Handling The Undead

by John Ajdive Lindqvist

  ‘You’re hiding him?’

  ‘Yes. Only you and two other people know about it. He’s in bad shape. The fact that I called you was mostly because I thought perhaps you knew something.’

  ‘About about what?’

  Mahler sighed.

  ‘Oh, I don’t know. It’s just that you were there when she woke up and…I don’t know. Maybe something happened that could be useful.’

  David replayed what had happened at the hospital in his head. He wanted to help Mahler. ‘She spoke,’ he said.

  ‘She did? What did she say?’

  ‘Well, she didn’t say anything that… it was as if the words were new for her, as if she was testing them. It was… ‘ David heard it again: Eva’s metallic, raspy voice, ‘it was pretty awful.’

  ‘I see,’ Mahler said. ‘But it didn’t seem as if she… remembered anything?’

  Without thinking about it, David had forced that moment at the hospital from his consciousness. Had not wanted to go near it. Now he knew why.

  ‘No,’ David said and the tears pricked his eyes. ‘It was like she was completely… empty.’ He cleared his throat. ‘I think I have to… ‘

  ‘I understand,’ Mahler said. ‘Let me give you my number in case… well, in case you think of anything.’

  They hung up, and David sat at the kitchen table, polishing off the last of the wine and devoting twenty minutes to not thinking of Eva’s voice; of her eye, as it had looked at the hospital. When Magnus went to sleep he lay as if crucified in the middle of the bed, his arms thrown wide. David shifted Magnus over to one side, undressed and lay down next to him.

  He was so exhausted he fell asleep as soon as he closed his eyes.

  Koholma 22.35

  ‘What did he say?’

  Anna walked into Mahler’s room only a couple of seconds after he hung up. Mahler rubbed his eyes, said, ‘Nothing in particular. He told me his story. Horrible, obviously. But nothing that helps us.’ ‘His wife, was she…

  .’

  ‘No. It was basically the same as with Elias.’

  When Anna had gone back to the living room and the television came on, Mahler looked in on Elias. He stood there a long time staring at the little body. Elias had downed yet another bottle of brine, yet another bottle of sugar water over the course of the evenmg.

  It was like she was completely… empty.

  But Eva Zetterberg had only been dead for half an hour. Was he wrong?

  Was it true, as Anna said, that nothing of Elias remained in the tiny creature lying in the bed?

  When he stepped out onto the patio the air was new. During the long drought he had forgotten that the air could feel so rich, so much like nourishment. The darkness was dense and filled with scents from a

  landscape that the downpour had restored to life.

  Does some… intention exist?

  Elias had been dead and withered. Something that was not rain had brought him back to life. What? And what was keeping him alive if he was empty inside?

  A seed can lie dormant for hundreds and thousands of years. Dried or frozen in a glacier. Place it in moist earth and it sprouts. There is a power. The green force of the flower. What is the power of the human being?

  Mahler studied the stars. Out here in the country they were more numerous than in the city. An illusion. Of course the stars were always there, and in numbers infinitely greater than the sharpest eye could discern.

  Something touched him. An insight, inexpressible. He shivered.

  In a rapid succession of images he saw a blade of grass break through the seed casing and struggle toward the surface, saw a sunflower strive toward the sky, turning to the light, saw a small child pull itself to its feet, hold its arms out, jubilant, and everything lives and is drawn to the light, and he saw…

  It is not inevitable.

  The green force of the flower. Not inevitable. Everything is effort, work. A gift. It can be taken from us. It can be given back.

  Attachment 2

  15 August

  Initial Examination: Attempt No.3 (cure) [Soc. Dept. Confidential]

  The supply of nourishment to patient 260718-0373 Bengt Andersson was interrupted 2002-08-15 at 08.15.

  Catheters for saline and glucose solutions were removed in order to observe the patient’s reaction. The patient showed no signs of decline by 09.15. ECG blank, EEG as before.

  09.25 the patient experienced a series of spastic cramps. The contractions lasted for approximately three minutes, whereupon the patient returned to the earlier state.

  No further cramps or other reactions observed by 14.00.

  Our conclusion is that the saline and glucose supplements are not a necessity. The low values that the patients show neither improve nor decline.

  [From Studio One 16.00]

  Reporter:.,.results that indicate that the reliving do not need nourishment. Professor Lennart Hallberg, how can this have been established?

  Lennart Hallberg: Well, of course the actual tests have not been made public at this point, but I assume that they simply suspended the supply of nutrients in order to observe what would happen…

  Reporter: And you can do that? Is it allowed?

  Lennart Hallberg: Firstly, the reliving exist in a kind of legal

  grey area. It will probably be a while until we develop some medical-ethical guidelines for handling them. Secondly, the flag of pestilence has not been lowered yet, so to speak, and this gives us physicians a certain…leeway.

  Reporter: How is it possible to exist without nourishment?

  Lennart Hallberg: [laughing] That’s a good question. A week ago I would have answered it by saying it is physiologically impossible, but now…let us say that there may be a form of nourishment that we have not discovered yet.

  Reporter: What would that be?

  Lennart Hallberg: I haven’t the faintest idea.

