This is Halfworld
Inspired by the novel Pilgrim by Timothy Findley
and
The "Bellum Letale" Guardians of the Galaxy Role-Play Forum
Dedicated to Dr. Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961)
"Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people." -Carl G. Jung
-I-
At the start of zero hour, three things usually happen: people wake up, someone dies, and the intercom sounds over loud speakers.
Good morning Halfworld, this is Administrator Patricia Jolene Watts.
Today's assignments are….
Block B-12, report to the Yard. Block Y-17, report to the Armory. Block D-11, report to my office for inspection and evaluation. All other Blocks follow strict orders from your Nurses. Speaking of Nurses, would those applicable please recite The Pledge?
We solemnly swear with sound mind and body to serve the Administration of this facility and the inhabitants therein. We shall take it upon ourselves to uphold intergalactic peace and prosperity and to promote sanity and justice for all time.
All that is done here is what was done before and what was done before was the route of Doctor Carl Gustav Mallard Jung, who at the moment believed himself to be walking into a typical meeting with his overseer and supervisor, Klemens Fenstermacher.
Passing a series of discolored off-white doors, almost as if they were stained in urine or had mysteriously and impossibly contracted jaundice, Jung looked down the long corridor and noticed that the light emitting from the small windows was beginning to fade behind a group of clouds. A Nurse meanwhile, exited the last room on the left.
Fiddling with a set of keys, the Nurse was dressed in their traditional garb- a full white body suit, with white gloves, and a white mask that covered their heads, making them more akin to a department store mannequin than a human being who worked at the Sigmund S. Freud Psychiatric Ward at Halfworld Medical Infirmary Clinic for the Criminally and Mentally Insane.
"Excuse me," Jung said, raising his voice as he advanced, "but what is your identification number?"
The Nurse looked over to him and instead of placing his keys in a pocket (for his suit, like all Nurse Uniforms, were pocket-less), released the keys from his hand, allowing them to freefall and create a beautiful crash to the floor and a slight echo throughout the hall.
The man in white placed his left hand towards his ear, pressing a small white button the size of a push pen, revealing a sleek, metallic visor that materialized in a reverse dissolve, as if it were under a cloaking mechanism.
"My identification number Doctor Jung," The Nurse said, "is PAHD-038202 sir. May I ask why?"
"Because," Jung said, as he approached him gazing at him sternly, "I thought only certain authorized personnel were allowed in that particular area."
"New arrivals, sir." The Nurse answered robotically, almost as if he was one. "I was told to preform Onboarding this morning."
Jung nodded and looked down at the keys, noticing that one of them was polarized. He bent down at the knees and reached out his hand, slowly lifting his eyes up to The Nurse, coming to the conclusion that the difference in their muscular proportionality was so staggering unfair that you might as well call the poor doctor a dead man before the bell to begin the match even had a chance to run. The longer Jung stared at him, the more menacing and evil the idea of Nurse 038202 was becoming. Finally, the doctor grabbed the keys, becoming somewhat unnerved when they sounded off their clanking metallic sounds. It was not so much the fear of keys, but fear of the person who possessed the keys. After a moment of relishing in his prize, Jung stood up.
"May I ask where you're from, originally I mean?" Jung asked.
The Nurse nodded, moving his head up and down slowly and mechanically as if his neck had succumbed to rust and was in desperate need of oil.
"I was manufactured." The Nurse said. "I'm afraid that it is all the information I have the liberty to know."
"I understand." Jung replied, realizing why he was so intimidated by him before and why the non-human movements were so commonplace- Nurse 038202 was a Sentient Automaton Medical Assistant or SAM.
"What do you call yourself, if I may be so kind enough to ask?" Jung asked.
"I was never given a word or name to call myself sir." 038202 replied, "Simply my identification code has proven sufficient for my work. However, if you have an interest in calling me something else, you are more than welcome to."
"I'll have to get back to you on that one." Jung said, "Is the Administrator in her office?"
038202 reached for the small white button on the side of his head again and pressed it, dematerializing his visor. "If my orders are correct," he said, "I believe she is, Doctor Jung. Do you wish to be escorted?"
Jung shook his head, for he did not want to disturb him of his duties and found the idea of being escorted superfluous. "No thank you, I believe myself to be capable."
The Automaton extended his left hand with the palm upwards. "I request that you hand the keys over to me please."
Jung placed the keys in 038202's hand, placed his free hand on the Automaton's shoulder and simply said. "Have a good day."
"You too sir." Nurse 038202 said as he placed the polarized key in the keyhole and delicately turned it.
The Automaton opened the door and entered a horrendously beige carpeted hallway with paneling on the bottom half and a faded off-white paint on the top half of the barren, decrepit walls. At the end of the hallway was a small single-hung window that overlooked an artificial bright light that emulated Sol.
Jung turned and watched as Nurse 038202 stopped and mechanically turned to his right in a goosestep fashion and proceeded onward as the keys dangled into space still locked firmly in the grasp of the door. Jung removed the keys, placed them in his pocket, and closed the door.