Sime~Gen Roleplaying: District Controller's Office Scenario
Episode #147: On the Ward (2/3/00)
Nick stops by Arat's office after his shift in the burn ward, bringing his dinner.
Nick has, of course, stocked it with several of Arat's favorites, along with his own.
Nick checks Arat for signs of neglect.
Arat appears more or less as usual, barely reacting to Nick's entrance as he collates the different local reports to append to the District one.
Nick carries his tray over to the Donor's chair.
Nick eases into ~~ support ~~, tinged with appetite.
Nick: The executive lounge was rather full. You don't mind, do you?
Arat nods shortly, his mind clearly elsewhere.
Arat is noticing that Naros has failed to turn in its paperwork once again.
Arat had thought that little problem was cleared up, and wonders if it has anything to do with Riyyh's untimely return there.
Nick arranges his tray so that the dish of raw veggies is within Arat's reach, and starts munching.
Nick: Is something wrong?
Nick: Don't tell me Ormof's been up to complain?
Arat looks up sharply.
Arat does not like to be interrupted.
Arat takes a moment to realize what Nick is talking about, then shakes his head.
Arat: No.
Arat thinks that Ormof would not dare.
Nick is ~~ relieved ~~
Arat pauses for a moment, then looks at Nick suspiciously.
Arat wonders if Nick has done something which Ormof might have legitimate reason to complain about.
Arat as a Very Scary Boss finds it necessary to probe for difficulties sometimes, as some employees are too cowed to complain even when it's appropriate.
Nick: He was rather upset with me for commandeering his secretary.
Arat was not even aware that Ormof had a secretary.
Arat: ...I see.
Nick: Darrel was making heavy going of the chemical inventory--too many papers were disordered or rearranged.
Arat of course is not aware that Ormof changed the graduate student lab assistant Arat procured for him into a secretary.
Nick: I thought that someone who was better at paperwork might have an easier time.
Arat frowns.
Nick: It turns out that a lot of the chemicals were from other departments, that had just been dumped down there for storage.
Nick: And that's why we didn't have records of them.
Arat frowns more furiously.
Nick: Korliff has done an amazing job of tracking down where they belong, and returning them.
Nick notes Arat's upset and increases his ~~ support ~~ just a hair.
Arat had thought the entire chemical storage issue had been thoroughly analyzed already.
Arat catalogues the list of people who will now have to be reamed for this.
Arat: [and we're not talking about reams of paper]
Arat wonders if Nick has spent any time on the actual changes Arat asked for, and then decides not to ask.
Nick munches a bite of casserole.
Arat decides that Nick being interested in paperwork is about as much of a silver lining as he could hope for and doesn't want to push his luck.
Arat scowls at his desk, discouraged.
Nick: Maintenance painted the parent's waiting room and two of the treatment rooms yesterday.
Nick: They'll do a few more when those air out enough to be usable.
Nick: Jinn and Hnolly are reorganizing the supply cabinets in those rooms, and in the main supply room.
Nick: I even got an idea how we might be able to reduce the amount of medication some of the children are receiving, although it's not exactly standard practice.
Arat sighs, and puts down his work.
Arat turns his attention fully to Nick.
Nick: I've been going over the charts, and talking to the attendants. They say that the children complain of pain a lot more when they are depressed.
Nick: If they have visitors, or some other excitement, they seem to handle the pain much better.
Nick: I was thinking that some alternative activities might do the same trick when visitors are not available.
Arat listens patiently.
Nick: A small library of books that they could read, paper for drawing.
Nick: Some of the older children would enjoy reading to the younger ones, I expect.
Nick: It would have to be monitored, so that the children don't tire themselves too much, but it might help.
Arat: I see.
Arat makes a note on that, to look into later.
Nick sees the note and drops the subject, before Arat gets irritated and vetoes the idea.
Darrel comes out of Capitol's premier chocolate shop, and almost drops his precious purchases as he zlins an unexpected nager passing by.
Darrel: Sectuib Riyyh!
Riyyh has just come out of Capitol's premier tea shop, which isn't far away.
Riyyh turns in response to the call.
Riyyh: Hajene Darrel.
Riyyh breaks into a welcoming smile.
Riyyh had actually broken into welcoming smile before he realized who it was, but that's typical of Riyyh.
Darrel shuffles his burdens until he frees a tentacle to offer in greeting.
Riyyh: On your free time?
Riyyh can see, of course, that Darrel has been shopping.
Riyyh: A beautiful day for it.
Riyyh is making the best of the sunny, but frigid, weather.
Darrel: Yes, it is.
