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[BerkaZerka]

Welcome to Ansonia

Welcome to Ansonia, a wealthy Connecticut town circa 1928. Note the darkness of the map; the shadows have always held a bit of Ansonia – ever deepening, as impending threat of economic recession looms increasingly closer. The rise of darkness is near and the Mythos stirs…

The Charles Kaufman New Age Sanitarium

The Charles Kaufman New Age Sanitarium is a large two story stone edifice east of Ansonia in a secluded area atop a lonely hill. A long gravel drive opens through an iron gate off the main road and meanders up through dark woods, finally opening into a wide clearing, wherein sits the place.

For those unlucky enough to end up here, it is a hopeless abyss of forlorn suffering, from which there is no escape.

Points of Historic Interest

1927

• A building in Missolongi Greece is bombarded with stones from the sky for a half an hour.
• Bible Quoting Earle Nelson is hanged at Winnipeg for the international murders of at least 22 landladies.
• Black rain in Ireland.
• Capone crew estimated to reap $60,000,000 from illegal beer and liquor.
• Charles Lindbergh Flies nonstop between New York City and Paris.
• Dempse – Tunney fight broadcast in Chicago, 40 million claimed to listen. Five listeners died of heart failure during the famous 13 second Tunney recovery, another five died during other fight moments.
• Earle Muller successfully uses x-rays to induce mutations in fruit flies.
• Estimated 30,000 speakeasies in New York City.
• Estimated 50,000 deaths resulting from bad booze since prohibition.
• First remote juke box.
• Iron Lung developed.
• Lemaitre introduces the notion of the expanding universe.
• Pop-up toaster.
• Public opinion polls reveal majority of people in favor of 18th Amendment repeal.
• Sacco and Vanzetti executed.
• The Jazz Singer first feature length film.
• Transatlantic telephone service established between New York and London.
• Unprecedented Vermont floods carry strange bodies past observers (The Whisperer in Darkness).

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1928

• Amelia Earhart first woman to fly across the Atlantic.
• Byrd expedition sails to Antarctica.
• Danish training ship Kobenhoven disappears without trace after sailing from Montvideo.
• First television sets $75.
• Geiger counter.
• Herbert Hoover wins Presidential election.
• One divorce in six marriages.
• Publication of An Experiment With Time.
• Teletypes come into use.
• Vitamin C.
• Waterproof cellophane developed.

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[BerkaZerka]

Second Floor


2nd Floor GP: The single guard post on the second floor is always manned by a pair of Security Guards, armed with nightsticks and whistles. They also carry the keys to the locks on the second floor, a single flashlight between them, and have a firehose (on the backside of the elevator) at their disposal, to use through the bars on any uncooperative residents (or just for the hell of it when really bored).

Books: A tall heavy bookcase stands bolted to the wall here (at the top, to prevent it being moved or tipped over). Its mostly bare shelves hold a meager selection of ratty old novels and the residents' checkers set and watercolor art supplies.

Cells: The residents’ cold glazed concrete cells contain only a tiny barred window in the end opposite the door and a small drain in the floor. Residents are rarely allowed anything in their cells beyond a lumpy canvas mattress and a thin wool blanket.

Elevator: A lever-control operated elevator.  It takes one round for the doors to open, one round to close, and two rounds to move between each floor. Arrival at each level is announced with a loud ding.

Linen: Storage for extra blankets and a few basic cleaning supplies.

Mill Space: The resident’s mill space is an open area with a porcelain-tiled floor and the same tiling going four feet up the walls. A few card tables and light folding chairs are provided for residents to sit at to take their meals, play checkers, read a frayed novel, or paint pictures with watercolor paints. A large drain in in the center of the floor allows water to run out, in the event that the guards have to use the firehose (at their post) on any of the residents.

Nurse’s Station: The Nurse’s Station contains a desk with an intercom box and logbook, detailing any behavior or health concerns of residents, and a number of strap-down beds along the wall, for close observation or recovery. A small wheeled-cart near the desk also holds a fancy silver tea and coffee set.

[BerkaZerka]

First Floor


The Sanitarium’s Intercom System connects Reception, the Consulting Office, the Director's Office, the Doctor's Office, Security, and the Nursing Station.

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1st Floor GPs: The First Floor Guard Posts are all manned by a single Security Guard, armed with a nightstick, flashlight, and whistle. None of them carry any keys (with the exception of those to the Guard Post in the Yard), as the keys are controlled by the Security Chief and kept in Security when not in use.

