John Lindqvist - Handling The Undead

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 disturbing 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.

[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.