember."
"That's good to hear," said Dr. Bloch.
"I do have small desktop models here,
basically 3D puzzles. We could
play with those another time."
He showed Shiv a picture
of the puzzle version, which
seemed around a foot tall.
"I think I'd like that," Shiv said.
"I might even learn some of
the words for all this stuff."
"That would be fun to find out,"
said Dr. Bloch. "Anatomy is good
for your own health and for art,
as well as knowing what to do
or not do in a street fight."
"Yeah, it bites when you
don't know what to do and
everything goes to hell,"
Shiv said. "Seen it plenty."
"Then I'm sure that you
will put today's information
to good use," said Dr. Bloch.
That kind of talk still gave
Shiv a squidgy feeling inside.
He wasn't used to people
praising him, or trusting him,
and the kind of things that
Dr. Bloch showed him today
could be downright dangerous.
Shiv didn't understand why
Dr. Bloch was doing that,
especially the one page he
hadn't printed out, but then
today wasn't really about Shiv.
It was about trying to make up for
the triangular nail shanks that Shiv
had made and that Dr. Bloch had
to clean up after, so if the doc
was satisfied with today then
Shiv would call it good whether
he understood everything or not.
Besides, it had been fun
to explore anatomy.
He hadn't expected that.
"Thanks, doc," said Shiv.
"It's been funner than I
thought it would be."
"I'm happy to hear that,"
Dr. Bloch said. His vidwatch
chimed. "We're right on
time. Mr. Vanburen is
here to walk you out."
Shiv scooped up
the armload of folders.
They went back to
the reception area,
and yeah, there was
the guard waiting.
"Looks like you got
some loot," he said.
"Yeah, posters and
worksheets and stuff,"
Shiv said. "Doc told me
I can ask for more lessons
or take quizzes if I want
to earn points, too."
"That's a good idea,"
Mr. Vanburen said as
he led the way back
toward Shiv's cell.
Once they arrived,
Shiv sorted out his haul.
He didn't have a way
to hang up his posters,
but that was all right.
He did have a big binder
from the Finns that would
hold the worksheets, though,
and he was pretty sure he
could get away with storing
them in the "therapy" binder
because they were body stuff.
Dr. G was all about privacy, and
sometimes that came in handy.
Shiv sat down at his tiny desk
and took out his colored pencils.
His brain was tired, but his eyes
weren't yet, so he thought he
could manage some coloring.
It wasn't going to come out
as nice as the posters, but
that was okay. He could
practice with easy stuff,
and maybe do better later.
For now, he would just look
in detail at human anatomy.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its notes appear elsewhere.
Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the more detailed warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes discomfort with learning due to past educational abuse, extremely distorted and negative self-image, because the inside of Shiv's head is always a warning, reference to triangular blades and the messy injuries they cause, anatomy materials and lesson, frank language about human bodies, detailed discussion of human frailties, including how to minimize or maximize damage, and how to kill any vertebrate instantly, along with appropriate force and combat ethics, reference to past child abuse and neglect including possible attempted murder, emotional turmoil, oblique reference to kink, discomfort with praise, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before reading onward.
"Look in Detail at Human Anatomy"
Shiv went along with Mr. Vanburen
to the infirmary. He wasn't looking
forward to the lesson, but he was
no welcher and it was a fair deal.
Besides, Dr. Bloch had been
pretty decent about showing him
stuff before, so it might make sense.
As soon as they went inside, Dr. Bloch
was there to greet them. "Hello, Shiv,
thank you for coming today. Mr. Vanburen,
you can come back for him after an hour."
"Will do," the guard said, and headed out.
Dr. Bloch led Shiv back to the nap room
and closed the door. "I'm glad that you
came," he said. "I wasn't sure of it."
"I owe you," Shiv said with a shrug.
"I pay what owe, so here I am."
"How do you figure that?"
Dr. Bloch said as they sat down.
"I didn't know triangle blades made
more work for you," Shiv said quietly.
"Now I know, so I won't make no more.
You been at me to learn body stuff,
so I figured that's a good payback."
"I would like to teach you some things
about anatomy," said Dr. Bloch.
The fancy word made Shiv wince.
"I'll sit and listen, but I gotta warn you,
I hate school and I suck at learning."
"Considering the execrable schools
you had, I'm not surprised," said Dr. Bloch.
"I think that I've got your number, though."
