Back in his apartment, the first thing he did was search for his DentoGleam. He found it in a drawer beneath a mound of tetravinyl angels. He rinsed the sticky mouthpiece under the trickling tap before inserting it. His gums felt like they were receiving little electric shocks and in order to see the result he activated the reflecto. He was still the image of death but at least his teeth glowed with radiant whiteness. After moving his FeelgoodSuit to the floor, he flopped down on the bed. Dr Escobar had confirmed his fears. He was sick. He was pathetic. He was a basket case. As he thought about this, the silvery clouds churned around him. What was a basket case anyway? With a grunt, he wiggled up closer to the wall above his pillow and marked out an area with his finger.
Although the definitions emerged upside down, he was able to read that a basket was a container—of course he knew that—made by weaving together strands of organic matter such as rushes. Rushes…were grasslike plants used in weaving. The relation of a woven container to his psychological condition eluded him. “Stop Wormee,” he said as he got up from the bed.
After handing him several sheets of paper, Dr Escobar had shooed him from her rooms. It was odd that the doctor liked paper so much. Nobody else did, not for years and years. She’d made such a big deal about her paper diplomas too.
Swan’s own desk was piled with tube insulators, underpants, dimensional earbuds and figurines of brown-haired children with pulsing eyes. He pushed everything to the floor and spread the papers in front of him.
Congratulations! You have received an exclusive invitation to The Nature Preserve where the therapeutic effects of the natural world await you.
The psychological benefits of a natural environment are well documented. They include an upsurge in perceived well-being as well as a lessening of stress-feelings. A nature walk can be especially valuable during periods of anguish or trauma—those all-too-common fixtures of modern life.
Besides being exposed to nature’s idyllic beauty, you will experience the advantages of another mood-enhancing therapy—the activity of walking. Numerous studies have shown that by engaging in a tranquil stroll inside a natural-seeming setting, stress-afflicted patients may experience:
• Reduced negative emotions, such as:
– dread
– anger
– frustration
– despair
– hopelessness
• Improved ability to compartmentalize incompatible thoughts
• A diminution of hoarding disorder
• A diminution in phastasmophobia
• Increased ability to resist false intuitions
The act of walking in an ersatz natural space has proven to be an effective non-pharmacological treatment for several chronic brain disorders as well. Remember to wear your comfortable shoes!
History
The Nature Preserve is at the former site of a Paleo-Indian village, the inhabitants of which were obviated after a series of asymmetric exchanges with our more technologically advanced ancestors. In recent years it was the location of the Sketchtastic! Zoological Repository, where extensive efforts were made to document, measure and record late-surviving mammalian and avian species. Many of the virtual animals we take for granted today were first created in the body-mapping facilities that once covered a third of the Nature Preserve’s property.
Today, over 90% of this hyperrealistic parkland is set aside for environmental therapy in collaboration with the Western Psychiatric Association (WPA). It is administered by Central Planning (CP) as a Therapeutic Space (TS), and designated for the exclusive use of Stress Afflicted (SA) patients by the Department of Hominid Health (DHH).
Admission to the Nature Preserve is revocable and so it is imperative that all of the basic, easy-to-understand rules are adhered to. Failure to abide by these rules will result in immediate suspension of your access privileges.
Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the Nature Preserve’s terminology and procedures.
Your Bracelet-Key
Your bracelet key is much more than a means to access the Nature Preserve. It’s also a mark of privilege! It should not be removed as long as you undergo therapy. Your Bracelet-Key unlocks your gate. It tracks your movements and helps you communicate with your Designated Path (DP)—the path deemed most beneficial by your Personal Therapeutic Algorithm (PTA).
Your Designated Path
All of the paths in the Nature Preserve are color-coded. You are required to stay on your assigned path and not stray from it for any reason. Besides preventing you from becoming lost, your path will help you receive the maximum benefit of your therapy plan. Instructions will sometimes appear on its surface. In other cases, special alerts will be transmitted audibly. Always be attentive to these messages. For example, a message may alert you to a natural landmark that you had not so far noticed, or help you interpret elements of the symbolic scenery tailored to your therapeutic needs. It may urge you to quicken your pace or to slow it down. It may warn you about dangerous or prohibited behavior. It is important that you always pay strict attention to the instructions you receive from your Designated Path.
Your Schedule
Believe it or not, the Nature Preserve is a busy place. So that all our SA patients are able to commune with nature in tranquility and solitude, it is important that you complete your walk within the specified time. Remember, your access gate will not open if there is more than a 13-minute, 31-second variance from your designated time of entry. If you leave the park later than your assigned exit time, you will be banned from reentering.
Relax and enjoy the Nature Preserve!
The second page was covered in tiny print in an unknown language. Near the bottom was the space where Swan had made his childish signature. Below that, the word Shangri-La was stamped in bold pink type along with his assigned entry time of 08:26:22, and his exit time of 09:41:52.
The third page was a map. The Nature Preserve appeared as an irregular green heptagon amongst the warren of gray city streets. Swan’s point of entry, as well as his meandering route inside the park, were marked in pink. No other details were shown…but outside its walls the streets were labeled. He was to exit on the opposite side of the Nature Preserve, which meant he would need to travel around its perimeter to return home.
The Nature Preserve was quite far away—probably more than a mile. What’s more, the Shangri-La gate was at the edge of Trinity Place.
