Writer: Liam Urich
Editor: William Kerr
Graphic Editor: Valerie Chan
During the holidays, the Red Blood Cells had booked flights for their hometown, The Heart. It was important for these cells to get back home because after the holidays, The Heart had flights that would send them back to their jobs all throughout the body. However, the only airport that could fly the Red Blood Cells to The Heart was the Kidney Interorgan Airport (KIA), which had strict Transportation Security Administration (TSA) protocols in place. The kidneys functioned as the TSA, filtering the blood to maintain a balance of water, ions, and other substances before reaching The Heart.
Upon arriving at the airport, the Red Blood Cells were greeted by Security Cells known as podocytes that helped them unload all of their luggage. “Please place the contents of your luggage in the gray bins provided,” announced one Security Cell over the loud-speaker. The small murmur among the Red Blood Cells shifted to shrieks and bellows of frustration as the Security Cells collected their belongings. However, once the sliding doors opened and the soon-to-be passengers started pouring into the airport, the irritation on their faces morphed into gazes of awe. A colossal-sized conveyor belt ran through the center of the airport like a never-ending highway; smaller conveyor belts formed off-ramps that fed into narrow roads for individuals to pick up their luggage; workers of different skill sets moved the main belt’s contents around—it was a living and breathing security machine. “Remember to rent a cart!” screeched a Security Cell. “Our advanced conveyor belt system will drop your belongings into the smaller belts once they pass our security screenings. Please, make your way to the terminal and grab your belongings on the way.” Finally, a sigh of relief fell over the crowd like a gust of refreshing spring air. The Red Blood Cells calmly proceeded to rent a luggage trolley, now knowing that they were one step closer to getting home.
There were two main types of workers at KIA: the sluggish Transporters and the hard-working Pumps. The Transporters with their hunched postures effortlessly passed the approved contents to the off-ramps, leaving unapproved objects on the conveyor belt until they were eventually disposed of. On the other hand, the Pumps used an immense amount of energy to haul belongings from the off-ramp to the packed “side-road” conveyor belt, and KIA provided them with energy drinks (ATP) to assist in their work—The Red Blood Cell would be able to pick up their things once they were available to be collected on the “side-roads.”
Eager to reobtain their possessions before their flight, Red Bloods Cells all lined up against the outermost conveyor belt and began to restock their suitcases. Valuables such as glucose, water, amino acids, proteins, and vitamins were first released to the Red Blood Cells along with a majority of the expensive clothing such as the sodium and chloride ions. Immediately, a horde of cells rushed to take what was theirs. Transporters then began approval of even more water in a “Water Only” section of the conveyor belt before screening through other clothes and belongings such as sodium, potassium, and chloride ions. The rest of the water and clothing such as potassium, hydrogen, calcium, and chloride ions were made available to the Red Blood Cells before a Hormone Supervisor (ADH) determined whether more water should be released. The excess, unapproved clothing was dumped into the airport incinerator.
With one last look at the brilliant machinery of the airport’s TSA, the Red Blood Cells made it to the terminal and began boarding Cardio Airlines. With no delay in their departure, these little red cells were on their way back to their hometown, The Heart.
