A cow grabbed his ear, and using a device, attached a tag to it and he found himself herded by another into the feed pen. He tried to turn, but the same crew of suddenly bipedal cows was herding the rest of the crowd who had come to see him into the pen, with the exception of the few women, who were being pulled in another direction.
Watching nearby, a cow in a suit and tie watched and turned to one of the others dressed in coveralls. "C'mon, boys...let's get them settled in...like I told you....we need to make some changes around here, but you are the hardest workers in the business, and I know you'll make us proud."
"Thank you, sir."
"Call me Earl..." he said. He looked into the pen, and smiled...He suddenly felt...happy for some reason. He didn't know why. It felt like things were looking up.
Meanwhile, Kenneth was still feeling disoriented as he and the other men were packed into the tight pen, which was getting tighter by the minute...He fell over onto his hands and knees in front of the trough, which was filling with grain. He tried to turn to see what was happening outside the pen, but the grain distracted him. He took a bite, and another...until the feeding was all he was thinking about.
All other concerns, like the business, his wife, even the strange cows faded into a single desire. The loss of thoughts of his wife came with the loss of another part that, in this reality, had been removed some time earlier.
Even his name was no longer a concern. No one was using it anyway. As far as everyone was concerned, his identity was solely the number on his tag. Before long, he was over two thousand pounds, covered by his thick pinkish hide, which was good for when he reached the next phase of his now shortened life. Years of his life had been converted into months.