she is my inner pig, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
the one I consult <\/p>\n\n\n\n
to ask <\/p>\n\n\n\n
whether whatever happens to be troubling me <\/p>\n\n\n\n
at the time<\/p>\n\n\n\n
(a paper rejected, a grant application denied, a personal disappointment)<\/p>\n\n\n\n
matters. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She has just arrived at Fearman\u2019s <\/p>\n\n\n\n
at the end of days of transport,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
her first glimpse of light, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
thirsty, terrified,\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
after the brief eternity<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of her 6-month lifetime, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
confined,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
in the misery and horror <\/p>\n\n\n\n
of those bolted, shuttered, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
cramped, suffocating,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
brutal<\/p>\n\n\n\n
cylindroid tubes we keep noticing <\/p>\n\n\n\n
in what we had imagined<\/p>\n\n\n\n
was an innocent pastoral countryside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now she is 45 minutes <\/p>\n\n\n\n
before being brutally thrust into the CO2 chamber, <\/p>\n\n\n\n
and then the foul sabre<\/p>\n\n\n\n
that will sever her larynx,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
and the drop<\/p>\n\n\n\n
into the scalding water<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to disinfect her sullied flesh,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
to make it worthy<\/p>\n\n\n\n
of our plates and palates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Her answer is always the same.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
No, it does not matter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
None of that matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Save me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" she is my inner pig, the one I consult to ask whether whatever happens to be troubling me at the time (a paper rejected, a grant application denied, a personal disappointment) matters. She has just arrived at Fearman\u2019s at the end of days of transport, her first glimpse of light, thirsty, terrified,\u00a0 after the brief … <\/p>\n![\"My](\"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/skywritings\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/287\/2019\/12\/innerpig.jpg\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\n