Nikita cast her eyes towards the screen. Inside the cell was a figure, naked except for the leather restraints forcing her to crawl around on her hands and knees. As she shifted, Nikita caught a glimpse of the gag in question, holding her jaw open, drool spilling out over her lips and onto the floor.

“There’s a feeding tube built into the wall, but if she wants to eat or drink, it’ll only dispense liquid food and water if it gets the tube all the way down its throat. It's set up to dispense more than enough, but only in randomly sized portions that unlock sporadically throughout the day, and expire if they don’t get used in time. So like it or not, it's going to have to gag and choke on that tube if it wants to stay fed and hydrated. Of course, it's all laced with laxatives and diuretics, so if it's going to get any relief, it needs to crawl over to the drain in the middle of the floor. Lets just hope it doesn't make a mess, with it wearing that chastity belt and all. The drool's bad enough as it is."

"Of course, we spray down the cell with ice-cold water several times throughout the day to keep things hygienic. It doesn't like that very much, but it needs to learn that what it likes doesn’t matter. In order to help it learn its place, there’s a constant loop of humiliating phrases and insults playing over the loudspeakers, all run through a specialized AI program that makes it sound like it’s coming from the people she values most. And to add to its humiliation, there’s a 24/7 video feed. We told the patient it was being shared publicly, but the only ones seeing it are the staff and a few select individuals in the Enrichment Ward. Nothing’s worse than what's in its own head. Of course, we occasionally drag it to the Enrichment Ward so everyone can have a go. After all, it needs to get used to the feeling of being used.”

Dr. Malphren cocked her head. “Speaking of, let’s show you the Enrichment and Correctional Wards next. They’re actually the same place…it just depends on if you’ve been a good patient, or a bad one. Like doggy heaven and squirrel hell. It’s a very efficient system.”

 

They continued down the hallway, before seemingly coming to a dead end. At some hidden signal, though, the wall slid aside, revealing a freight elevator.

“We mostly use the sublevel for storage.” Dr. Malphren explained as the elevator descended. “But, if we’re going to have patients running around unrestrained, we put the Enrichment and Correctional Wards there as an added security measure.”

 

The elevator came to a stop, and the doors opened.

"The elevator actually has two doors, one in front, one in back, to separate the entrances to the Enrichment and Correctional Wards.” Dr. Malphren explained. “I’ll show you the Correctional Ward first.”

Nikita’s eyes widened as Dr. Malphren wheeled her past a waiting room full of patients, each one gagged and securely strapped down to a wheelchair. Muffled cries, sobs, and pleas filled the air, their faces red and streaked with tears of pain and fear.
Based on the sounds Nikita could hear…she was starting to become a bundle of nerves herself. She couldn’t see where the sounds were coming from…but she heard the screams. And the sobs. And the mad, hysterical laughter. Dr. Malphen didn’t pay any attention to the terrified patients, wheeling Nikita right past them and through a door, although Nikita couldn’t see how she unlocked it. Beyond that was, instead of the white, clinical halls she expected, an industrial metal catwalk shrouded in darkness, lit from below, branching paths leading this way and that. A number of nurses stood, gazing down in clinical disinterest, occasionally taking notes on the clipboards they carried. One looked up as they approached, a look coming over their face. It was still professional, but there was…submission there, bordering on reverence.

“Hello, Dr. Malphren.” they said quickly, eyes downcast.

 

“Hello, Nurse #1381.” the doctor cooed. “I’m just giving a tour to Nikita here. At ease.”

The Nurse gave a short nod and quickly turned away, studying the scene below. Nikita craned her head to look; she saw a labyrinth of halls below, but from her perspective, she couldn’t get a good view.

“Oh? You want to take a look?” Dr. Malphren said, taking notice.

Nikita’s stomach lurched as the wheelchair was tilted forward, the straps digging into her chest as she hung there limply. From her new perspective, she could see a series of rooms and hallways, their voyeurism hidden behind one-way glass.
The halls seemed to twist and turn without sense or reason; it was a maze. Directly below the catwalk was a padded cell.

“Oh, would you look at that. Patient #1011 seems to have slipped its bonds.”

Nikita craned her head, watching the patient below wriggle out of the canvas restraints holding them to the bed and, once finally free, immediately making a break for the door. The two of them watched the patient’s mad dash for the exit.
Dr. Malphren began to sing softly, dulcet tones floating through the air as she watched with interest.

