It had taken three weeks just to get an appointment with a dissimulation adviser (‘Expert Advice for the Aspiring Physiologically Challenged’), and it was not going well.
‘You have to understand that we have quite a capacity problem. There’s a slot for a cellular disintegration. Pretty high tech. Two months.’
‘I can’t wait that long.’
‘I can offer you a lethal injection in four weeks.’
‘No.’
‘There’s a waiting list I can put you on. How about gassing. Two weeks.’
‘My family’s going back to Mars colony on Monday. Anything before then?’
‘There’s old fashioned shooting. Tomorrow.’
‘That’ll do nicely.’