  [DN Debate]

  [Extract from the article ‘Can the Dead Help Us?’ by Rebecca Liljewall, Professor of Philosophy at Lund University]

  … earlier unimagined possibilities to approach the fundamental conditions of life. Should the same ethical criteria be applied to the reliving as to ‘normal’ patients?

  Present laws give a simple answer to this question: No. A person who has been declared deceased falls outside of judicial boundaries, excepting the peace of the grave. It is however doubtful if grave-peace can be invoked in this case.

  In all likelihood the laws will shortly be altered to include the reliving. It may sound cynical but in the intervening time the opportunity exists to perform experiments and tests that may later be illegal. My opinion is that the medical experts should be encouraged to take advantage of the situation.

  The possible suffering of the reliving must be measured against the benefit it may hold for mankind. In the past two days sixty-five

  people in Stockholm have died without awakening. In the whole world, around 300 000 people have died during the same time.

  It is not too bold to state that a more thorough examination of this small number of reliving would better equip us to prevent a large number of unnecessary deaths in future.

  Is it not a price worth paying?

  [Dagens Nyheter, letter to the Editor]

  I am one of thousands of family members who have now waited for two days for a clear answer to the question of what will happen to our dead. Why this secrecy? What is being covered up?

  As an old Social Democrat I am very disappointed in the government’s actions. I think I speak for many when I say that this will have an impact when I go to vote next month. I have spoken with many people and everyone is saying the same thing: if this government cannot arrange for us to see our loved ones, it has to go.

  [Expressen, the Daily Bouquet]

  I want to offer the Daily Bouquet to all of the doctors and nurses and police officers whose quick action removed the dead from our streets.

  I don’t think I am alone in feeling that it would have been very d
isturbing to have them wander freely.

  Many thanks!

  [From Reports from the Inside, SVT 1, 22.10]

  Reporter: Vera Martinez, you are a nurse who has been working at

  Danderyd these past few days. From what I understand there has been a high staff turnover?

  Vera Martinez: Yes. Basically everyone working there now comes from staffing agencies. No one can keep it up. As soon as there is a room full of the dead then it’s like… you don’t have the energy. It’s the thoughts, the feelings-you have to sort of make yourself think nice thoughts the whole time, but in the end you can’t keep it up.

  Reporter: You brought in metronomes, and the effect appeared to be calming?

  VM: There are none left. They picked them all apart. It worked for one day, but then… well, they took them apart. Now we have other things, more durable things… that move.

  Reporter: What do you think should be done?

  VM: They have to be spread out in some way. They can’t be kept together, like they were in the hospital. No one will be able to take it.

  Reporter: Karin Pihl, you are an expert at the Ministry of Social Affairs. I believe there are plans to relocate the reliving?

  Karin Pihl: As Vera here says, the present situation is untenable. We’ve been working on a temporary solution since yesterday, but I cannot give out any further details as of yet.

  [Daily Echo 21,00]

  The conservative parties have now united in a declaration of a lack of confidence in the government. It is being called an exceptional move so close to the election, but the leader of the Moderates puts it this way:

  Leader, Moderate Party: ‘This is exceptional, yes. But the government’s handling of this situation has been exceptionally clumsy. Naturally it must be made possible for relatives to see their reliving.’

  Parties in coalition with the government have not yet announced any guarantees of their continued support.

  Quick investigation: Attempt 5 [Decomposition]

  [Min. Soc. Aff. Classified]

  Temperature requirements for patient 3201l4~6381 Greta Ramberg was concluded at 2002-08-15,09.00 hours.

  The patient was isolated in her own room. The climate control was gradually adjusted until it reached 19 degrees Celsius, or normal room temperature.

  The patient was kept under constant observation in order to note any signs of an advance in the decomposition of tissue. When none had been noted by 12.00, the temperature was raised to 22 degrees Celsius.

  At 15.00 no signs of deterioration were detected. A bacterial analysis of the bowel contents was carried out, and the results showed that all bacterial growth in the body had ceased.

  The phenomenon is currently unexplained, but our conclusion is that the reliving do not appear to require the cooling that is otherwise standard practice with cadavers.

  [Daily Echo 22.00]

  … have now confirmed that the man killed in the subway accident at Danderyd Hospital station was Sten Bergwall, chief physician

  at Danderyd. According to police, there are no suspicious circumstances…

  [Mail to the Br-Toys head office]

  … hereby place an order of 5000 (five thousand) copies of item number 3429-2l.

  We request this order be filled as expeditiously as possible. The transportation costs do not matter. If possible, we ask that the goods be transported by air freight…

  [Daily Echo 23.00]

  All staff have now left Danderyd Hospital. A large number of military vehicles have gathered outside the entrances. For the moment there is no information about what is happening, but the Prime Minister has announced a press conference for seven o’clock tomorrow morning.

  16 August

  [From the Prime Minister’s speech 07.00]

  Prime Minister: Military personnel have relocated the reliving during the night. It was a necessary step, for the purposes of being able to provide the proper care…

  Journalist: Where have they been taken?

