h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

*A mile or so below the surface, the mine operation takes place. Here there are long tunnels and large caverns carved out of the rock. Periodically, explosions are heard where rock is being blasted out. The rock is carried in baskets by the "volunteers" to a conveyor that leads into a processing plant which is housed in one of the larger caverns. Inside the processing plant, more volunteers extract the fission chips from the base rock and put the chips in lead containers. The lead containers are then carried by other "volunteers" to a staging area beside the lift. At the end of each shift, the workers coming off shift load the lead containers from the staging area into the lift and ride up with them. From there, the lead containers are shipped to the Customer.

As time has gone on, the distance to the working end of the mine has increased, so that the "volunteers" now have to walk a long distance with their baskets of rocks.*

*Lindt the Overseer supervises the "volunteers" in a particularly brutal fashion*

Hey you, yes you Mr Hoity Toity number U46995, what in the name of the One do you think you're doing. Git back in there and git grafting or you'll end up like that good for nothing U187723.

*watches from a safe distance as a rockfall comes down on a squad*

Dang ! Those S*P*A volunteers sure made a mess of that. Now how are we going to reach this weeks production targets