rix_scaedu

I wrote this to ankewehner's prompt.

“We turned down funding for additional positions from another department’s allocation with out discussion?”   Engineering’s Human Resources Manager was appalled.  “Why wasn’t I consulted?”

“It was funding to be spent on positions to support their priorities, not ours,” explained the Environmental Engineer who’d been the negotiator at the meeting with the Psychiatry sub-department of Health.  “I was also instructed,” his eyes flicked to the head of the table where the Head of Engineering sat, “that as a matter of policy we would not be supporting their initiative.  I had to end the meeting quickly because they were being reasonable.”

“They propose introducing a chaotic element into a logical closed system,” pronounced the Head.  “It cannot be tolerated.  It’s not sound practice.”

“I’d argue that humans are themselves a chaotic system,” countered the Environmental Engineer.  “Just look at what we go through to reproduce.”  Guffaws and titters ran around the room.  “Psychiatry is merely positing that the system requires a little added controlled chaos to move it further towards optimal functioning.”

“The matter, including our refusal of funding, is now before the arcology budgetary committee,” pointed out Engineering’s Finance Manager, “and that is a chaotic system.  Thing is, I’ve read the report and their figures stack up.  The trial is saving them money, even when they take plant and maintenance costs into account.  I’m not sure that caring for plants as a therapeutic tool for suitable patients isn’t cheating but their resource people have put together a solid argument for adopting their program.”

“Is it likely to get passed by the committee, then?”  That was from the sparse Engineer who ran Primary Food Production.”

“Likely,” confirmed the Finance Manager, “not confirmed but likely.”

“Just as long as they don’t expect us to release pollination species into the main areas,” returned Primary Food Production.  “We have enough problems teaching trainees how to behave around bees.”

“Actually,” the representative from Air Quality Management spoke up, “we have some CO² pooling locations where a flower bed might be a solution.  Spots where twenty-four hour lighting won’t bother people.  Stop people curling up to doze in the middle of the CO² pool.”  He looked like a man who might have found an answer.

I wrote this to wyld_dandelyon s third prompt.  It follows on from Innovative Solutions Guide.

“Too much bother and fuss,” declared the environmental engineer firmly.  “Plants in the public spaces will drop leaves and flowers that’ll just need to be cleaned up and we’ll need to vary the environmental protocols for them to flower and leaf and everything.  All of that is just more work for our department.  No.”  He folded his arms and sat back in his chair.

“My department is prepared to fund three additional positions in your department from our budget to make this happen,” countered the negotiating psychiatrist.

“That’s awfully generous of you,” the engineer sneered but the psychiatrist thought he was interested.  “Why?”

“We believe that this adjustment will allow us to close a psychiatric ward because not as many people will need treatment,” admitted the psychiatrist.  “Do you have any idea of the budget cost of specialised, professional ward-based care?  It will make an enormous difference to our resource needs and when you factor in the economic benefits of not losing so much labour due to psych-.”

“No.”  The engineer put his foot down.  “We will not take on the extra workload.”  He stood and gathered his papers.  “The best solution is the one we already have, take a pill and call you in the morning, doctor.  This meeting is over.  Good day.”  With that he walked out of the room.

“That didn’t go well,” commented the Health Department’s note taker.

“It went as we expect once we found out they were sending him as their representative,” replied the psychiatrist.  “Looks like we move to Plan B.”

The flowers appeared in planter boxes around the arcology, visible from public spaces but never in them or on them and certainly never dropping pieces on them.  Dashes of colour punctuated every building occupied by the Health Department and the Health Department occupied more buildings than most people realised.  In the waiting areas of some of the largest clinics ‘someone’ planted small trees along their the back walls.

Environmental Control talked darkly of ‘vermin enablers’ and muttered ‘clean up’ threats.  Health watched as the prescription and intervention rates began to edge downwards.

I wrote this to aldersprig's second prompt.  My non-responsive computer has the original version....

“A big problem is what they used to call ‘cabin fever’ brought on by bad lighting and lack of colour,” explained the guide.  “We tried all the usual remedies, but of course we can’t use the best method and simply send people outside anymore.”

“So colour and light solve the problem?”  The guest from another, newer and smaller but rapidly expanding arcology looked hopeful.

“Not entirely,” the guide admitted.  “Stimulation is important.  Light, colour and other people will all provide some stimulation but no one component is enough.  In the long term, and we do have to think in the long term given the current situation, even that basic triad simply isn’t sufficient to support psychological health in the majority of the population.”

“So, how do you do it?”  The guest did not try to conceal her interest.  “Your psychiatric crisis rates have dropped to half of anyone else’s.”

“We listened to our greatest critics,” admitted the guide, “the ones who kept telling us that we needed to be closer to nature.”

“Have they been outside and seen what nature is doing these days?”  The guest asked the question with some asperity.

“Of course not,” the guide almost laughed.  “What they wanted was the nature of a children’s picture book.  Most of them have never even applied to leave the arcology, but we gave them what they asked for.”  He opened the door out of the administration section for her and closed it behind them with a snap.  “We’ll need to take the travel ramp to see the best examples,” and with that he led her to the moving beltway in the middle of the thoroughfare.

It didn’t take her long to see what he meant.  “Decorative plantings!”  Her exclamation made several of their fellow travelers look at her with amusement.

“Yes,” agreed the guide, “those ones are flowering cherries.  There are only five of them and it’s just a tiny wedge of space, but the effect is much bigger.  We’re just coming into one of the sections we’re proudest of.  The oldest areas of the arcology were our greatest challenge, small, narrow, cramped and too tight to renovate.”  He paused, “Look up.”

She did.  Just above their heads was a riot colour and texture as the flowers grew down from the roof.