"How so?" Shiv said, curious. "I mean,
I been around plenty, doc, I know I'm dumb."
"Hardly," said Dr. Bloch. "From what I've seen,
you learn best with visual images or touch.
Conventional schools don't offer much of
that past the earliest grades, so no wonder
you struggled. Happily, I've brought you
some physical models and worksheets,
so that you can play to your strengths."
Shiv looked around, and yeah, there
were things with cloths thrown over them.
Underneath he could feel stuff, plastic,
hard enough to sense but not to get
a really clear impression so far.
The smallest was roundish,
the medium was more solid,
and the largest seemed to have
long thin pieces, but that was
about as much as Shiv could tell.
"I can try," he said. "Just, you know,
don't blame me if I still suck at it."
"Of course not," said Dr. Bloch.
"Before we get to that, though,
would you like to see why I'm
not a fan of triangular blades?"
"See what?" Shiv asked.
"I ain't no kind of patcher."
"Before and after pictures of
injuries from a straight edge and
a triangular blade," said Dr. Bloch.
"How squeamish are you, Shiv?"
He laughed. "Not a bit. You
know that I like sharp things."
Dr. Bloch picked up a folder
from a stack and opened it.
"All right, this is a typical injury
from a knife, before and after
stitching," he said. "See how
the edges are smooth and
it leaves a straight seam?"
"Yeah," Shiv said. "I've
seen plenty like that."
Including on himself.
"Now compare with this,"
Dr. Bloch said, adding
a new page. "Look at
the edges and corners."
Shiv looked, then said,
"Wow, that's a lot messier.
The corners are puckered
and the line isn't as smooth."
"That's because a triangular blade
doesn't have a single smooth edge
to cut with," said Dr. Bloch. "It has
a point and three or four edges,
so it makes that ragged gash
that's harder to stitch neatly
and leaves a worse scar."
"I was just thinking that
nails or screws are easy
to get and good for punching
through tough fabric once
sharpened," Shiv admitted.
"Well, that's another reason why
I want you to learn anatomy,"
said Dr. Bloch. "So you know
what damage a weapon will do --
and so that you don't do more
than you really meant to do."
"Yeah, okay," Shiv said.
"I get how that's useful."
"Then let's start on anatomy,"
Dr. Bloch said, pulling the cloth
from the medium-sized item.
It was a body -- most of one,
anyway. It had a head and chest,
one arm, belly, and stumps of thighs.
One half of it looked normal, but
the other half had been skinned.
Seeing it helped Shiv understand
what he could feel with superpowers.
The plastic was actually a bunch
of different pieces stuck together,
some hidden behind the chestplate.
"It's like a puzzle," Shiv said, fascinated.
"Exactly," Dr. Bloch said with a smile.
"Go ahead, you can touch it. Don't
break anything on purpose, but it's
fairly sturdy -- it's meant to be handled."
Shiv knew better than to mess with
anything right in front of a witness.
Dr. Bloch started taking the thing
apart himself. "The human body is
simply the most beautiful complexity."
"That's why I like to draw it," Shiv admitted.
"I'm not great at getting all the bits right,
but I like watching how people move."
"Whenever I look in detail at
human anatomy, I'm always left with
two practically irreconcilable thoughts,"
Dr. Bloch mused. "Our bodies are
wonderful, intricate masterpieces;
and then -- they are cobbled-together,
rag-bag, sometimes clunking machines."
Shiv laughed. "Yeah, I get that," he said.
"I mean, take dicks for instance. A dick
totally looks like a chicken neck."
Then he glanced at Dr. Bloch,
wondering if that remark was
going to get him in trouble.
But Dr. Bloch just nodded
and said, "Yes, yes it does.
A friend in medical school
once replicated a human groin
with parts of a roaster chicken.
The resemblance was uncanny."
Shiv burst into giggles at that.
Dr. Bloch carefully removed
the crotch parts, which came
apart to show the insides of
the dick -- that was just eww.
"Now you've got a better view
of the thigh," he said, tapping it.
"See here, on the inside -- this is
where the big veins, arteries, and
nerves run together. A hit here is
very dangerous. Look on the outside,
though, and it's all muscle. That's
much less vulnerable to injury."
"Huh," Shiv said. "That explains
a lot." He'd known that the inner thigh
bled like crazy, but hadn't know why.
"I'm happy to hear it," said Dr. Bloch.
