Nurse the Hate: The Procedure

He woke up in a pure white room which was remarkable for its utter lack of scent.  The windowless space was illuminated by aggressive fluorescent light.  He was in a hospital bed looking up as a nurse backed away from him holding a syringe. Two men sat across the room in straight back chairs staring at him.  He was groggy.  He was sore at the base of his skull above his neck.  He couldn't remember how he had gotten here.

"Good afternoon sir!  No need to be alarmed.  You are safe in the State Hospital.  I am your lead case worker Seth Marks and this is Mr. Collins."  The taller thinner man had risen to address him while motioning to the squat man in glasses to his left.  The squat balding man took out a tablet and became focused on the screen, ignoring the proceedings.  "You have had a procedure.  As you know, The State monitors all internet and mobile phone text traffic for safety purposes. We saw a number of risk factors in your recent conversations that placed you in our actionable citizen pool."

Seth Marks walked over to the bedside as the nurse walked out of the room.  The door made a secure click behind her reinforcing his helplessness.  Seth lowered his voice to a well-practiced tone that was meant to convey compassion and empathy but instead suggested extensive training.  "I understand this must be somewhat surprising for you.  I know I would be surprised to find myself in your position.  Most people, in our experience, are shocked at first but then grateful that The State was able to helpfully intervene in a possibly dangerous situation."  As he struggled to understand the situation, he noticed a throbbing ache in his neck.

"Your employer first brought to our attention your lack of interest at the job.  We did our due diligence and found a pattern of your entertainment consumption with themes of disconnection and became alarmed.  It was Mr. Collins that noticed your approval and interest in Hemingway, Van Gogh, Chris Cornell, and the early work of Ian Curtis that led us to believe you were a suicide risk.  That is why we had to move swiftly and insert the Monitor Chip in your brain.  As you know, The State has an initiative where we are committed to lowering the suicide rate to well below pre-war levels."

He swiftly reached behind his neck to rip away the gauze and felt a small line of sutures indicating where the incision and insertion had been made.  Marks smiled slightly while looking down on him as he removed a small black case from his breast pocket.  He unzipped the case revealing a small black clip on microphone.    He attached the microphone to his lapel as he continued speaking.  "That will heal very quickly.  79% of our clients never incur any scarring."  It was then he noticed Marks's voice was not only in the room but somehow in his head as well.

"As you know, The State is committed to complete care which is why we have been assigned to you as your Health Advocates.  We will be able to offer you 24-hour complete therapy with this program."  The voice filled his brain as he simultaneously heard Marks speak.  Marks was in his head.  They had done something to him.  He began to panic and think about how to rip whatever they had placed in his skull out.  At the same instant, he saw Collins jerk his head up from the screen and motion to Marks.  "He's going 219."  Marks looked at Collins and smiled in understanding as he then returned his gaze back bedside.

"Don't consider trying to reverse procedure the Monitor Chip.  It's very dangerous and has a 93% fatality rate out of the State Health Facility System.  This has happened.  We are here for you.  Mr. Collins will be monitoring your thoughts to make sure you don't drift into any areas that could threaten your health and well-being."  Collins stared behind his thick black glasses and close shaved balding head.  Collins broke his gaze to return staring at the video tablet.  The voice returned in his head.  "We will always be with you to help monitor you and insure that you stay within the parameters of the Approved Lifestyle Pyramid.  At first you might feel this is a bit intrusive, but let me assure you that in our case history, patients get used to our presence and begin to think of us as valuable resources."  Marks stood above him and smiled a broad yet cold smile.

Collins abruptly stood up.  Marks clapped his hands together to signal the meeting was over.  "OK!  We are really looking forward to helping guide your recovery and re indoctrination period."  With that the pair flashed a key card to release the clasp on the door with a heavy click.  The door closed and panic flooded his mind.  Marks voice filled his head.  "Relax.  We are with you.  Stop thinking of unpleasant things."  He thought about escaping from the room, getting away somehow.  "There is nowhere to go.  You cannot run away from yourself.  You need to focus on pleasant things.  Pick up the index cards on the bedside table.  Look at the pictures.  That will help you."

He picked up the small stack of index card.  Each had a color photograph.  A puppy in a field.  A smiling child holding balloons.  A beach at sunset.  They all looked like inspirational posters.  Marks voice filled his head.  "Stop analyzing the pictures.  Just enjoy them."  He stared at the pictures and tried to become blank.  "Good.  Very good."  He could almost feel the two of them in his brain analyzing and discussing his thought patterns.  He flipped through the pictures and tried to forget everything.