Swan remembered Trinity Place. He’d gone there with his mommy in a goBells, one of the city’s self-driving cars, free to any numbered person. It was long ago. He didn’t remember why they’d been there but he remembered the terror he felt. Crowds of refugees were milling about the streets that day, and Swan clung tight to Mommy’s arm as they zigzagged through the old city. Hard-bitten men—he only saw males at Trinity Place—in cheap nylon clothing, all seemed to be shouting and gesturing at once. He saw them massed around grubby storefronts, sitting and lounging on the sidewalks ten or more deep. Maybe they were waiting for buns…or medicine perhaps. A dark calloused hand slapped against Swan’s window as they sped past….
In any event, those men were certainly all dead now, and he imagined how horrible it would be to see their corpses. He simply couldn’t stand to see bodies again. It was something that was completely beyond him. And what if he found his mommy there? What if his daddy was among the cadavers piled in the gutter? He drew a breath. He would never be able to recognize his daddy….
But this was an idiotic fantasy! It was ridiculous! There was no reason to assume either of his parents had ended their lives at Trinity Place, and by now the bodies of the refugees had certainly been cleared away! The more plausible scenario was that the area had become a refuge for criminals; unnumbered people who were ruthless and cunning enough to survive away from the upside-down skyscrapers. He imagined desperate, cold-blooded men, and cruel-looking women among them, peering down from the high windows, always on the lookout for an unsuspecting victim. What was to stop them from rushing down to the street to rob him or kill him or worse?
Well, killing would be the worst…except torture. He pictured a sinewy tattooed figure brandishing a knife in a tattered glove, or maybe an old samurai sword, or a gun, or an electric cattle prod with a crackling blue arc…. Begrimed and deranged, the man was swinging this implement—whichever one it was—wildly as he came nearer. Swan was forced back into a doorway strewn with vomit and feces. He was cornered as his attacker came closer, and he observed how his mind invented and modified the fantasy as it developed. He also realized that nobody, including himself, was a worthy target at this stage of the city’s degeneration. Money no longer existed and there was very little reason for anybody to walk around carrying anything of value.
Dr Escobar wanted him to walk to the Nature Preserve to make him stronger. She’d stated it clearly. It was part of her therapy plan. Swan agreed that he was physically weak. Just walking down the hall to the elevator exhausted him. Swan had always been skinny, but lately he looked more like a big stick bug who’d been dipped in flesh-colored silicone.
By insisting on physical exercise, Dr Escobar was forcing him to acknowledge his frailty and finally understand the abuse he’d caused his body. She was trying to make him confront his impending death and stave it off; his death which rushed closer and closer by the minute.
But if he saw even one dead body, he’d definitely turn around and go home….
Swan studied the map for several minutes. He remembered some of the street names and monuments. The neighborhood where he’d lived with his mommy was beyond the edge of the paper. Nobody lived in the western city any longer. It had been overtaken by the tides. The city had contracted to its core, and it would continue to contract until every person finally disappeared. In twenty years not a single human being or any other living thing would be left here…and it made him wonder…why should he bother with therapy at all?
Because of the girl. It was the girl, he thought. If he hadn’t seen that girl with the bangs, if he hadn’t glimpsed her face, he wouldn’t do any of this. She was a basket case too. She too was sickly and anxious and depressed. They were perfect for each other, and if he got strong enough he might be able to talk to her. That was when she’d see how much they had in common and she’d become attracted to him. The girl with the 360° hair would be so thankful to find somebody able to understand her that she’d fall in love with him! They’d begin to kiss and touch. They’d be inseparable forever and ever…or at least until the end.
He stepped gingerly over the empty dieCo bottles, bun wrappers, wizard-themed lingerie and other assorted bric-a-brac scattered around his floor. He picked up his FeelgoodSuit and spread it on the bed. It was impossible to fold properly because of the ports with their rigid edges. He gently wadded it up and, after jettisoning a number of toys and dolls onto the floor, placed it inside Mommy’s trunk and closed the lid.
He was going to try to do the things Dr Escobar had asked of him: He’d walk outside. He’d go to the Nature Preserve. He’d gain weight and get healthy. He’d seek out the companionship of real people and, as soon as he looked better, he’d find the girl and speak to her.
Right now though, the thing he needed most was sleep. He’d be able to think more clearly about all this when he didn’t feel so exhausted.
He lay down on the bed and looked up at the hyperreal Milky Way that began to spread across his ceiling, complete with the occasional shooting star. “Total darkness,” he murmured as the galactic cloud faded away. Without bothering to remove his shoes, he pulled his wooly blanket up to his chin and closed his eyes. Tomorrow, he thought. Tomorrow he’d try….
I like the whole Nature Preserve segment:
"Besides being exposed to nature’s idyllic beauty, you will experience the advantages of another mood-enhancing therapy—the activity of walking. Numerous studies have shown that by engaging in a tranquil stroll inside a natural-seeming setting, stress-afflicted patients may experience:
• Reduced negative emotions, such as:
– dread
– anger
– frustration
– despair
– hopelessness
• Improved ability to compartmentalize incompatible thoughts
• A diminution of hoarding disorder
• A diminution in phastasmophobia
• Increased ability to resist false intuitions
I would add to this list that after walking in nature I fart less. (Had to work in one fart joke.)