"If you look at the arm, you can see
how its blood vessels and nerves
run down the inner side as well."
He popped the arm off and
offered it to Shiv. "The muscles
come apart too. Take a look."
Curious, Shiv poked at the arm,
and yeah, some parts came loose.
Dr. Bloch lined up the muscles
and named them one by one,
explaining what each did.
"As with legs, a hit on
the outer side of the arm
is less risky than the inner,"
he said. "The elbow and
wrist are easier to injure,
though, and so is the hand."
Shiv rubbed his left wrist. He'd
messed it up more than once, but
at least when it happened here,
Dr. Bloch had fixed it right up.
"Of course, the head and neck
are quite fragile -- I recommend
that you avoid those areas entirely,
unless someone is actually trying
to kill you," Dr. Bloch went on.
He detached the head from
the neck, and it fell apart
into halves with a brain.
"Any head injury can kill,"
Dr. Bloch said. "However,
this area -- the brain stem --
is what controls vital functions
like heartbeat and breathing."
It looked small and breakable.
The hairs on the back of
Shiv's neck stood up.
"Also, watch out for teeth
in a fight," said Dr. Bloch.
"Human mouths are filthy,
and bites often get infected."
"I seen that a few times,"
Shiv said. "It's pretty gross."
"Now inside," Dr. Bloch said
as he removed the chestplate,
"are most of the major organs."
He pointed out the heart and lungs,
stomach, intestines, liver, kidneys,
and other important body parts.
"It really is like a puzzle,"
Shiv mused, picking up
a few pieces and trying
to fit them back together.
"Very much so," said Dr. Bloch.
"To avoid fatal injuries, stay out
of the chest cavity -- everything
protected by the ribs. Lower down,
there's less that can kill quickly.
Gut wounds certainly can too, but
there's usually time for the victim
to reach life-saving medical care."
"If you can afford it," Shiv muttered.
"Not everyone's made of money."
Dr. Bloch sighed. "I concede
the point," he said. "To avoid
fatal injuries while broke, stick
with fistfighting or wrestling."
"I don't like getting hit,"
Shiv said instantly. "If
anyone messes with me,
doc, I'm gonna cut 'em."
"That's your choice,"
Dr. Bloch said. "I'm just
trying to give you enough
information so that you don't
do more harm than you intend."
"Worth a try, I guess," said Shiv.
"Do you think you can put this
back together?" Dr. Bloch said.
"Maybe?" Shiv said hesitantly.
He'd gotten some of the pieces
to fit with each other, but hadn't
tried putting them in the body.
It was a challenge, but he liked
puzzles, especially the shape ones
that he could really get his hands on.
His superpower helped, too, making it
easier to hold the shapes in his head
and figure out how they went together.
Dr. Bloch had to help with some of
the fiddly bits, but they got it reattached.
"Well done," he said, patting Shiv on
the shoulder. "On to the next part."
He revealed the largest item.
A skeleton hung from a stand
that reminded Shiv of a hatrack,
except it had wheels on the bottom.
"Frank here is fully articulated,"
Dr. Bloch said as he lifted one of
the skeleton's arms. "See how
the wrist rotates and the bones
in the forearm cross? You should
be able to feel that too, and it'll tell
you when someone's moving."
"Like to spring a knife out,"
Shiv said. "I had a sheath
for a while that did that."
He'd outgrown it eventually,
but it was fun while it lasted.
"Elbows and knees are hinges,"
Dr. Bloch said. "Break one sideways,
and it rarely heals well. Shoulders
and hips are ball-and-socket joints.
They don't break easily, but they
are more prone to dislocation."
Shiv watched him manipulating
the skeleton. It really did move
a lot like a real person would.
"If you need to stop someone
from chasing you, then breaking
a leg is effective -- even if they're
hopped up on something and not
feeling any pain," said Dr. Bloch.
"To stop them from using a weapon,
break the arm or hand holding it."
"Been there, done that," Shiv said.
Breaking an arm was a favorite trick.
"Be careful about ribs," said Dr. Bloch.
"A broken rib can cut blood vessels
that bleed like crazy, or worse, it
can puncture a lung. Even a crack
makes breathing hurt like hell."
"Tell me something I don't know,"
Shiv muttered. He had cracked
his ribs more often than he could
count, and broken more than one.
