The Iowa Sisters #2 The Red North

Chapter 9

NORFOLK VIRGINIA JUNE 1951 "WISCONSIN"

"Shut the dampers, I need to stop." I panted to my captain, Thomas Burrows. "Wisconsin, this is the third time today you've said that." He complained. "I know, but I need to stop." I growled.

Sighing, he relayed the order. I heard some grumbling on the part of the engineers, directed mostly at Burrows until I told them it was me and not him, and then they started directing insults at me.

I slowed to a stop, gasping for breath. "Wisconsin really, how are we ever going to get to Korea if you keep stopping like this?" Captain Burrows complained.

"It's a longer distance than the last two times. I'm working up to it." I replied, still panting. Sighing, he patted my side. I relaxed at his touch.

"You're out of shape, that's why." He said. "I think we should cut back a little, at least until you burn off what you have." He said. I groaned. "No, please we've already been through this Thomas, I'm not giving the ice cream up." I wined.

"You know human food is not good for you and you eat it by the gallon every day." He said. "So what? I'm used to it." I retorted. "You may think that, but your body is not. Ships were not designed to process human food, and you can't simply start an evolution process in one generation." He said.

"We don't have real evolution, it all depends on how you design us so why can't you design us to take human food?" I asked. "Because we haven't found a way to. I think it's clear by now that we never will." He replied.

I snorted. "Never say never." I muttered. "Alright, you ready to go again?" He asked. "Yes." I replied. He started up the engines again and away I went. I felt a brief twinge of pain in the port most engine but I ignored it.

I ignored the fact that my layer of fat had grown from the healthy one millimeter to almost five inches. I ignored the fact that on an empty load, with no fuel and no provisions I now weighed 55000 tons instead of 45000. A quarter of my original weight in fat?

I ignored the fact that this meant I was beyond overweight like New Jersey and Missouri suggested. I was obese. And I ignored the fact that I had weak engines and boilers because of this. They just weren't designed to handle that kind of pressure.

I was a fool. I had set myself up for disaster and there was no going back now. By the end of the day, I would be extremely lucky just to be alive.

It was during close maneuvers with the destroyer Eaton, among others that it happened. The pain in my port side intensified. I tried to ignore it but it just got worse. Then it began to spread to my other three engines.

The pain seared through me. I thought I was being ripped apart. I howled. Captain Burrows came racing onto the bridge. "Wisconsin, what is it?" He asked. I groaned in reply. "Sir, the engineers report that the engines are malfunctioning." An officer said. "All of them?" Captain Burrows asked.

"Yes sir but the most damage seems to be on the port side." The officer replied. "Wisconsin?" My captain asked me. "It's my left side. I don't know what's going on." I moaned.

"What does it feel like to you?" He asked. "It feels like," I struggled to speak. "It feels like they're coming apart." I finished quickly then howled as a powerful spasm of pain gripped me.

"Jesus." He whispered. My captain was no doctor, but even he knew what that meant. A human's heart pumps blood clockwise. This means that the blood enters the heart from the left and exits from the right. When the heart beats, it pushes the exiting blood forward through the body so it can enter again.

The stronger the beat, the faster the blood can flow and the healthier the person is. Usually this is identified in the number of beats per minute (bpm). On average, the typical bpm for humans when they're sitting or sleeping is 60-70. Walking is a little faster at around 90 bpm.