“Oh, run little patient, run, run, run…when the Nurses catch you, they’ll have their fun, fun fun…you don’t know it, but we’ve already won, won, won…we’ll zap your brain until you’re dumb, dumb, dumb~”

Nikita watched in horror as Patient #1011, in its bright red uniform, was spotted by a group of patients. Instead of a red jumpsuit, these patients wore blue gowns, and bore the text “ENRICHMENT WING” over their shoulder blades.
Meanwhile, their fleeing target was labeled with the words “CORRECTIONAL WING”. They chased after the fleeing patient as they fled down the twisting halls, taking whatever new path appeared in a desperate attempt to shake their pursuers.
Nikita occasionally lost sight of the chase as it twisted and turned through the maze, but was perfectly positioned to watch the desperate patient turn down a dead end. They spun around, only to see the exit blocked by the figures in blue.
They advanced slowly, ignoring the pleas for mercy as they backed their victim back against the wall. The pleas turned to screams, then sobs, as the patients in blue drew cattle prods, showering their helpless victim with high-voltage shocks.
They tried to hide from the shocks, but it was no use. Sadistic giggles, then hysterical laughter rang out as their victim was reduced to a sobbing, broken mess huddled in the corner, laughter that only grew in volume and sadism the more pain they inflicted. The patients in blue dragged the limp form of their victim, facedown, through the winding halls and out of sight, accompanied by evil giggles and zaps.

“My oh my!” Dr. Malphren exclaimed, shaking Nikita out of her horrified stupor. “That was quite the show!”

With a yank, Nikita was hoisted right-side-up again.

“We like to give our patients here restraints they can get out of. It’s so fun to chase them down and catch them! They get so mad when they realize it was all a trick! It's hilarious! So remember…”
she leaned in close, whispering in Nikita’s ear.

“If you think you’ve found a way to escape…you probably haven't~”
She straightened suddenly, smiling brightly.

“Or maybe you have! Who’s to say? I guess you’ll just have to make a break for it and find out.”
Dr. Malphren strode over to Nurse #1381, draping an arm over their shoulders.

 

“Now, some would say that’s needlessly cruel, but I disagree. What do you say, Nurse #1381?”

 

“Any patient critiquing the quality of care provided by Dr. Malphren and Sleepy Smiles Special Hospital will be corrected.” The Nurse said, forcefully.

 

“I’m sure they will~” Dr. Malphren cooed, running her fingers through the nurse’s hair. “But that’s not what we put on the brochure…”

Nurse #1381 cleared their throat. “Patient enrichment at Sleepy Smiles is specially formulated to provide occupational therapy and healthy exercise to prevent moping and engage patients in their continued treatment.” they recited.

 

“Very good!” Dr. Malphren said brightly, patting their head. “In addition to all that, we also use the enrichment ward to recruit new members of our staff from our long term patients. We’re constantly on the lookout for patients showing…what was it?”
Dr. Malphren looked at her Nurse.

“Sadism, cruelty, and new and exciting forms of torment and punishment, Doctor.”

 

“And what’s the official line?” Dr. Malphren asked, holding her hand up to her ear theatrically.

 

“The staff at Sleepy Smiles Special Hospital are passionate about their positions and interact heavily with our patients to assist them on their mental healthcare journey.”

 

“Excellent~” Dr. Malphren cooed.

 

“And to assist in that “interaction”, all of our staff is equipped with these.” She drew a cattle prod from a hidden pocket. “You might be wondering how giving these to every patient in the enrichment ward isn’t a security risk. Well, the ones we give to the patients are limited in the strength and frequency of shocks, to be sure, but we also make sure to show them what happened to the last patients who had that bright idea…” Dr. Malphren smiled wickedly.

“Of course, our staff are specially trained to deal with them.” She held up her cattle prod for Nikita to see. “This one was made for me custom.” she said with a grin. “It’s wired extra hot, even more so than the specialized ones used by the staff. But even so…"

 

She pressed it against Nurse #1381’s back and pressed the button. They didn’t even blink as the electricity coursed through their body.

 

“That might not seem impressive from the outside…” Dr. Malphren said. “But only if you’ve never felt it yourself…”

 

Nikita’s eyes widened in terror as the prod turned in her direction. Dr. Malphren met her gaze as it rested against her knee.
“Puh…please…” Nikita managed through a mouth that refused to cooperate.