"If you need maximum stopping power
without killing quickly, then break a rib
or two -- preferably on the right side --
and push the sharp ends through
the lung," said Dr. Bloch. "Nobody's
going to keep bothering you when
they can't even breathe properly."
"No shit," Shiv said, wondering
why Dr. Bloch was teaching him
things this dangerous. He was
pretty sure it pushed the rules.
"Watch out for the neck and spine,"
said Dr. Bloch. "They're flexible
within limits, but a break often
injuries the spinal cord, and that
won't mend without a healer."
"I seen on the news where
a skateboarder broke his back,"
said Shiv. "They were trying
to scare people off skateboards."
Dr. Bloch snorted. "Throw out
the baby with the bathwater,
why don't they," he said. "All
you need is good safety gear
and awareness of your skills.
Loafing on the couch won't do
your health any favors either."
"Keeps people outta trouble,
though," Shiv pointed out. He
wasn't the only lazy slug in prison.
"I still wouldn't recommend it,"
said Dr. Bloch. "Do you want
to try moving the skeleton around
to feel how the bones work together?
Go ahead, Frank's not the shy type."
That startled Shiv into a laugh.
Hesitantly he reached out and
touched the skeleton's wrist
to see how it bent and twisted.
He could see how the arm bones
made the wrist bumps that were
so hard to draw or paint right.
Then he tested the elbows,
shoulders, hips, knees, and
ankles. Like wrists, ankles were
fussy stacks of little bones, so it
was no wonder they injured easily.
"Those are all good parts to study,"
said Dr. Bloch. "You can mess up
someone's arms and legs without
much risk of killing them accidentally."
Well, yeah, Shiv had seen people
missing one or both legs who were fine.
He had that bump on his left arm from
a break that nobody believed him about,
so it never got set and had healed wrong,
which bothered him sometimes and was
maybe why he kept injuring that wrist.
It sucked, but it wouldn't kill him,
or keep him from fighting back.
"The ribcage is somewhat flexible
due to the cartilage connections,"
Dr. Bloch said, pressing it between
his hands. "That lets people breathe,
but too much pressure will break a rib."
"So it goes in and out like ... a spring?"
Shiv said, watching the motion of it.
"More like a bellows, because that
and the diaphragm -- the muscle
under the lungs -- pump the air
in and out," said Dr. Bloch.
"And the back?" Shiv said,
poking at it see if it budged.
"It's supposed to move some?"
"Yes, the spine has flexibility
forward and back, as well as
a little to the sides. The neck
and lower back are more flexible
than the upper back because of
the ribcage," said Dr. Bloch. "See
how the neck attaches to the skull?
That's a very important place."
Shiv tilted his head back and
forth, trying to feel how it fitted
onto the top of his spine. "Weird,
but maybe useful to know," he said.
Dr. Bloch uncovered the last item,
which turned out to be a skull.
"This one doesn't come apart,
but some other skull models do,"
he said, offering it to Shiv. "I thought
you might like to have something you
could explore without worrying about
it falling apart in your hands."
Curious in spite of himself,
Shiv accepted the skull and
ran his fingertips over it.
"This isn't as smooth as I
thought it would be," he said,
tracing one of the wiggly grooves.
"It was molded from a real skull,"
said Dr. Bloch. "Those seams are
where the bones grow together.
Now the cranium -- that's the top --
is pretty strong because it's rounded,
but the temple is thinner, more fragile."
Shiv found the spot with his superpower
and grinned. "Hey, I can feel that!"
"Good, then you know what to avoid,
or aim for," said Dr. Bloch. "Look at
the side. The edge of the eye socket,
the cheekbone where it meets the jaw,
and the ends of the jawbone are all
thin enough to be vulnerable too."
"I seen a guy get his jaw broke once,"
said Shiv. "Never seen an eye bone
get broken, at least not that I know of."
"Well, most orbital fractures are just
cracks, not complete breaks that can
be displaced," said Dr. Bloch. "So it's
easy to mistake those for bad bruising."
Shiv traced the round eye socket.
"Is it dangerous? Not knowing?"
"Rarely," said Dr. Bloch. "If there's
displacement, that can put the eyeball
at risk, but it's uncommon and obvious.
A cracked cheekbone hurts but doesn't
pose much risk of getting worse."
"Noses break a lot too," Shiv said,
feeling around the creepy hole in
the skull where the nose should be
.
