The Remains of Doctor Bass

Under normal circumstances, one would expect a wandering throng of
students to demonstrate animated displeasure upon encountering a
human corpse in the woods; particularly a corpse as fragrant and
festering as that which was found on an August afternoon in
Knoxville, Tennessee. From a short distance the male figure almost
appeared to be napping among the hummingbirds and squirrels, draped
as he was over the pebbled ground. But something about his peculiar
pose evoked a sense of grim finality-- the body language of the
deceased. The students knelt alongside the slumped form, seemingly
untroubled by the acrid, syrupy tang of human decay which hung in
the air. They remarked on the amount of decomposition that had
become evident since their last visit, such as the sloughed skin
and distended midsection. The insects which feasted upon the
decommissioned man were of specific interest, prompting a number of
photographs and note-jottings. After surveying the scene to their
satisfaction, the students strolled across the glade to examine a
considerably more decayed corpse in the trunk of an abandoned car.
Their lack of alarm wasn't altogether surprising, for they were
part of the organization responsible for dumping these corpses--
along with dozens more-- throughout the otherwise serene forest.
They were forensic anthropology students from the University of
Tennessee.