In addition to those manning the posts, an extra pair of guards stay with the residents whenever they are in a group together (in the yard, at breakfast, in group therapy, etc). During the night hours, these guards make rounds between all the other guard posts in the facility.

Cafeteria: The cafeteria is filled with heavy oak tables and chairs with a number of electric ceiling fans hanging from the ceiling to help cool the place in the summer. Residence only get to eat here once a day for breakfast - the Staff itself using it after that for the rest of the day.

Consulting Room: The Consulting Room doubles as the Associate Psychologist’s Office and contains a dark mahogany desk with a telephone and intercom box, some fancy leather armchairs facing the desk, and a set of wooden filing cabinets that hold all the Sanitarium’s legal, financial, and medical records (only two years’ worth). The room also contains a small library of boring medical references and an expansive collection of current medical and psychiatric journals.

Director’s Office: Lined with well-stocked bookshelves, the Director's Office prominently features a fancy black desk with dark red leather chairs on an intricately patterned oriental rug. A telephone and an intercom box sit on the desk, while a long padded leather couch, typical of any psychiatrist's office, sets off to one side. A vault in the corner contains boring financial records, the Director's BDSM gear, and a small wet bar (alcohol for medical purposes of course).

Doctor’s Office: Includes a small desk with an intercom box, two large metal operating tables with leather strap downs, medical equipment, surgical tools, and supplies, geared towards dealing with the various injuries the residents are occasionally subjected to. The room is also the last stop on the road to oblivion, for those unlucky enough to have been lobotomized here. The walls and doors of this room are sound dampened, but curiously, the door is never locked.

Elevator: A lever-control operated elevator.  It takes one round for the doors to open, one round to close, and two rounds to move between each floor. Arrival at each level is announced with a loud ding.

Kitchen: A large Kitchen with gas stoves, wash basins, dinnerware, trays, and a generous expanse of counter and table tops for food preparation. A small collection of brass service carts are also kept here, for transporting evening meals to the residents and coffee and tea to the staff.

M/W: His and Hers restrooms.

Music Room: The Music Room is where the subjects of Director Kaufman's Tone Induction Therapy come each day, to practice their music. A variety of musical instruments can be found here and a small stage has been set up, where the participants will perform their chamber music for the Director's special guests in a few days.

Currently, the subjects are practicing Shubert's Octet D. 803 in 6 parts.

1. Adagio - Allegro
2. Adagio
3. Scherzo
4. Andante
5. Menuetto
6. Andante Molto - Allegro

1st Violin is Director Charles Kaufman
2nd Violin is Betty Mayfield
Viola is Harvey Polk
Cello is Helen Childs
Double Bass is Rupert Meeks
Clarinet is Mildred O'Connell
French is Horn Earl Boggs
Bassoon is Archie Rouse

Pantry: Well stocked with a variety of canned goods and fresh produce on hand. Most of it goes to feed the staff, while the residential fair is much more institutionalized (jars of pickle herring; ox tail, vegetable, and corn chowder soups; and of course the ever popular oatmeal porridge).

Reception: Contains a secretary’s desk with a telephone and an intercom box . It is furnished with padded black leather chairs and tall metal ashtrays. A fancy silver tea and coffee set can be found on a small table near a large fish tank that contains a pair of spotted blue octopi and a sunken model pirate ship.

Security: Unless escorting or dealing with residents, the Watch Captain and two Dobermans (Victor and Faust) will almost always be in this office, which includes two dog beds for the Dobermans, a combination-locked rifle safe, an intercom box, and a selection of straightjackets and other devises of restraint, hanging from pegs along the wall.

Smoking Lounge: Contains overstuffed black leather recliners, art-deco ashtrays, and a large rack of current newspapers. Residents are not allowed in here.

Supply Room: A clutter janitorial supplies used for the daily upkeep and cleaning of the facilities.

Yard: The only place for residents to get some fresh air, the Yard is walled in with a ten foot high concrete wall.

[BerkaZerka]

Basement


Basement GP: The single guard post in the basement is always manned by a pair of Security Guards, armed with nightsticks and whistles. They also carry a single flashlight between them and the keys to the Isolation Cells, Morgue, and The Hole.

Boiler & Storage Room: This area houses a large coal-burning furnace, water heater, and electric pump. It is also the general storage area of the Sanitarium and is a mess of old equipment, furniture, gardening supplies, and junk – covered in dusty cobwebs and crawling with spiders.  There is even a giant folded-up tent pavilion kept in here, though it has never been used as far as anyone can tell.