There was a weird bone inside it,
almost paper-thin, dividing the hole
in half, but the nose itself was missing.
"They do, and it's easier to see here
without the skin and cartilage hiding
the bones," said Dr. Bloch. "Usually
what breaks is the bridge of the nose,
between the eyes. Again, it's painful
but not often truly dangerous."
"So nothing to freak out over,
okay then," Shiv said with a nod.
"Now look at this," the doctor said,
flipping the skull to show its bottom.
"This is where the skull connects to
the vertebrae, and inside that, where
the brain stem links to the spinal cord."
"It's bigger than I expected," Shiv said,
running his finger around the hole.
"Well, it has to carry a lot of
information," said Dr. Bloch.
"Think about how power lines
are bigger in the city than in
the country -- they have to be
in order to carry enough power."
"Oh yeah," Shiv said, brightening.
"Boss told me if I ever get lost
outside the city, look for the poles
with heavier lines, or more lines,
and follow them back to civilization."
"That's a good trick," Dr. Bloch agreed.
"One last thing with the skull ... if you
ever need to kill someone instantly,
then use your ability to close this hole."
"What?" Shiv yelped. "I'm not a nutjob!
I just cut people up a bit, I don't kill them.
I'm muscle, I'm not a damn assassin."
"I know," said Dr. Bloch. "I just want
you to have this in case of emergency.
I trust you to use the information wisely."
"Wisely?" Shiv hissed. "What the actual fuck,
doc? I'm not wise, and nobody trusts me."
"Well, I trust you with this, because you
already responded to a terror weapon with
a fast and effective use of superpowers,"
said Dr. Bloch. "Shiv, if something like that
happens again, you may be the only person
able to deal with it -- and you live a rough life.
That kind of recurrence isn't impossible."
That was true. Shiv had already
seen it twice, which really sucked.
"Listen to me, please," Dr. Bloch said,
resting a fingertip on Shiv's wrist. "If
something goes very wrong -- if there's
a nutjob with Laser Eyes or holding
a gun to someone's head or with
a bomb trigger in hand, then this
is a way to stop them efficiently so
they can't complete their evil plans."
"Risky," Shiv said. "Fingers slip."
"Fingers slip, but they need directions
from the brain," said Dr. Bloch. "If you
close the hole, then those directions
can't reach the rest of the body."
"What about superpowers?"
Shiv said. "They ain't fingers."
"No, but that's a different aspect
of safety," said Dr. Bloch. "You see,
when the brain is in danger -- when it
loses blood supply and oxygen -- then
the last seconds of useful consciousness
focus on regaining that, even if it's impossible.
There's no way to act on anything else, even
superpowers. Have you ever lost your air?"
"Fuckhole foster sister tried to drown me
once," Shiv admitted. "Thought I'd die."
"Then you know what it's like to have
everything devoted to getting some air,
how you can't think of anything else,"
said Dr. Bloch. "That's why it works."
Shiv could still remember how his lungs
had burned, struggling for the surface
under shallow water, clawing at wet sand.
He had been lucky to survive that. She
hadn't even gotten in trouble for it --
claimed they were "just playing."
So yeah, Shiv would well imagine
how closing a skull would do the same.
"Hope I never need to use that,"
Shiv said. "It's fucking scary, doc."
"I hope you never need it either,"
said Dr. Bloch. "But if it comes to
that, I think that you're faster than
a superhero in an ugly emergency,
and you have the kind of superpower
that could save a lot of lives. Again."
"Can we change the topic?" Shiv begged.
"This is seriously creeping me out here."
"Of course," said Dr. Bloch. "I brought
some things for you to take with you."
He brought out a much larger folder
and opened it to show several posters.
"Woah," Shiv said softly. "They're beautiful."
They really were. Full-color pictures
showed all different body parts, with
labels and text to explain them.
Organs of the Human Body
showed a nearly whole woman
and a much smaller man, along
with several organ systems.
The Vascular System had
a body with its blood vessels
marked in red and blue, plus
images of the heart and other bits.
The Musculoskeletal System had
not one but two bodies, one showing
muscles and the other just bones.
The Human Skull included
a whole bunch of skulls from
different angles, along with
closeups of smaller pieces.
"There's that hole again in
the base of the skull," Shiv said,
pointing to one of the pictures.
"You know, aside from the use
I mentioned earlier, you could also
apply that if you ever need to hunt
your own food," Dr. Bloch said.
