The Surgeon
by Vaughan</a>
This story is different from the others. If you have a
weak stomach, you might not want to read it.
The first time I saw Mr. Croft I did not know anything about
him having cut my induction lectures at the school of medicine,
although the name rang a quiet bell. That first time was at a
party to introduce the first year students to essential art for a
doctor to be, the art of drinking to excess, while still being
able to stand up. I watched him perform a few simple tricks, the
cut and restored rope and some card and coin manipulations. I
went up to him and asked if he was a professional magician. Mr.
Croft said he was the anatomy lecturer, that's what had rung the
bell, it is an often forgotten fact that surgeons take the title
mister. I complimented him on his dexterity and said I was going
to enjoy his lectures if he performed as well in the lecture hall
as he did at magic. I also expressed a liking for watching magic
of all sorts with a preference for grand illusion. He said I was
going to enjoy the anatomy lectures. He asked my name. I told him
I was Harry Hardin. He said he could see where my interest in
magic had originates.
I thanked Mr. Croft and turned away. I run straight in to a
pretty girl who had come over to talk to Mr. Croft. Her name, it
turned out, was Janet Holmes. She was also going to be at the
medical school. She had enjoyed the magic and was wondering
whether Mr. Croft could use an assistant, she said she had always
wanted to be sawn in half. Mr. Croft said he had never done that
before and did not really like the idea, but it was good to know
he had a potential magician's assistant in his class. It was at
this point that Janet realized she was talking to a senior
lecturer and it seemed to put her off.
To help Janet recover from the shock of accidentally chatting
up a lecturer, I offered to get her a drink. One thing lead to
another, and I spent the night at her rented flat instead going
back to my digs. We had a good time and arranged to be flat
mates, I would contribute the money I spent on digs, to help with
the rent and help out with chores. That we could live together
cheaper than we could live separately, and being on the same
course we could help each other with assignments. I discovered
that we were going into the same specialism so we would be able
to save on text books as well. Besides I was rapidly falling for
her.
The first few anatomy lectures were very good as in well
presented. The content was nothing we could not have read in the
texts, but Mr. Croft peppered the lecturers with memorable
mnemonics (some of the bawdiest sort), jokes and at least twice
in each lecture did some feat of magic that he managed to fit
into the lecture. He always seemed to enjoy the performance of
these tricks. Janet and me always sat at the front in Mr. Croft's
lecturers to be sure we did not miss a thing. At the end of one
lecture I asked Mr. Croft how a trick was done. He of course
replied in time-honored fashion that a magician never reveals
his methods. He also told me that he was working on trick for me
and Janet. He seemed to know we were an item. He said we would
find out just before the end of term tests.
Two weeks before the end of the term, Mr. Croft said, at the
end of his lecture, "You have been very patient with anatomy
having only been allowed to study diagrams and photographs. Next
term you will be given cadavers, to perform dissections on and to
practice scalpel technique. In the exams in 9 days time I will
learn how much of what I have taught you, you have learnt. Next
week's lecture by way of revision will be a demonstration held in
viewing gallery of surgical theatre 7 at the later time of 1 pm.
All except Janet Holmes and Harry Hardin may dismiss."
Janet and I approached Mr. Croft, who had started stacking
together his lecture notes. When he had finished fussing with his
notes and slides, he turned to us and said in confidential tones,
"Next week, I've got a treat for you two magic-loving
love-birds, You will both be assisting me on the theatre floor
next week. So, you will need to be there an hour before the
lecture starts to scrub up and get gowned up, and for everyone's
sake I don't want either of you eating that morning and make it a
light meal the previous night. We don't want anyone feeling sick.
OK, that's all, off you go and get as much revision as you can
done before next week, because I don't think that you'll get much
done next week."
The week passed uneventfully. We revised like hell and any
moments we were not revising or attending lectures, we spent
speculating wildly on what kind of demonstration we had been
asked to help with. I eventually thought we were going to assist
in some relatively risk-free procedure, but be given a closer
look. Janet thought we would be asked to help dissect a corpse,
probably she feared it might be a child.