 

The world disappeared in a blinding flash of white hot pain. Nikita had just enough time to scream before everything was blasted away, leaving nothing but a frightened, hurting animal.

Nikita came back to herself by turns. It took her a moment to realize that the ragged, sobbing sound she heard was her own heavy breathing. Every muscle in her body felt as heavy as lead. Everything seemed blurry, and it wouldn’t be for a few minutes until Nikita realized the cause was the tears flooding down her cheeks. The slap that caught her across the face did nothing to bring her back to earth, but firm, unrelenting fingers dug into her cheeks, forcing her to stare up at Dr. Malphren like a cultist before an eldritch god.

“Hey. Come back.” Dr. Malphren said, shaking Nikita’s head. She blinked, and let out a single sob. “There we go! Well done!” Dr. Malphren cooed, patting Nikita’s head. “That wasn’t so bad, now was it? I knew you could handle it!”

 

Nikita let out a small, choking sob.

 

“Shut up.” Dr. Malphren said with sudden coldness, giving her head a shove. “You want to know how I keep my staff in line? How I stay in charge? Watch this.”

 

She pressed her prod against the skin of the nurse and pressed a button, a different one than before. The clipboard clattered to the floor as the nurse fell to its knees, body shaking, eyes rolling back in pleasure. Bowed in supplication, its heaving moan of pleasure expressed its gratitude.

“Staff!” Dr. Malphren called. “Check Nurse #1381 into the enrichment ward. It’s earned it.”

As the Nurses descended and carried off the limp form of Nurse #1381, still suffering aftershocks of pleasure, Dr. Malphren crouched down and stared into Nikita’s eyes, running her fingers through her victim’s hair.

 

“You know,” she said wistfully, “I’ve always been fascinated by the human brain…just three pounds of water and fat, held together with electricity and hormones. So resilient…and yet so fragile. During my studies-I was pursuing double M.D.s in Surgery and Psychiatry, as well as my Ph.D. in Medical Science, as you well know-I took a 2 credit hour class on cults. How they gained followers…how they kept control over them…how they brought in unsuspecting victims and slowly cut off every opportunity to escape. And once they had them precisely where they wanted them…how they broke them down, mind, body, and soul.”

Dr. Malphren smiled, fingers gripping Nikita’s head and forcing her to stare directly at the doctor.

“It was quite…instructive. You're seeing the most thoroughly researched and scientifically informed cult of personality ever made. Free will and resistance cut out with surgical position. Compliance and obedience measured, tracked, and tested for. Deviations monitored and corrected until they approach zero.” She smiled, not unkindly. “It’s beautiful. I can’t wait to show it to you.”
Without another word, she stood, pushing Nikita ever onward, ever forward.

 “Of course”, Dr. Malphren continued, “we haven’t gotten to the ‘enrichment’ part yet, although one wouldn't work without the other.”

 

Below them, the mazelike corridors funneled into a single wide hallway, leading to a large room filled with an orgy of activity. The room was filled with patients undergoing “enrichment”, both with each other and with a series of restrained victims. Each was tied down in such a way that, at least in theory, they could fight off any advances…but that was never going to happen.

The first had her jaw spread open, the restraint forcing her to kneel or squat awkwardly, or make a few weak kicks at the approaching patients. She tried to push them away, but under a coordinated assault there was little she could do to prevent her face from being forced into an encroaching groin.

 

Another patient was on his back, bisected by a wall that trapped him in place and blocked his view. Despite his struggles, his limbs were held down as he thrashed helplessly. One patient, their fingers playing over his prostate, stroking his twitching cock mercilessly as he thrashed from overstimulation, arms pinned in place as another patient forced her cock down his throat.

At the other end of the room, a patient stood on tiptoes, hips locked into a belt that held them firmly to the sybian they straddled, legs kicking wildly, hands grabbing desperately for the controls held just out of reach.

 

Beyond that was a patient locked in a choke collar, the leash leading up the the ceiling, desperately trying to avoid the cattle prods of the laughing patients surrounding her.

Finally, wandering around the room, was a patient with its head and hands engulfed in spheres of black latex, feeling its way around, trying in vain to escape its tormentors.