Darrel: It keeps the chocolate from melting. Have you tried the mint squares?
Darrel offers an opened bag.
Riyyh: Why, thank you.
Riyyh accepts one.
Riyyh: It's delicious.
Riyyh: I was just about to have a bite of lunch. Would you care to join me?
Darrel's breath suggests that he has been sampling the mint squares rather liberally.
Darrel: That's very kind of you.
Darrel falls into "heel" like a well-trained dog.
Riyyh: Le Petit Eat, or Crawson's Piewheel?
Riyyh tends to prefer the latter only when a Gen is with him, but will defer to Darrel's preference.
Darrel: Le Petit Eat, unless you'd rather...?
Riyyh: No, no, I quite agree.
Darrel: They have such a nice fruit bowl.
Riyyh sets off in that direction.
Darrel: But where is your Donor? Have you found a replacement for Nick?
Riyyh: Oh, yes. Young Ali is spending some time with his friends at the Coalition headquarters. He hasn't seen some of them since he was a child.
Darrel: That long?
Riyyh: You know how much more interesting one's older playmates become when one comes of age... oh dear, well, you see, he is only fourteen.
Riyyh actually appears somewhat embarrassed.
Darrel: Oh, I see.
Darrel: Young Donors can be somewhat wearing, don't you think?
Riyyh: Well, I expect that he will mature with age. Ruby was only 13 when I Qualified her.
Darrel has spent enough time being run ragged by Hero to have definite opinions of the subject.
Riyyh: And she was my Companion for 12 years.
Riyyh hopes that Ali will be his Companion for the rest of his days, so he never has to go through the transition again.
Darrel can't really imagine having the same Donor for years on end; his creative abilities are strictly limited to freaking out over real and potential disasters.
Riyyh leads the way into the chic cafe known as Le Petit Eat.
Darrel: Is Ali well trained, at least?
Riyyh: Oh, yes. We start all of our young people at nageric control very early.
Riyyh: We have so many disjuncting people around, you see.
Riyyh: Is the window all right?
Riyyh: Or perhaps near the stove?
Darrel: The window, unless you're cold. The stove might melt my chocolate.
Darrel might have a more difficult time making such decisions if he were Gen, and prone to chilling.
Riyyh: Of course.
Riyyh chooses a table (of the minute circular variety large enough to hold 2 drinks or 2 Sime meals) near the window.
Darrel is, of course, unable to put his month's ration of chocolate on such a small surface, so puts it carefully under one of the equally minute chairs.
Darrel: You know, our visiting channel from Arriz, Homer, says that they don't have real chocolate in his Territory.
Darrel shudders at the thought of such deprivation.
Riyyh: We don't really have it here, either. It is all imported.
Riyyh: The climate required for growing the plant is quite tropical.
Darrel: Well, yes, but he'd never tasted it at all!
Riyyh: It must have been delightful to introduce him to it.
Darrel: He did take to it very easily.
Darrel: He's having a great deal of trouble adjusting to other aspects of Tecton life, though.
Darrel: Writing reports, and working with an assigned Donor, and things like that.
Riyyh nods sympathetically.
Darrel: He dreads having to go over his patients' charts with Hajene Ormof.
Darrel: And I suspect that Ormof returns the favor.
Darrel: He doesn't have the sort of time for administrative detail that he used to, before Arat made him start updating his knowledge.
Riyyh: Oh? [curiously]
Riyyh only knows about Ormof what he's heard from Nick, Darrel and Hero.
Riyyh hasn't gotten a very favorable impression, but of course always has sympathy for anybody in a difficult situation.
Darrel: Yes. I'd almost think that he isn't a very good student.
Darrel is ~~ unsure ~~ that a First could be guilty of such a failure.
Riyyh: What sorts of things is he learning?
Darrel: I'm not sure, exactly. I think it's a mixture of advanced nageric manipulations and administrative stuff.
Darrel: But he spends a lot of time studying.
Darrel: I suppose that's why he hasn't been more upset about what Nick's been doing.
Riyyh: What Nick is doing?
Darrel: Yes. Arat has him working in the burn ward for a full shift each day.
Darrel: He had some changes he wanted made, and I guess he didn't trust Hajene Ormof to implement them properly.
Darrel: So he sent Nick down to oversee it.
Riyyh is always interested in hearing news of Nick, and not just since he took on a 14 year old Companion, either.
Darrel: It's a little disorienting to have everything rearranged like that, but the ward does seem to be running a bit more smoothly.
Riyyh has definitely noticed that Darrel prefers things to be predictable. Of course, who wouldn't, after what Darrel has been through?
