the toothpick factory pt 2

spivey gets off the bus a block away from his one bedroom apartment, which he has rented since he started working at the toothpick factory thirty years ago. this evening will be no different from last night for james spivey. he will go to his apartment, write checks for any outstanding utility bills or rent, boil water and cook his dinner. his dinner, the same every night; one cup of boiled rice and one can of sardines. this is what spivey eats every night before he does some light reading prior to drifting off into a nearly dreamless state of sleep.

perhaps his dreamlessness is in part due to the fact that he only reads manuals, like the manuals that would come with a new sewing machine, or a manual that comes with a new lawn mower. james spivey doesn't concern himself with "imagination" he likes to know how things work, even if it doesn't in any way relate to his day to day routine, which, after a boring night's sleep is about to start over again.

james spivey is pasty. he is gaunt, and his skin has a transparency to it, a transparency similar to that of a pot-sticker. it is almost as if his organs and circulatory system can be seen right through his skin. it is almost possible to see his brain through his skull which is not very well covered as his hair has receded heavily.

while it may seem possible to see into his brain, it is impossible to know what he is thinking. james spivey isn't thinking. he is a broken down brainwashed cult member of 1. he has always been like this. total emotional shutdown. no smiling. no laughter. shut down. james spivey is a human robot.

how did he get like that? was it the orphanage? did the nuns there do unspeakable things to him there?