"Closing off that hole will kill
any vertebrate -- anything
with a skull and a backbone."
"Now that could be handy,"
Shiv said. He liked learning
how to get food, even though
he didn't know a lot if it yet.
"I guess these are more
than just pretty pictures."
"I'm glad you like them,"
said Dr. Bloch. "I thought
you'd enjoy looking at these
as well as learning from them."
Shiv looked at the long words
that didn't even seem like English.
"Doc, I'm never gonna remember this."
"That's okay," Dr. Bloch assured him.
"You have the posters for reference,
and these are the kind that we use in
anatomy classes and doctors' offices.
I have some simpler things for you too;
I just figured you'd enjoy the art here."
"Yeah, it's amazing," Shiv said.
"The pictures look almost real."
"Well, these are much less realistic,
and easier to work with," Dr. Bloch said
as he opened another page-sized folder.
"I brought you some anatomy worksheets
and coloring pages to play around with."
He passed the first batch over to Shiv.
The top picture was a simple body outline
with some of the major parts labeled.
The next one made him laugh because
it was a bunch of gingerbread people
with a different organ system on each.
Shiv wondered if he could draw those
on actual cookies -- it'd be great for
Halloween -- except he couldn't cook.
There was a body pushing against a wall
that had a bunch of the muscles named.
Shiv wondered if he could color them
so he could tell them apart better.
Another page had the heart and lungs
drawn big enough to color and label.
"Not bad, I guess?" Shiv said.
"I could color most of these."
"This batch comes in pairs,"
Dr. Bloch said as he laid out
the next stack. "The first one
will have everything labeled
while the second has blanks."
Shiv looked at the new pages.
There were actually two that
had organs on them, each with
a different set, paired as promised
with one labeled and one blank.
Then there was another set that
showed the whole circulatory system
divided into red arteries and blue veins.
The skeleton set had a bunch of bones
named, or with blank arrows pointing
to them. Shiv felt pretty sure that
there should be more names,
but this was already too much.
"I'll never get this straight,"
he said, shaking his head.
"You know I suck at school."
"You don't have to memorize it,"
Dr. Bloch said. "You don't even
have to do the worksheets from
memory. I gave you labeled ones
so you can learn the names if you
feel like it, and maybe copy them
one at a time into the blanks."
Shiv peeked up at him through
a fringe of hair. "It's not cheating?"
"No, cheating means breaking
the rules," said Dr. Bloch. "There
aren't really rules for these pages.
Use them in whatever way you like.
I don't plan to quiz you on them --
although if you ask me to quiz you,
I would pay handsomely for that."
Shiv looked through the pages.
There was the first anatomy one
with words he mostly knew, and
the heart-lung one with fewer words
that he totally didn't recognize yet.
"Maybe?" he said doubtfully.
"If I was desperate for points."
"It's up to you," said Dr. Bloch.
"Here, this seemed like something
you would enjoy cutting out and
assembling in the craft room."
It was a skeleton, or rather,
a bunch of scattered bones,
printed on heavy cardstock.
Shiv touched the black dots at
the ends of the bones, mapping
how they would build a skeleton.
"The guards would never let me
have brads to put this together,"
he said. "No metal, nothing rigid."
"There are plastic paper snaps
you could use," said Dr. Bloch.
"Oh yeah?" Shiv said, perking up.
"That would be cool, then."
"Here are some more pairs
for you, about the skull and
the brain," Dr. Bloch said,
showing another batch.
The first set had a side view
of the skull with labels and blanks.
Shiv recognized a few of the parts
that Dr. Bloch had shown him earlier.
The next pair had the lobes of the brain
marked out in all different colors, which
made it easier to tell them apart.
The last page didn't have a match,
it just listed the parts of the brain
and what things each one did.
"That could be ... useful to know,
if I remember it," Shiv admitted.
"Good," Dr. Bloch said, smiling.
"These pages are a bit different."
He pointed to a partial skeleton
labeled with organs inside bones.
"The skull protects the brain. Ribs
protect the heart, lungs, and liver.
Vertebrae protect the spinal cord.
So don't break those bones unless
you're in a desperate situation."
"I get it," Shiv said. He really
wasn't a nutjob. It was handy
to know what bits to avoid.
The next page illustrated
the circulatory system again
in the usual red and blue, but
this time around a skeleton.