 

“This is only one of the Enrichment rooms.” Dr. Malphren explained. “You see, if you’ve been kidnapped, put in a padded cell, and slowly stripped of your humanity, personality, and memories, you might start to feel a tad stressed. So we have a rotating set of playthings for patients to take their stress out on.” Dr. Malphren smiled. “Of course, eventually it’ll be your turn, and all those former playthings will have stress of their own to let out.” She leaned in, grinning. “It’s very fun setting up all these little feuds and watching them play out. And it’s especially useful for making an example out of someone, should I need to.”

The tour continued as Dr. Malphren pushed the wheelchair ever forward.

“Of course, the Enrichment ward has other purposes.” Dr. Malphren continued. “Punishing patients, rewarding nurses…and recruiting new ones.”

 

So saying, she paused, looking down at the scene below, where a grimly smiling patient, her jumpsuit labeled #3128, was tormenting her victim with a cattle prod. But just behind her, fidgeting nervously, eyes downcast, was another patient, #4287, clutching a coiled whip in trembling fingers. Without a word, the first patient dropped the prod to the floor and held out an outstretched hand. The second patient hurriedly handed her the whip, and knelt down to pick up the discarded prod. Dr. Malphren watched thoughtfully.

 

“Nurse?” she called. “Put 3128 and 4287 in a private room together. Full gag and deprivation hood with straightjacket for 28, and give 87 a full power prod. If 87 doesn’t use it, make them.”

 

“Yes, Dr. Malphren.” came the immediate response.

 

Nikita craned her head, but lost sight of the pair. A firm slap caught her on her cheek.
“Eyes ahead, patient.” Dr. Malphren said sweetly. “We’re getting to my favorite part.”

 

They came to a series of padded cells, each holding two patients, bound in straightjackets.
“These are our ‘get-along’ cells.” Dr. Malphren explained. Have you ever met people who just needed to be shoved in a room together until they fuck or kill each other? Well, that’s a service we’re happy to provide. And since disposing of bodies is such a pain, we ensure that they choose the ‘fuck’ option.” She smiled. “It’s already pretty hard to ignore someone when you’re in a 8’x8’ cell, but it’s even more difficult when your collars are chained together, practically forcing you to look at one another. Of course, aphrodisiacs in the air supply help things go smoothly. If I’ve got two nurses who need to learn to work together, then I’ll crank up the dosage just to hurry things along, but normally I like a slow burn.” She continued. “There’s a live feed of each cell broadcast to the staff room. It’s quite entertaining. And, of course, it’s fun to give the patients a little push in the right direction, sometimes.” Dr. Malphren let out a small chuckle.
“It’s fun to separate the two just as they start to realize their feelings for each other, and see them try to get the nurses to smuggle notes to one another, and stuff like that. Sometimes I like to put them in cells across from each other and watch them yearn."

They passed into another section. Ahead, next to a nurse dutifully observing the goings-on, was a patient in a bright blue smock, standing smartly at attention and practically vibrating with excitement.
“If we notice a patient in the enrichment ward is expressing tendencies suitable for nursehood-sadism, leadership, unique methods of torture, etc.-we place them in our mentorship program. They get to shadow our nurses, help with miscellaneous tasks but-and this is important-never get to lay a finger on a patient. Not even themselves. They don’t even get to be in the room. The result is a crippling need to prove themselves & a desperate desire to serve and please. Ensuring their undying loyalty and commitment. Isn’t that right, Provisionary Staff Member #2791?”

“Yes, Dr. Malphren!” the patient practically begged, still standing ramrod straight and staring dead ahead.

Dr. Malphren looked at them thoughtfully for a moment, then reached into her breast pocket and dropped a pen on the ground. The patient started to move, but Dr. Malphren held up a hand.

“Uh uh uh…not yet.”

During the ensuing silence, Nikita swore she could practically hear the patient whimpering.

 

“Now.” Dr. Malphren commanded. In a flash, the patient retrieved it and offered it, eyes downcast, in reverent, trembling hands. “Very good.” Dr. Malphren noted, plucking it from the patient’s grasp. “Make a note of that, Nurse.”
The trembling patient stifled a moan, wetness dripping down their thighs as Dr. Malphren wheeled Nikita away.
“As you can see,” she boasted, “we work to ensure the well-being of our staff as well as our patients~”