The Silenced Room
A plain rectangular building houses the Silence Room, a self-proclaimed mental health spa. The building is located on the Variance Space Station and opened several years ago with the mandate of helping people find peace and tranquillity away from the chaotic world outside, for a small price.
The building is much larger than it appears, with about a dozen floors total. The Silences Room is intentionally chillingly quiet, as its primary purpose is to produce pure silence for its clientele — those who desperately need a break from the chaos and noise of the station and the wilds of the Delta Space.
Few words are spoken between the client and the receptionist. The newly booked-in client will be led to a small single-person changing area where the client changes into a simple white or grey robe.
They are then taken to one of several dozen rooms about the size of a large closet. The closet is practically empty, its walls almost porcelain-looking, and a small cushioned pad sits on the floor and against one wall. It is dimly lit when opened but completely dark once closed. It is designed to be visually simple and calming.
Depending on the length of their stay, they will either sit or stand in the room. A timer is set on the door, and then the room is sealed. All noise and light are drained from the room, and the atmosphere is regulated to be as close to a void as possible while still providing breathable air and a sensible temperature. Not too hot, nor too cold.
The room provides a feeling of absolute stillness, which the spa claims will give the person a sense of prolonged peace and calm once they leave their session.
Clients can spend as much or as little time in the room as they wish, though longer stays come with additional expenses. These long stays can last days, and in that case, the client is hooked up to a life support machine and fed intravenously.
A few special clients are said to have been in the building for years. These long-term clients are believed to have entered a state of semi-consciousness. They are briefly woken for quick health check-ups and to ensure their life signs are steady before being sealed up again.
The cost of a stay in these rooms is reasonable but can become costly with increased use. Some say that the silence rooms are addictive, hence their popularity and the many repeat, almost permanent clientele.
The efficacy of the Silenced Room is in constant debate, on whether or not they are effective or if they even work. But this is an argument that can be had about any number of businesses on the Variance and abroad in the Delta Space. The real controversy is the claim that states that the operators of the Silenced Room are intentionally pumping an addictive gas into each of their rooms. Creating an actual physical addiction and dependency on their service, especially for those who have visited the Silenced Room multiple times.
The Silenced Room denies these claims, stating that the only purpose of the rooms is to provide reduced stress, and increased clarity, and to help induce calmness for those who face high levels of stress in the real world. They continue to say that the implementation of an addictive substance in their facility is not only against their company mandate of helping people find peace and tranquillity but is also a gross compromise of their client's trust and personal health.
Of course, opinions are split, some believe the Silenced Room is intentionally drugging people in the hopes that it will cause increased repeat sales. The argument is that there is already proof in the fact that their customers return to them or stay for ridiculous lengths of time unnecessarily. The Silence Room themselves have confirmed that they have several long-term customers that stay there for weeks, months or even longer at one time. This to many shows that something is amiss with their practices as no one should be staying in any private health spa for months at a time of their own free will. The thought is that what sane, non-addiction-riddled mind would intentionally throw away their life to sit in a void-like room experiencing no sensation whatsoever?
On the other side, those who support the Silenced Room argue the opposite, that it is the free will of these long-term clients to have their own journey of whatever length of time they need to help them attain a tranquil mind and soul. And that some find their inner peace in only a session or two, and then either no longer need the service or only use it infrequently. While others require more long-term care to find what they are looking for, and the team at the Silenced Room are simply helpful care-tenders, shepherds of peace and calm who are merely facilitating an important journey for their clients.
The lobby is a lightly furnished pale white room with a few couches and a reception desk, it gives off a somewhat clinical feel.
No music is played, and chatter is prohibited. The entire building is white and is lit with soft peach and light pink colours.
All sessions are booked and reserved in advance and clients are instructed to arrive no more than five minutes before their appointment so that crowds do not form in the lobby.
Crowds can become unnecessarily noisy and could disrupt the facility necessarily.
If a client is late their booking will be forfeited to those on the waiting list, reservations book up weeks in advance so spots are hard to come by at the last moment.
Upon arrival for an appointment, the receptionist books the client in and escorts them further inside.
A silence room, designed to dull all sensation and increase tranquillity
Controversy
Summary
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