"See how the body defends
the arteries and the veins?"
said Dr. Bloch. "Look at
where they are inside."
Shiv looked at the picture.
The biggest blood vessels
ran through the heart and
along the backbone where
they would be hard to reach.
The medium ones were tucked
tight against the long bones
of the arms and legs, shielded
against blows from the outside.
Shiv traced the outer edges of
the arms and legs where it'd
be less risky to cut someone.
"Yeah, this shows it better,
even without names," he said.
"You could always copy names
from another page," said Dr. Bloch.
"Now, this I can only show you,
not print out for you to keep, since
it's not standard educational content.
It would be best not to mention it."
He brought out his smartphone and
showed Shiv a pair of body outlines
for front and back marked in green,
yellow, orange, and red for safety.
Forearms, thighs, and butt were green.
Most of the back, shoulders, and calves
were yellow. Head, belly, hands, and
shins were orange. Ears, throat,
elbows, wrists, and ankles were red.
"That I can actually remember,"
Shiv said happily. "It's just colors,
not a bunch of fancy words. It goes
with what you said earlier about
where to cut people or not."
"Exactly," Dr. Bloch said as he
put away his phone. "I also brought
you a stack of blank body outlines
for you to use however you wish.
These may help you remember
things if you draw or write on them."
Like say, copying from memory
that color chart or making something
like it based on the other worksheets.
Yeah, Shiv could probably do that, and
there were lots of the blank body outlines.
"These are useful pages," he agreed.
"Do you want to look at the models
again?" Dr. Bloch asked. "I don't keep
them here all the time, but I can get them
again if you request another lesson."
Asking for anything educational was
usually worth a crapton of points.
"I'll keep it in mind," Shiv said
as he looked over the models.
"I like how the parts fit together,
it makes things easier to remember."
"That's good to hear," said Dr. Bloch.
"I do have small desktop models here,
basically 3D puzzles. We could
play with those another time."
He showed Shiv a picture
of the puzzle version, which
seemed around a foot tall.
"I think I'd like that," Shiv said.
"I might even learn some of
the words for all this stuff."
"That would be fun to find out,"
said Dr. Bloch. "Anatomy is good
for your own health and for art,
as well as knowing what to do
or not do in a street fight."
"Yeah, it bites when you
don't know what to do and
everything goes to hell,"
Shiv said. "Seen it plenty."
"Then I'm sure that you
will put today's information
to good use," said Dr. Bloch.
That kind of talk still gave
Shiv a squidgy feeling inside.
He wasn't used to people
praising him, or trusting him,
and the kind of things that
Dr. Bloch showed him today
could be downright dangerous.
Shiv didn't understand why
Dr. Bloch was doing that,
especially the one page he
hadn't printed out, but then
today wasn't really about Shiv.
It was about trying to make up for
the triangular nail shanks that Shiv
had made and that Dr. Bloch had
to clean up after, so if the doc
was satisfied with today then
Shiv would call it good whether
he understood everything or not.
Besides, it had been fun
to explore anatomy.
He hadn't expected that.
"Thanks, doc," said Shiv.
"It's been funner than I
thought it would be."
"I'm happy to hear that,"
Dr. Bloch said. His vidwatch
chimed. "We're right on
time. Mr. Vanburen is
here to walk you out."
Shiv scooped up
the armload of folders.
They went back to
the reception area,
and yeah, there was
the guard waiting.
"Looks like you got
some loot," he said.
"Yeah, posters and
worksheets and stuff,"
Shiv said. "Doc told me
I can ask for more lessons
or take quizzes if I want
to earn points, too."
"That's a good idea,"
Mr. Vanburen said as
he led the way back
toward Shiv's cell.
Once they arrived,
Shiv sorted out his haul.
He didn't have a way
to hang up his posters,
but that was all right.
He did have a big binder
from the Finns that would
hold the worksheets, though,
and he was pretty sure he
could get away with storing
them in the "therapy" binder
because they were body stuff.
Dr. G was all about privacy, and
sometimes that came in handy.
Shiv sat down at his tiny desk
and took out his colored pencils.
His brain was tired, but his eyes
weren't yet, so he thought he
could manage some coloring.
It wasn't going to come out
as nice as the posters, but
that was okay. He could
practice with easy stuff,
and maybe do better later.
For now, he would just look
in detail at human anatomy.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its notes appear elsewhere.