Butchers

Of course not. I have my Butchers for that.

— Many Nekrobioteks, about many unpleasant tasks.

Butchers are the servants of Nekrobiotek, tasked with everything from dismembering corpses to preparing them for reanimation. If it is dirty, dangerous and unpleasant, it is the job for a Butcher. Nonetheless, these underpaid and overworked workers are a vital cog in the Necro-Industrial Complex machinery.

It's A Dirty Job

Wanted: Stout man or woman for the job of Butcher. No experience required. Strong stomach a must.

— Job ad.

Butchers stand on the line between menial labor that is still too complex for affordable Undead to reliably perform, but not so complex as to require any great compensation. There are any number of things that need to be done for a Nekrobiotek to be able to work their rituals, from making sure the furnace is filled with coal to gutting and embalming the corpse. It is often a physically demanding job, where Butchers have to cart bodies around or chop off limbs, and is not suitable for the faint of heart.

You know it's bad when you're the cheaper alternative to a Stiff.

— Tobias, Veteran Butcher

In the Long War, the role of Butcher is often assigned as punishment. Lazy or negligent soldiers are made to drain the gore-pits and tally heads, torsos and limbs for the military Nekrobiotek. Those who show aptitude for it, such as it is, are sometimes permanently assigned to the retinue of the Nekrobiotek. It is not a popular assignment, but at very least it keeps them away from the front lines.

It's not all bad. The stiffs are pretty easy to work with and Ms. Rae's plenty more pleasant than many factory foremen I've worked under. You get used to the smell. Well... At least that's what we tell the rookies.
Come on now. These arms aren't going to count themselves!

— Tobias, Veteran Butcher

Nekrobioteks

The Necromancer-engineers of the Necro-Industrial Complex are called Nekrobiotek. They are part surgeons, part mechanics and part wizards: all required in equal part to reanimate the dead and put them to work. Theirs is a well-respected and well-paying job: in all aspects, the opposite of what can be said for the Butchers.
Read more about the Nekrobiotek

Worked wanted: Dead or Alive

While no Nekrobiotek would ever say so, there is a secondary consideration to keeping a Butcher around instead of a stiff: even the most dim-witted peasant boy make for far better conversation than one of the undead. Some Nekrobiotek simply prefer to keep a staff of living around, for any number of reasons. As such, it isn't unusual to see Butcher do jobs that the Nekrobiotek could really have a stiff do. Whether or not this is of any benefit for the Butchers is debatable.