(@Shimmin “sir” or “doctor” both work, though sir is technically correct I believe, but both the character and I aren’t gonna be pedantic about it)
“it’s not the smoke, it’s the - nevermind just…” Duncan looks away from Antonella and gives up trying to explain.
“Let me start over,” he extends a hand to shake, “Mr Duncan Howard, surgeon, sleep study applicant, pleasure.”
“As to that, ma’am, I couldn’t rightly say. I don’t get much involved in the actual treatment - being retired from doctoring, you understand.” He winks. “Besides which, it varies - different experiments, I suppose. One of the nurses mentioned hypnotism, and I know there’s a lot of talking in groups, because I take the tea-trolley up sometimes.”
PS you don’t need to bold speech here. I’m just using italics for GM comments, plain text for everything else, maybe bold if you want to emphasise
“Antonella de la Cavallería, it is a pleasure to meet you doctor” Antonella smiles. “As a shopkeeper we must have similar experiences no? You get stones from blood in patients, I get blood from stones from difficult customers!” Antonella pauses “I must admit I am too tired to tell if that makes sense, so I am glad we both are at least sleep study applicants.”
“Certainly, and while I’m not sure about the metaphor we can certainly agree the public can be… A bit much sometimes.” he thinks for a moment, “oh blood from stones! Right. I thought it was a metaphor about getting stones from people… I need a lie down Methinks. Let’s see if the rest of the group isn’t waiting for us shall we?”
@RogerBW @Suz,
The agreement Dr. Thorne presents is essentially as follows:
Participants agree:
The restrictions
Do you have any questions?
Are you happy to sign the agreement?
If there’s nothing else you want from Dr. Thorne, let me know and you can head out.
@Naith @Asydic @EliScrubbs
you will all be offered the same agreement once you’ve spoken to Dr. Thorne, but I’m assuming you may want to actually speak to him
McQueen: “Ah, well, very well, I suppose so.” (I’m thinking that I can use this a few books down the line; a year to wait is nothing, and if Thorne gets famous, I’ll have a manuscript ready to go to cash in on it.) (Signs.)
Stella adjusts her glasses and gets comfortable in one of the chairs to read through the agreement. She straightens up a little though as she reaches the part about ‘personal freedom’.
“I’m happy to sign, but just to be absolutely sure… I assume, if there’s a family emergency, we would be free to leave the study? I’m not expecting anything but I left the hospital contact details with my husband just in case.”
She laughs as she turns the piece of paper over, pretending to search for something. “I can’t quite seem to find the get-out clause!”
“Oh, dear me! Yes, naturally, anything of that nature- let me be clear, any of you are free to leave the study any time you wish, without reservation. Paragraph… nine, I believe?.. covers that. The restrictions are simply to restrict ordinary affairs - business matters, family squabbles, everyday life - from influencing the results of the study and of your treatment.”
He looks apologetic, and settles back in his seat. “If I may speak generally for a moment, everyday troubles and strain frequently play an influential role in maintaining and exacerbating the symptoms of trauma. By removing patients from those daily frictions, we achieve several things.”
“Firstly, we exclude a complicating factor from the equation. It will help to ensure our results are robust, and demonstrate the effectiveness of the treatment.”
“Secondly, a complete change of environment and routine can make the mind more amenable to treatment - more flexible and creative. I’m sure you’ve heard of authors taking a country cottage to finish their masterpiece? And simply leaving the room for a stroll to clear one’s head can let worries melt away or bring the inspiration needed to solve a puzzle.”
“And thirdly, those daily concerns often magnify the underlying problem. A busy day in the office leaves the mind over-stretched and when bedtime comes, our brain is still digesting. A patient’s family may be unsympathetic and critical, adding to the existing strain. If our patients were to call the office every day, or receive demands from a manager, or pop home for dinner - it could severely upset the progress of treatment and undo whatever good we have accomplished.”
Stella rereads paragraph nine, “Oh yes, I don’t know how I missed that. I’ve been doing so much reading lately… my brain is so full there’s standing room only.” She smiles as she signs and hands the agreement back. “Thank you Dr Thorne, that all makes sense to me.”
There’s nothing else Stella wants to ask.
Dr. Thorne thanks you, and asks for one of the staff to show you to the common room where everyone in the study will be congregating. As you exit, you see Mr. Wellerby arrive with three more people.
“Would you wish to see Dr. Thorne together, or should I show you in one at a time?” he asks, hand poised to knock.
