Untitled: GoodHealth

(Next ‘chapter’ of a somewhat ongoing thing of mine.")

 

TAKEN FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH SALLY GRANT, HEAD WARD OF GOODHEALTH PSYCHIATRICS, SEATTLE BRANCH

BY ISAAC YOUNG

21 DECEMBER 2008

In order to better understand the effects (both positive and negative) that virtuim has on the human body, as well as research the more unknown effects, I decided to stop in at GoodHealth Psychiatrics.

The company prides itself on the care it takes of its patients, both physically and mentally. The head ward is a Ms. Sally Grant, a forefront figure in both the field of psychiatrics and of virtuology. I managed to obtain a meeting time with her at 1:00, in the cafeteria of the main building.

The building itself is imposing, a behemoth of white stone and assorted marble. Obviously, the GoodHealth team spent no time worrying about money costs when designing the building.

I walked in the glass front doors to find a large reception room. An attractive young secretary behind the counter asked where I was going, and I asked her where the cafeteria was. She smiled politely, showing years of dental care, and directed me to the west wing of the building.

Walking down the halls you feel a sense of awe, as the many previous Head Wards stare down at you from their picture frames, and a large historical facade trails down the hall on the opposite side. From the exhibit, I learned that the hospital was built soon after the industrialization of the Seattle area, in the early 20^th century.

Originally, the hospital was a Catholic outpost, much like many hospitals of the time. But after the GoodHealth corporation took control of the building in the early 1980s, they restyled and redesigned the hospital to better reflect the 'GoodHealth Principles'. History in a nutshell.

The cafeteria unfolds past another set of cheery glass doors. The room seems unnaturally empty in the late afternoon, the only diners a small group of employees chatting in a corner table. One of them has a large wingspan, with the feather dyes so popular for the college students nowadays. The white down is interlaced with vibrant greens and blues, taking the appearance of an overlarge macaque. Another is decorated with a number of bone protrusions from his upper arms, filed down to a reasonable size and dulled. The other two have no obvious traits.

It appears the dress code at GoodHealth is fairly lax.

I sit down in a table overlooking the room, placing my camera and notepad on the table before me. Sally Grant enters the cafeteria, brandishing a clipboard and an award-winning smile. After a quick bite of (pretty good, I must say) french fries and a small drink, I launch into my questions, which she is more than happy to answer.

What are the typical cases that GoodHealth treats at this branch?

Mainly GoodHealth specializes in psychological cases, or people who were born with birth defects, physical or mental. We pride ourselves in our superior comfort for our patients, as well as our excellent staff. We've actually gone out of our way to find the best doctors for each patient, due to each person's individual needs. (she smiles widely)

Have you ever had any unusual cases? Any that you would be implied to discuss?

Well... um... (she hesitates, obviously the question has caught her off guard) To be frank, we- I don't know exactly what you would mean by unusual. We've had a couple high-profile patients, celebrities and the like... is that what you mean?

Not exactly. I was wondering if you've ever encountered some rare or unknown abilities in people, specifically virtuim-related effects.

Okay, alright then. In that case, I do have a better idea of what you're talking about. (she giggles, a strange childish sound from such a professional woman) I have seen quite a few different abilities in my time as Head Ward... Some quite disturbing, in fact.

Now, I assume that you know that I cannot release names due to legal reasons, but I'm sure that it won't be a problem if I just describe their... ah... abilities, as it were.

To answer your question more accurately, I must inform you of the registration process here at GoodHealth. When we receive a patient, they must sign release forms that, among other things, ask to describe their abilities.

For legal and privacy reasons, this particular line on the form is optional, unless the case is dire. Many patients opt out of filling that line out, for personal reasons. Obviously, some abilities cannot be exactly “hidden”, but those that can often are.

It's a complicated situation for us in the medical business, for sometimes it's necessary to know one's ability, and if the patient cannot tell us what it is, we have to resort to observation and reporting, or even worse, plain guessing. There are specific treatments for specific abilities, and if you administer the wrong one (for example, electroshock treatment to an electropath, you could get severe damage to the brain or electropathic nerves. Worst case scenario would be an energy overload to the person, causing not only death, but a costly and destructive explosion) you could get some pretty bad problems.

So often we will get patients who do not fill out that line. Most of the times we are able to deduce what the ability is within a day or two, either by conversation, observation, or eventual caving-in and just telling us. And most of the time it isn't a major problem. Most of the time.

Only once or twice we have encountered someone who was out of control, either mentally or physically. I'm sure you've heard the ghost stories of people who come back from the dead, or have ways of killing people and taking control of them, or their abilities. I've never seen that. The weirdest things we've seen here at GoodHealth aren't enough to make you too worried. A few psychotics, a few ravager types, nothing we couldn't handle. Yet, at least.

So you acknowledge that there could be worse things out there?

Sure, I guess. The same way you do, I'm sure. There's always stuff we haven't seen. Some people are just more receptive to the idea, that's all. Some people take too much account into what they believe, rather than what they see.

 

(Licensed under the GNU GPL3.0, 2010, Dante Douglas)