Coal Bin: This low boxed-in area holds a large pile of coal under a dump chute from outside. The coal chute is intentionally too small for residents to try crawling through.

Electrical: The electrical junction for all the Sanitarium’s power. Lots of exposed knife switches to accidently brush up against.

Electro Chamber: A strap-down table and electric chair-looking thing occupy this section of the lab, where residents can be subjected to Shock-Therapy in all its sadistic glory. A control panel regulates the voltage, while a safety system meant to ensure human-tolerable amperage ranges appears to be in need of some repair.

Elevator: A lever-control operated elevator.  It takes one round for the doors to open, one round to close, and two rounds to move between each floor. Arrival at each level is announced with a loud ding.

Ice: These small wooden icehouses are filled with large blocks of ice, buckets, hammers, and ice picks. Shelves inside are used for keeping perishables.

Isolation Cells: These tiny cramped cells are too small to fully lie down in and are used for Sleep Deprivation Therapy, which is pretty much just a fancy way of saying ‘inhumane torture’.

Laboratory: The Sanitarium’s Laboratory contains a wide array of strange equipment, apparatus, and strap-down tables that would do any mad scientist proud. This is where subjects can enjoy the Rotational Therapy Device, hang upside-down on the wall for Suspension Therapy, or receive a variety of Daily Enema cocktails (including Director Kaufman’s “House Special” that contains actual mummy dust).

Laundry: Soiled hospital gowns and linen are laundered here in large basins by hand with soap, scrub brushes, and washboards. Washed articles are then line-dried in the Yard.

Med Storage: Locked cabinets in this area hold the Sanitarium’s supplies of psychotropic drugs and surplus medical supplies not actually kept in the Doctor’s Office. Equipment for sterilizing surgical implements is also located here and a medical skeleton hanging from a stand.

Morgue: Locked at all times, the Morgue usually contains nothing more than a handful of wheeled metal gurneys.

Showers: This porcelain-tiled area is filled with showerheads in the ceiling and drains in the floor. It is where residents are run through a cold rinse each morning and also contains two large built-in basins that can be filled with ice water for use in the Hydro Therapy.

The Hole: Down the end of a spiraling corridor of soundproofed walls is a padded cell in the floor, where no sound or light enters. It is used for Sensory Deprivation Therapy – or a place to dump someone they want to forget about for a while. Recently, it has been installed with a speaker system for use with Director Kaufman’s new Tone Induction Therapy.

Wall Chains: Chains and harnesses on this wall are used for the experimental Suspension Therapy – or to punish unruly residents for extended periods of time.

[BerkaZerka]

Life in the Sanitarium_

6 am - Residents are woken and counted; their cells are locked for the day; then they are marched out to the yard for mandatory calisthenics (rain or shine). Extra fun when the Dobermans are brought out to play too.

7 am - Residents are moved to the basement, where they disrobe and are forced to walk through cold showers; clean hospital gowns are then issued in the laundry room on the other side.

8 am - Residents are moved upstairs to the cafeteria for breakfast. It is the only meal of the day that they are allowed to eat in there; always consisting of oatmeal porridge, dry toast, and coffee.

9 am - After breakfast, the residents are split into supervised work assignments - washing dishes, cleaning tables, sweeping and mopping floors, doing laundry, scrubbing toilets, polishing brass, general busy work for the next two hours.

11 am - This is followed by morning music practice in the music room.

12 pm - Lunch is in the yard (weather permitting), consisting of pickled herring and hard boiled eggs. On Sundays, they even provide an apple. When lunch in the yard is not feasible, it is taken in the residents' mill space.

2 pm - Afternoon music practice in then held music room again.

3 pm - Group therapy is next, also in the music room. (Usually nothing more than a one hour lecture on how utterly mad everyone is).

4 pm - Then the dreaded Experimental therapies (locations vary); Those not in a session are returned to the residents' mill space to sit along the walls in 'quiet time'; Residents' cells are searched and opened back up to Residents' at his time.

6 pm - Dinner is served in the mill space - generally consisting of bread and soup (ox tail, vegetable, or corn chowder).

7 pm - After Dinner, residents are allowed free time in the mill space or their cells. Residents are not allowed in anyone's cell but their own.

9 pm - Residents are counted and locked into their cells for the night; lights out.

2 am - Bed check.