Antonella examines the contract and sighs softly to herself, having never particularly enjoyed paperwork. She considers trusting her gut that everything looks relatively straightforward overconfidence check 12 or less to resist:: 2+6+4 = 12 success! but despite her tiredness, she taps to point day 2 and how sporific drugs could possibly mean possible trauma (most likely with a worried look in here eyes…) Happy to continue whatever the answer!
“A reasonable question, miss de la Cavallería. Anything of that nature could muddle the results of our research here, you see. It becomes hard to distinguish the influence of our own treatments on sleep from that of, say, a large brandy before bed.” He half turns, and taps a volume on his bookshelf - you can see the title, The Influence of Diet on Sleep. “A lot of my work has been with military men, who have a reputation for hard drinking at the best of times. I’m sure you’re familiar with the image of retired colonels with a bottle of Cognac always at hand, so so on.”
“In fact, the hypnotic treatment itself depends on lulling the brain into a specific state of semi-consciousness where memories and associations are more susceptible to change. Any form of soporific or stimulant could disrupt that, and prevent the treatment from working.”
When Mr Howard is seated he glances over the contract, frowning but making no vocalisation until the end.
“These experimental treatments, the soporifics and the like, do you have papers on them? I’m assuming we aren’t the first ever test right?”
@EliScrubbs Thorne gives you a smile and an especially firm handshake as you join him, but he takes a cue from you and sticks to professional matters for now. He repeats much the same summary and hands over the agreement for you to review.
At your question, he raises an eyebrow slightly. "No, certainly not. The usual suspects… " and he reels off a list of familiar drugs. It all seems in accordance with the current medical consensus; one or two you might be dubious about for long-term use, but a mild dose on this sort of timescale doesn’t ring any alarm bells.
“The hypnotic treatment is based on Laudner and Hale’s work - I can dig out a paper or two if you’d like. There’s a solid body of evidence for its application in obsessive disorders, so the novelty of our study is in applying those same methodologies to traumatic insomnia. You’ll be our third cohort since the study began, so the staff are nicely familiar with our protocols now and it should all run smoothly. We plan to study five cohorts in all, and with any luck, the findings will support a large-scale study. But you know how these things go, mustn’t count any chickens.”
He can confirm that they wrote up a preliminary study of two patients, which was used to establish the protocol, and is happy to share that with you.
@RogerBW @Suz @EliScrubbs @Naith @Asydic Anything else you want to do, other than sign the agreement and head to the common rooms?
@EliScrubbs if you want to talk to Dr Thorne, you can do it now or catch him later on, either works.
McQueen is happy to sign.
[ I think Stella has already been shown the way to the common room? So I guess that is where she is hanging out just now ]
Stella will be completely absorbed in scribbling in her notebook with a stub-sized pencil, sharpened at both ends. She’s been itching to get her first impressions of the hospital on to paper ever since she got here.
Someone able to decipher shorthand would read things like: "…Dr T sounds like he knows his stuff… Need a story angle that fits this study into the bigger picture (what the heck is the bigger picture???)… Staff cheerful… McQ more normal than I expected… Saw other fellow participants in passing… an eclectic bunch, I’m intrigued already [Stella is a real nosy parker!] "
Aurore moans gently after seeing the commitment about no alcohol but will eventually unhappily sign after having a flashback to one of her dreams.
Antonella is still a smidge sceptical but will still sign and move to the common rooms, whistling as she goes.
After clarifying your various concerns and signing the paperwork, you’re all shown the way up to the common room. Mr Wellerby and his colleagues carry your luggage to the rooms that have been set aside for you.
It’s a spacious, pleasant room with plenty of light. From the looks of it, this was a parlour or something similar, and needed little alteration. It’s probably a little more austere nowadays, but still eminently comfortable. Five people are standing or sitting around the room, some already engaged in conversation. There’s a definite waiting atmosphere here.
A young man and woman with a scholarly appearance are sitting on the sidelines with notebooks. They move to greet you as you enter the room.
“Good morning, sir, madam,” says the woman. “Please take a seat wherever you feel comfortable. I’m May Leiter, one of Dr. Thorne’s students, like Mr. Jacobs here. Would you care for something to drink?”
“W-we have coffee, tea, sarsap-p-arilla, chicory, sodas, and some herbal t-teas,” offers Jacobs.
he has a notable stutter which I will not keep typing out because it’ll get annoying