In the basement is a warren of cages, space-heaters, and IV lines. Soft towels line the cages, and plump, dead-eyed white rats lie belly-up on the towels, adorned with feeding tubes and electrodes.

Every few hours, a volunteer from the House comes to wipe the rats clean of their own filth with moist towlettes heated in a bath of blood-hot water, then gently turns them to avert bed-sores. The volunteer checks that the heroin distribution system is operating correctly, removes and incinerates any expired rats, and marks their initials on a timesheet before leaving.

Fresh rats are ordered from a laboratory suppiler. One resident is working on a breeding program of his own, though progress is slow.

On the wall decimal places click up on a counter marked "utility".