(Don't) Panic

III - The Procedures

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*trigger warning:

+ dehumanization + graphic description of slaughter + chaining + degradation +

*the full warning and list of triggers to be found in part 2

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To make the produces more economical buyable, the processing had to be efficiently designed. Wherever possible, technology was used instead of actual manual labour. However, it was not possible to substitute it entirely. There still had to be a crew to man the ship and a team that operated in shifts to process the creatures non-stop. The collection was handled by the crew as the ship needed to be carefully manoeuvred. The first general storing was also done by the crew. The processing team took over as soon as the livestock was inside the general storing area and started cataloguing. They did not need to separate the stock themselves, it could be sucked out of storage one by one automatically. The restraining needed done individually, however. Each creature was stunned and shackled by their protruding limbs. Those were then affixed to the processing chain, thus the livestock was moved from one workstation to the next automatically.

After being sucked out of the general storage area and being affixed to the processing chain, the first workstation was handling the removal of the layers. For the cataloguing and sorting, an examination was imperative, therefore the different layers surrounding each creature had to be removed. It was important that this was handled with care as the layers weren't always distinguishable from body parts and there had been accidents in the past, including the removal of the outer bodily boundary in some cases.
Thereafter a general check for diseases, deformation, genetic disorders and other imperfections was performed. Stock that was ill or not up to standards was discarded immediately.
From there the stock was moved to the examination where it was decided what the creature would be used as.
Depending on the decision made, the next workstation was either immediate slaughter, breeding for slaughter or various bodily products, keeping for various bodily products, genetic modification or conditioning so as to be made into a kept curiosity.

The slaughter was relatively straight forward. All creatures designated for slaughter would be brought to a holding bay. They remained shackled but were free to move through the bay. The fluid provided was designed to make the stock empty itself entirely until it was time for slaughter. By that time, they were reattached to the processing chain and moved into the slaughtering bay. There, each creature was once again stunned to prevent any movement that might prolong the slaughtering, which would result in more costs and a smaller profit margin, or do damage to finished products.
After a first preliminary cleaning that took care of the different kinds of waste each creature would be dunked in a chemical that removed any hair permanently. Then it would be thoroughly cleaned from the outside, as well as all the available orifices as far as the team could reach.
Then, the main fluid system within the body was opened and suction was applied to extract any fluids that might otherwise drift away through space and contaminate anything.
During this time, the slaughtering team would already apply the superficial cuts that needed to be made to take of the outer bodily boundary. As soon as all fluids were stored the creature would be moved into the scalding chamber where hot steam would soften the outer barrier and loosen it enough for it to be stripped away smoothly and in one piece.
The dressing that followed was a standard procedure. The creature would be quartered and joined, the different tissues separated and prepared for further producing.

Stock that was not slaughtered immediately was additionally being sorted by it being a carrier or not and transported to the according holding bay. Groups of six creatures were then taken, fixed to the processing chain once again and - just like those for slaughter - cleaned, dunked to remove any hair and cleaned again. They were also equipped with a chip containing any information about them. From this point nothing else was done apart from providing sustenance and regular cleaning until it came to the selling of the stock.

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The selling was either done by agreements where various tissues and livestock was pre-ordered or it was auctioned off. Prime cattle was exempted from those and sold to special buyers on a different market.

Prospective buyers were invited to inspect the livestock before the auctions took place. Each creature was accessible by the stock number assigned to it and saved on the implanted chip. Affixed to the producing chain the desired creature would be brought forward for inspection automatically. As long as the stock was not damaged, the prospective buyers could handle and check the stock to their leisure. If a buyer took a fancy to any stock in particular it could be bought at a higher price before the auction.

The auction itself took place digitally. Again, the information was provided with the number on the chip for each creature, sometimes they were sold individually, sometimes in groups.
Subsequent to the auction the stock was readied and dispatched, ready for pickup or shipment.

Once all creatures - in parts or in whole - had been successfully sold, the whole process began anew.