The day and the hour arrived. While we were as well informed
as anybody on the ins and outs of the human body, we were none
the wiser as to nature of the impending demonstration. We had not
eaten that morning and only shared a small pizza the previous
night. Mr. Croft greeted us and introduced us to Surgical Nurse
Croft, who he said was his sister and usually helped him with his
surgical demonstrations. He instructed Janet to go with Nurse
Croft, while I followed Mr. Croft.
I said, "In these days, you would have thought that male
and female doctors would be allowed to change together. It's not
as if anyone has anything that their colleagues have not seen
before."
Mr. Croft answered, "It's not really sex segregation, It's
that Janet is being prepped for a different role in my little
demonstration."
I had a sinking feeling. I knew that Janet would resent being
cast in the role of a nurse, especially when she was studying to
be a doctor. I was given a green surgical costume and told to go
change, then come back to scrub. When I came back I asked about a
face mask, but Mr. Croft said it was unnecessary in this case.
Once I had scrubbed he took me into surgical theatre 7.
The arena for this demonstration was a brightly lit
white-painted room with a hydraulically operated table in the center. There was something on the table covered in a green linen
sheet. Around the walls where they met the ceiling was a row of
observation windows where my follow students were congregating. I
noticed that a few were not visible, but they would be watching
the demonstration on a large CCTV monitor connected to the video
camera mounted on the ceiling.
Nurse Croft was there, she seemed to be checking a
trolley-load of instruments, only a few of which I could
positively identify. I was getting nervous, because I still had
no clue what I was expected to do. I was also worried about where
Janet had got to, surely she should be here by now.
The time on the wall clock ticked to 1:00. Janet still had not
arrived.
Mr. Croft began speaking, "Ladies and gentlemen, what you
are about to witness I call a live dissection. I advise you all
never to attempt such a thing when you reach practice as it will
not work and will be illegal, thus opening you to all sorts of
law suits. I have a willing volunteer."
He removed the cloth from the table. I was surprised to see
Janet lying there in a back-less patient's gown smiling. "As
you can see the volunteer is your colleague, Janet Holmes. I also
have Harry Hardin here who will be assisting me. As we are here
to study anatomy, we shall take a look at Janet's anatomy. Janet,
sit up, please." Janet sat up. "OK, Harry, your first
task is to undo her gown so we can all see the anatomy we will be
studying this afternoon."
I walked over to the table. I whispered to Janet, "Are
you alright with this?" I did not want to expose her to if
she did not want it.
She nodded and whispered back, "I want to enjoy being a
magician's assistant. Just do as he says and don't worry. Nurse
Croft usually does this. She said it doesn't hurt. Get on with
it!"
I said, "If anything you don't like happens or he hurts
you, yell and I will stop him."
Reluctantly, I removed the gown, leaving Janet only wearing a
pair of white panties. As she lay back her pert breasts spread
slightly. Mr. Croft stood on the opposite me with a large scalpel.
To my relief he started pointing out the external anatomy with
the handle.
I was not paying particular attention, admiring my fiancée laid out on the table.
"Harry, pay attention," commanded Mr. Croft, "I
asked you to demonstrate the physiological reaction to nipple
stimulation."
I looked down at Janet. She nodded and said, "Go on, It's
all for the education of doctors. Besides you know I enjoy that
sort of thing."
Hesitantly, I tweaked Janet's nipples. Soon they were standing
as high as I'd ever seen them. Mr. Croft seemed pleased. He winked
at me and said, "Hold out your hand." I held out my
hand.
