ASSEMBLY LINE, n. A mechanized form of mass production whereby a series of uniform, constituent parts are assembled by a succession of disinterested workers performing singular, repetitive tasks in the line of automation to manufacture cheap, perfectly homogenous merchandise that will in the not-too-distant future demand its own replacement. This division of labor is said to have been inspired by the “disassembly line,” a method of slaughter common to the abattoirs of the early twentieth century, but is one by which the commodity is, conversely, pieced together and only the laborer’s conscience so butchered.