They found a way to help a young who is dealing with severe social anxiety be able to get out a little at a time. A set of augmented reality goggles that gave everyone a friendly capybara look. And if crowds get too loud, it muted the noise to a soft muffle except, of course, for anything that might be dangerous. --BKF
When the demolition crews were carefully pulling the place to pieces, they called it Rabbit Warren Station. Not that it was any of the above. It wasn't a station. It had no docks, no administration nor management. It had no plan nor unified purpose. It was merely a bunch of hulls loosely welded together into one labyrinthine whole.
People didn't live there. They survived there. Each one discovered was offered help, and taken away to therapy and rehabilitation. Those born there didn't handle it well.
In the rehabilitation environment, Juvenile Human Zii curled himself up in a corner, and a shelter improvised from the cellulose mattress. It took his therapist a week to work out that he was too familiar with the intensely close spaces of Rabbit Warren. A literal maze where one could go days without seeing a fellow inhabitant. Therefore, people and open spaces stressed him the flakk out.
The temporary solution - the existing isolation in a solitary - was not close enough to help Zii feel safe. Their anxiety was spiking hard, making sleep difficult if not impossible. The laws of the Alliance wouldn't permit a habitat as closed-in and claustrophobic as Rabbit Warren, so Therapist Lein had to get creative.
A coal-scuttle bonnet helped immensely, as did purposely fogged glasses to reduce Zii's distance perception. Once Lein was a blurry shape beyond the translucent interaction wall, they could work on Zii's acclimatisation to a healthier environment.
By slow degrees, Zii got used to the 'enormous' space of the minimum legal accommodations for one person. He even got used to seeing Lein on a regular basis.
The headwear, cutting off Zii's peripheral vision, was essential. He could not attend remote schooling unless the educator was a cartoon avatar. There had to be a barrier between Zii and other cogniscents' faces.
Therapist Lein kept working with him. "Solitary existence is detrimental," ze said. "You need to be able to socialise for better mental health. Talking through screens is a start. What would help you venture outside your habitat to see some of this installation?"
"I know you're not a threat," allowed Zii. "I can't know about anyone else. I never know about anyone else."
The ultimate solution was a set of Offensensitivity Glasses. A customisable, real-time censor of anything that offended or alarmed the wearer. They were very popular amongst certain Dereggers, who were not prepared for alternate skin tones.
After some debate and a virtual journey through a simulated zoo, Zii settled on capybaras for his selected mask. The animal radiated calm, even in their digital form. As an added bonus, they were friend shaped. Naturally soothing because they had no fucks to give regarding a majority of the world[1].
Lein stayed within Zii's reach as the young lad ventured from his current safest space. Taking his first steps into the wider world.
His first steps into becoming a functional citizen of the Alliance.
[1] The exceptions being large cats like jaguars and pumas.
[Photo by He Junhui on Unsplash]
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