What he did next shocked me, but Janet carried on smiling as
if she had felt nothing. Mr. Croft had positioned the scalpel
behind Janet's left nipple and cut it off, placing the severed
nipple in my hand. I felt I could hardly protest if Janet had
not, then I realized there was no blood. If there was no blood
the cut could not be real, but I was standing there with a real
nipple sitting on the palm of my hand, still warm from the bosom
it had so recently been detached from. Mr. Croft invited me to
check the incision. I felt the breast, It was normal except for
the lack of a nipple. I confirmed for the audience that the
breast was genuine. I was instructed to hand the nipple to Nurse
Croft. She had just handed Mr. Croft a curved set of stocks which
he was lowering over Janet's bosom.
The stocks were quickly in place and Nurse Croft handed Mr. Croft a pair of curved blades which he inserted through the
bottom edge of the stocks. I felt I should hear Janet's flesh
tearing or even her screaming, it would have relieved some of the
tension I was feeling. The only sounds were the slight rasp as
the blades slid into the stocks and my own heavy breath out as the
blades with a snick went fully in.
"OK, Harry, are these Janet's breasts?" asked Mr. Croft, as he handed me that stocks with them balanced on top. I
had to agree that they seemed to be to genuine article, and I
should know, I had made a close study of them.
Having announced that I held Janet's breasts in my hands. I
handed them to Nurse Croft. I took a look at Janet to see how she
was feeling. Janet was in no pain, but was worried that she was
now busomless and wondered if she would ever get them back. She
also brought up her hands to feel her now empty chest. The
severed flesh looked like uncooked pork in contrast to her tanned
skin, but there was still no blood.
Janet smiled at me and said, "Stop worrying Harry. You
know I've always wanted to be a magician's assistant, and I
haven't felt a thing except some numbness. I'm relying on you to
make sure I get put back the way I was. Stop fussing, enjoy
yourself and make it a memorable show for our class-mates."
With this encouragement I felt much better.
While we were talking Mr. Croft had taken his scalpel and cut
through Janet's skin from hip to hip an inch below her navel. He
then sliced through the flesh in a matching cut below her ribs
and then down her side, joining the ends of the first two cuts.
Janet had not made a sound, so I waited to see what was going to
happen next.
"As you are on that side, would you mind completing the
cut?" asked Mr. Croft. I took the scalpel and made the cut in
the flesh of my girl. I was becoming confused in my feelings; I
was proud to asked to handle a scalpel by Mr. Croft, I felt
excited that I was doing this to Janet and I felt worried for
Janet's sake, despite her saying that she felt nothing and was
enjoying it.
Mr. Croft addressed the audience, "Ladies and gentlemen,
This is, of course, officially a lecture, so bare with me. Janet
was nervous before we started, so what can we expect to find
under this patch of flesh when it is opened."
Over the loudspeaker came calls of "intestines",
"liver", "kidneys", etc.
After a minute of calling, Mr. Croft told me to pull the flesh
away when he nodded. He announced, "You seem to know your
anatomy quite well, but as doctors you will have to take the
emotional state of the patient into account. I told you that
Janet was nervous and not one of you mentioned ..." he
nodded at me. As I peeled back Janet's belly, Mr. Croft shouted,
"... Butterflies." From Janet's abdomen flew at least
two dozen large butterflies of the brightest colors. While I
stood and marveled at the butterflies Nurse Croft took Janet's
belly from me.
I was dazed and amazed as Mr. Croft handed me Janet's liver,
her kidneys, spleen, pancreas and so on. I was numbly handing
them on to Nurse Croft. When he had finished with the organs, he
started unspooling Janet's intestines. In the back of my mind I
could see why he did not want her to eat that day.
He handed me a skien of intestine and asked me to hold it, he
got Janet to hold the other end. With a slash Mr. Croft cut
Janet's intestine almost exactly half way between mine and
Janet's hands. He stuck the scalpel in Janet's thigh and
collected the cut ends of intestine and quickly tied a knot. The
severed end stuck out of the knot. He pulled the knot to my end
of the length of intestine and then pushed it down to Janet's
end. Having returned the knot to the middle, he covered the knot
with his hand, squeezed and opened his hand and all evidence of
the cut or the knot had vanished.
