Two men lifted the casket and bore it outside in the rain toward the oven.
Cells divided, differentiated, and divided again. The reconstruction was almost complete. It had taken a long time, almost twenty-four hours. The body had never been challenged to capacity before. Removal of the major organs had caused much difficulty, but regeneration had begun almost at once, and the new tissues were now starting the first stirrings of renewed activity.
The casket slid onto the asbestos bricks with a small scraping noise. The door clanged shut, and there was a dull ring as the bolt was drawn.
There was a flicker of light behind the eyelids, and the new retinas registered it and transmitted it to the brain. The heart pulsed once, and then again. A shuddering breath.
Outside the oven, a hand reached for the switches and set the master timer. The main burner was turned on. Oil under pressure flared and exploded into the chamber.
There was a shadow of awareness for a long moment, and then it was gone.
Esta história está disponível online como parte da revista de ficção científica de Isaac Asimov (1977) e também foi publicada com comentários do autor em Ao escrever Ficção Científica: Os editores contra-atacam!