Riyyh: Nick is doing a good job, then?
Darrel: Well, Arat hasn't come down in a rage to put things back again, so he must be doing all right.
Riyyh smiles ruefully.
Riyyh: It must be difficult to work for such a... volatile taskmaster.
Riyyh can't say he's enjoyed doing so, even to the very limited extent of getting certain paperwork into the mail on time.
Darrel: Well, at least Arat is fair.
Darrel: If you do your job perfectly, you never have to worry about earning his disfavor.
Darrel is, alas, no pinnacle of perfection.
Riyyh: And Ormof, has he treated you well?
Darrel: I don't think he likes me much.
Darrel: Ever since the incident with the autoclave, he's sent me up to Arat's office every time there's bad news to deliver.
Riyyh: Oh, dear.
Riyyh's tentacles wave in genuine sympathy.
Darrel: To be fair, Arat doesn't snap at me too badly when that happens.
Darrel: Still, I don't like zlinning him when he's angry. It feels like being tossed naked into icy water.
Riyyh winces.
Riyyh has always been far too much of a hedonist to participate in such sport.
Riyyh can imagine what it would be like, though.
Riyyh has certainly zlinned the effect of Arat's angry nager.
Riyyh: Do you think that Ormof sends you because Arat is less angry with you, or is he genuinely trying to harm you?
Darrel: I think mostly he doesn't want to deal with Arat directly, but I don't think he'd be sad if I was removed from his department.
Riyyh: How unfortunate.
Riyyh: It must be dreadfully unhappy to work under such conditions.
Darrel: It's not all that bad, really. I like working with children.
Darrel has a distinct fondness for nagers significantly weaker than his own, and therefore harmless.
Darrel: And I don't think Arat would let Ormof go too far--at least, not unless Arat learned about the stuffed animals.
Riyyh: He still doesn't know?
Riyyh: You have done very well, then.
Riyyh: Ormof cannot dislike you so much, if he has not reported it.
Darrel isn't sure whether he's actually fooled Arat, or whether Arat has simply decided not to notice, but suspects the latter.
Darrel: Ormof doesn't know. You can be sure he would report it to Arat, if he did.
Riyyh: How could he not know? [puzzled]
Riyyh doesn't realize to what extent Ormof lurks in the office rather than making the rounds.
Darrel: Well, he doesn't spend all that much time out of his office, really.
Darrel: And I have friends among the nursing staff who warn me when he does decide to make the rounds.
Riyyh: And so, you are free to do as you please. [smiles]
Darrel: Well, at least somewhat.
Darrel: I've been a bit worried since Sosu Nick started poking around.
Darrel: He's Arat's Donor, after all.
Riyyh: Nick is a kind and gentle man. I am sure he would do nothing to harm you.
Darrel: He wouldn't intentionally, I'm sure. But he doesn't know Tecton regulations very well, yet.
Darrel: He might assume that what I was doing was standard practice.
Riyyh: That would be good.
Riyyh completely misunderstands.
Darrel: Well, it would, unless that led him to mention it to Ormof, or even Arat.
Darrel: Then Arat wouldn't be able to ignore it any more, you see.
Riyyh: I think I do.
Darrel: It's a delicate balance.
Riyyh: The only thing I don't quite see is why it isn't permitted.
Riyyh: [confesses]
Darrel: Well, playing with stuffed animals isn't terribly dignified behavior for a channel, even if it does keep the kids more cooperative when their bandages must be changed.
Riyyh: I didn't realize there were regulations about dignity.
Riyyh probably wouldn't have realized it even if there had been some.
Darrel: Also, the autoclave is only supposed to be used for sterilizing medical supplies.
Riyyh: Ah, of course.
Darrel: I don't think you could find a Tecton auditor who would classify a stuffed rooster as a medical device.
Riyyh smiles.
Riyyh: It seems most unlikely. [agrees]
Darrel: You won't tell Sosu Nick about the rooster, will you?
Darrel: ~~ pleading ~~
Darrel: What he doesn't know, he won't feel he has to tell Arat.
Riyyh looks rather caught off guard by the sudden plea.
Riyyh: Well, I, that is, er....
Riyyh can't, right at the moment, 100% say whether he's already mentioned it to Nick.
Riyyh does tend to ask his people about one another when they might know something.
Riyyh: Of course I won't. [smiles]
Darrel has just recalled how fast interesting tidbits of gossip make the rounds in the presence of Narosians.
Riyyh settles for a reassuring answer, since he doesn't know the real one.
Darrel: Thank you.
Darrel: ~~ gratitude ~~