Lily-Pad Empire

"The first thing I saw last month when I walked into the belly of the dark grey C-17 Air Force cargo plane was a void–something missing. A missing left arm, to be exact, severed at the shoulder, temporarily patched and held together. Thick, pale flesh, flecked with bright red at the edges. It looked like meat sliced open. The face and what remained of the rest of the man were obscured by blankets, an American flag quilt, and a jumble of tubes and tape, wires, drip bags, and medical monitors."