The prisoners were prepared for torture, not a hug and kind words. -- Anon Guest
They shuffled into the institution in chains. Ugly jumpsuits standing out against the grey of the bus and the grey of the tarmac The featureless quad stretched before them as heavily-armed guards marched them in twos towards the opposing doors in the large,imposing facade before them. It, too, was grey, and had no windows.
Other guards, dressed in blue and grey, came out of those doors and exchanged places with the riot guards who had taken them into the quad. It all looked very impressive and oppressive. Dank and dreary, even in full daylight. Rip was watching as the armed guard retreated to the outside world. The entire complex was wedged between a set of grey, grim cliffs. Blocked off from anything out there.
They marched inside, where prisoners were decoupled from the chains in twos, and sent off into a labyrinth with an escort in blues and greys. They didn't look like they expected much trouble and, even if Rip could overpower one, there was nowhere to run to and gun turrets watching over the entire courtyard. Therefore, when it was his turn, he went quietly. A friendly, automated voice said, "Welcome to the Greystone Reformation Academy. We hope that your time here is educational."
They ushered him into an unsupervised booth. "Please bathe before proceeding," said the same automated voice.
Rip checked the door. Locked. "Please bathe before proceeding."
Again, not many options. Rip stripped down and stepped into the bathing cubicle. They had warm water and all the toiletries he could want, so he got to enjoy a good lather and some fancy-smelling suds. They didn't even cut off the water on him or set it to freezing cold after an arbitrary time window.
When he emerged, thoroughly scrubbed and steaming, he had a large, fluffy towel and fresh clothes waiting for him. Clothes that looked like street clothes. Bland and non-branded, but of decent quality. They even gave him socks and crocs to wear.
The only other door opened to a long and featureless hall. Inbuilt screens had chevrons fading in and out. Pointing the way. "Follow the chevrons to your suite," instructed the voice.
Again, not many options. There were adjoining doors that all lead back to the showers, and that was it. Rip followed orders, eventually arriving at a staid and plain room with a single bed, a tiny ensuite, and an in-wall screen. On the screen was a friendly-looking cgi human. "Good morning. Rip. This is your space. I am Amy, your institution assistant. Would you like an orientation?"
There was another door that lead out onto a balcony that had a set of stairs that lead... to paradise. "What the shit is this?"
"This is the campus of Greystone Reformation Academy. As an entry-level guest, you have access to minimum standard accommodations, comfortable living space and privacy. You have access to basic training courses and therapy options, as well as the commissary and in-house employment opportunities. Would you like to set up your preferences now, or take a guided tour?"
Rip decided on a third option. "Nah. I just want to wander around and see what's up."
"That is your choice," said Amy. "Keep in mind that some areas are reserved for higher-level guests, and you will not be able to access them."
That probably had something to do with the simple wristband they'd put on him when they took the shackles off. Right. Rip expected his access to anywhere to be limited in the extreme, but he could get to a pool, a gym, a set of classrooms, some ornamental and some food gardens... he could even peek into other residential buildings, but not enter them.
The library was enormous, and contained computer access. Unsupervised access, but it was for a higher level of 'guest'.
There wasn't any of the usual prison culture. Rip noticed he had a hard time feeling aggressive with that much plant life everywhere. This place was... nice. It wasn't prohibitively neat, but it was nice. It was a place that Rip had given up dreaming of living in.
He almost bumped into a jogger while he was busy being croggled. "First day?" said the jogger.
"That obvious?" said Rip. "Where's the cafeteria?"
"They don't do that, here. For your level, there's a choice of heat-and-eat frozen meals in the commissary. You have automatic credit, and there's a wide range. Want me to show you the way?"
Rip checked. Yeah, he had no idea where he was. "Sure." He joined the stranger - soon known as George - in jogging along the bark paths to a shopping complex, where he got shown the ropes.
"Just like an outside grocery store, only the scrip is tied to your bracelet. Run the things through the scanner, pass the bracelet over the thing, and -beep- you're good to go."
"What stops people stealing?" wondered Rip. There were no visible staff. There were no guards. There were no security cameras.
"No point. You walk off without scanning something, the cost is debited from your account anyway. You can check at any time with Amy."
So they had some means of tracking them. Great. "Nobody's tried to just... walk over the mountains?"
George boggled at him. "You really wanna go back out there? Where they shat on you just for being you? Where they think punishment works as a demotivator?"
Well... when he put it that way... "Nah."
Rip would discover that the therapists were willing to come to him, but talking things out in the Bean Bag Lounge was way more amenable. The things he could do weren't limited to forced anything. Choice was the best therapy of all. That, and the elimination of the need to be an aggressive 'alpha male'.
It was a shock how fast he graduated to a relative luxury with a game console and a high-market TV and a living room for guests. His work and play options opened up, too. As did his educational ones. His choices were always allowed to be his choices. He wasn't punished for anything.
Of all the impacts this place had on him, the most thorough had to be the one where they all treated him like a human being. Rip went back to using his given name, Robert, and signed on for a psych course. There was an opening for a counsellor position amongst the lower-level therapy arenas. It came with the bonus of being able to meet female prisoners interested in meeting men, in the matching penitentiary for women. If he wanted that.
The world outside of Greystone had Views counter to everything that went on in here. They saw no reason why they should help anyone at all and bled people away from their world through the grim gates of Greystone. Robert decided that he had had enough of that world. This one was far better.
[Image (c) Can Stock Photo / vetdoctor]
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