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While such cases provide an immense "sense of satisfaction" for Lumb, the job can also be incredibly taxing. Unpredictable hours mean that it is impossible for forensic pathologists like him to make many plans, as they are often on call. There is also no way of telling how long you will be required to stay on a scene. Lumb's longest shift lasted 24 hours. Such irregular, grueling hours are, he says, often a bigger downside than the gruesomeness. But again, his training affords him a sense of calm, a strictly clinical approach to the cold, blue cadavers in front of him. They aren't people. They're vessels, slabs of dark, dying flesh."I've had to deal with murders of children many times, and I think everybody expects you to say that must be a lot harder, but again, our training helps us to remain neutral. Dealing with the homicide of an 18-year-old is as difficult as dealing with a two-year-old. Nobody likes to see wee babies in that position, but we have to stay neutral."Often, though, part of the pathologist's job can involve watching videos of victims in the run up to their murder—particularly in torture cases. They have to, to confirm whether the injury is compatible with the movement of the individual on the footage. "That's disturbing, even for us," says Lumb. "It's easy to disassociate and focus on the science when the person is inanimate. However, having to watch them walking and talking on such a video can be emotionally draining." He leans back in his chair and laughs nervously. "There's still a flicker of emotion in me."In Lumb's mind, a murder scene serves as "a snapshot of somebody at the end of their life, when it's all over." The environment that he enters surrounding the death is so controlled, so precise, that it is easy for him to detach himself from it emotionally. Forensic pathologists are generally called to the scene toward the end of the investigation. Police will secure the environment and then get biologists and blood-spatter and ballistic experts to look for trace evidence before forensic pathologists come along and start looking at the body. This allows them to get all of the fragile evidence off before the pathologist begins moving the body around, looking at the injuries and assessing how he thinks they were attained. Much of their work is done alone, says Lumb, and although they do "ask each other's opinions on cases," they are examined as individuals in court. The final determination of the cause of death lies only with the pathologist assigned to the case.Dealing with the homicide of an 18-year-old is as difficult as dealing with a two-year-old. Nobody likes to see wee babies in that position, but we have to stay neutral.