He swiftly removed all Janet's guts and handed them to me
telling me to coil them neatly. While I looped the intestines,
Janet was encouraged to put her hands in her belly. She looked
quite shocked but excited by what had happened to her. Later she
told me that being able to feel the front of her own backbone was
a weird sensation.
While Janet was discovering she was temporarily gut-less,
Nurse Croft handed Mr. Croft a small medical power-saw, before
taking Janet's viscera from me.
When Mr. Croft switched on the saw even the observers fell
silent. He applied the saw to Janet's ribs and in short order
there was a groove around her chest. I lifted the front half of
Janet's ribs from her body as instructed and passed them to Nurse
Croft.
Under the ribs were the stomach, the lungs, still breathing,
and Janet's beating heart. Mr. Croft rapidly removed and handed to
me Janet's stomach, which I handed on to Nurse Croft.
Mr. Croft cut Janet's wind-pipe and took out her lungs. He
inflated them like a balloon and accepted a clamp from Nurse
Croft to hold the air in. He then took a long needle, which he
pressed against the over inflated lungs. I braced myself for a
loud bang, which did not come. The needle passed through the
lungs with no effect. Mr. Croft withdrew the needle and released
the clamp. There was a slight farting noise as the air escaped
from Janet's trachea.
Mr. Croft handed me the scalpel and said, "Now it's your
turn. Cut the arteries and veins and take out Janet's heart. I
guess you always wanted to have Janet's heart." I did as
instructed until I had Janet's heart pulsing in my hand. I showed
it to Janet.
Janet smiled and said, "I suppose that now you have my
heart in the palm of your hand, you'll be wanting my hand
too." I kissed her.
In the most formal voice and posture I could manage under the
peculiar circumstances, I said, "Janet, I know the moment is
not really right to ask this, but will you marry me?" There
were hoots and cheers from the gallery, but I was concentrating
on what the answer would be, as if I was unsure.
Janet turned to Mr. Croft and whispered, "You know you
want to. Give him my hand." He was cutting and soon with
much ceremony he presented me with Janet's hand. I felt
overjoyed.
A few moments later, I came down with a bump. Janet had asked,
"Where is the ring." I panicked and burbled something
incoherent. Fortunately, Mr. Croft was master of the situation. He
reached behind my ear, produced a plain gold band and handed it
to me. I thanked him and placed the ring on Janet's ring finger
on her detached hand, while everyone watched.
I kissed the hand and whispered, "I love you,
Janet."
When some semblance of order had returned to the gallery,
Mr. Croft told the audience that the show was over. He told Janet,
"You can go and get dressed." Janet sat up with my help
and I helped her walk from the theatre, into the changing rooms.
I was still carrying her heart and hand. I hugged and kissed
Janet, which was a very odd experience as most of the usual
contact points were missing.
When the hug was finished, I noticed Mr. Croft and Nurse Croft,
standing there smiling to themselves. "It time to put you
back together, young lady."
Janet was instructed to lie in a body bag. It seemed
appropriate to me as in her current condition she should be dead
anyway, but Janet seemed worried by it. After much reassurance,
she lay in the bag and Nurse Croft dumped all the parts we had
removed in the gap in Janet's front. I placed her heart and hand
on top and Mr. Croft zipped up the bag. He asked me to pick up
the head end by the loop. He pick up the foot end and between us
we swing the body bag at Mr. Croft's instruction. We lay the bag
down and opened it. Janet sprang out of it and hugged and kissed
me. It felt so much more wonderful for feeling normal.
"You two had better go change and then go to lunch."
Nurse Croft told us.
We met outside the theatre. I asked Janet if she remembered
what had happened.
"Of course, I remember. I had the time of my life."
she replied. "I was a magician's assistant, I was dissected
for the class, and you proposed to me, which I accepted. Now
let's get to the canteen, because my stomach thinks my throat's
been cut."
THE END