  [Pause]

  Prime Minister: Please save your questions for the appropriate time, otherwise I will have to ask you to leave. [Pause] In order to be able to provide the proper care, the reliving have been moved to a facility where they can be kept separated. The mental stress attested to by medical personnel must be taken seriously.

  At first the proposed solution was to divide them up among a number of hospitals. This would however have compromised the provision of regular health services. Even the level of service would have been affected.

  The solution that we have arrived at is the best at this point in time. The reliving have been moved to the residential area the Heath in north-west Stockholm. The necessary personnel have been dispatched and our aim is for rehabilitation to begin shortly. A place will be made in society for the reliving.

  [Pause]

  Any questions?

  Journalist: Is it possible to care for seriously ill people in a residential complex that’s only half-completed?

  Prime Minister: We have received medical reports to the effect that the condition of the reliving is not nearly as critical as was first thought. Many of the precautionary treatments that were initially provided have turned out to be unnecessary.

  Journalist: How can you be sure?

  [Pause]

  Prime Minister: These were questions I was in fact going to refer to Sten Bergwall, who was appointed director of the relocation. I can only say that we had guarantees.

  Journalist: Did Sten Bergwall commit suicide?

  Prime Minister: I will not dignify that question with speculation. Absolutely not.

  Journalist: Isn’t this a pretty desperate measure?

  Prime Minister: Well, there you are again. How do you expect me to answer that?

  Journalist: Why are no relatives allowed into the area?

  Prime Minister: Family members will shortly be afforded the opportunity to see their reliving. It is regrettable that it has taken so long.

  Journalist: Is this something you are doing in order to avoid a no-confidence motion?

  Prime Minister: [Sighing] My government and I are fully capable

  of making decisions without having a gun held to our heads. Up to this point it has not been possible to allow the public to make visits. Now it is possible. Therefore we are now opening for the public.

  [Letter found in Sten Bergwall’s office]

  It is with great regret that I must advise that everything has gone to hell. I cannot assume responsibility for a decision that I know in my heart to be wrong, and one that will lead to catastrophe.

  I am exhausted as I have never been before. My hand is shaking on the pen. Thoughts come only with difficulty.

  How could it have been handled differently?

  The reliving are regarded as vegetables, without will, or thought. This is wrong. They are like jellyfish. Their behaviour is influenced by their environment. They have a will. The will of the person thinking of them. No one is prepared to accept this.

  We should isolate them completely. We should destroy them. Burn them. Instead, they will now be released into the uncontrolled thoughts of the public at large. It will end badly. I do not want to be present when this occurs.

  If my legs have the strength to get me to the subway, I will leave now.

  [Daily Echo-lunch edition 12.30]

  … spokesperson now says that the situation in the Heath is under control and that relatives who wish to visit their reliving may do so starting at noon tomorrow…

  [From Bruno the Beaver Seeks and Finds (in press)]

  … but with each storey that Bruno added to the tower, the moon slipped further away. He stretched out his paw. His paw was on the moon. He tried to feel if it was rough or smooth. But he only felt air. The moon was still as far away as when he had started to build the tower.

  […]

  The tower was now fourteen storeys high, higher than the tallest tree. When Bruno sat at the top he could see the mountains far away. Something was mo
ving in the lake under his feet. Deep down there he saw the Waterman gliding around among the stilts on which he had built his tower. Bruno pulled up his feet and closed his eyes.

  […]

  At night Bruno saw that there were two moons. One up in the sky and one down on the surface of the water. The one up there he could not reach, and the one down there he did not dare to take. That was the Waterman’s moon.

  17 August

  Where a corpse lies, vultures gather

  Svarvargatan 07.30

  David went out to stand vigil in the hall at twenty-eight minutes past seven, right beside the front door. At exactly half past he heard the elevator come up, and then a hesitant knock. The precaution was strictly speaking unnecessary. David had already ascertained that Magnus was asleep, but a certain measure of secrecy was appropriate to birthdays. At least when you were nine years old.

  Sture, David’s father-in-law, was standing outside the door with a cat carrier in his hand. Sture was rarely seen in anything other than blue trousers and a cardigan, but now he was dressed in a red and orange plaid shirt, and somewhat too-tight dress pants. Dressed up.

  ‘Welcome, Sture.’

  ‘Hello.’

  Sture raised the cat box a couple of inches and nodded at it.

  ‘Great,’ David said. ‘Come in, come in.’

  Sture was six foot four inches tall, and broad-shouldered. His presence transformed the apartment from a roomy two-bedroom to a functional prison. Sture needed expanses around him, trees. As soon as he had stepped into the hall, he did something very unexpected: he put down the cat box and hugged David.

  It was not a hug intended to give or receive comfort, it was more about taking on a shared fate. Like a handshake. Sture took David into his arms, held him there for five seconds and then let go. David did not even have

  time to consider laying his head against Sture’s chest; only when Sture let go did he think it would have felt nice.

  ‘Well,’ Sture said. ‘Here we are then.’

  David nodded and did not know how to answer. He lifted the lid of the container. A small grey rabbit was curled up on the bottom, staring into the wall. A couple of lettuce leaves were strewn in one corner, some black pellets in the other. He knew the acrid smell that wafted up would soon impregnate the entire apartment.