| Michigan State Mental Hospital | |
| |
| General Information | |
| Status: | Active facility |
| Location Information | |
| Location: | Detroit Wasteland |
| Societal Information | |
| Notable Individuals: | Eliza Horton, Karl Bossmarler, Keiko Suzumiya |
| Factions: | Army of Revolution |
| Notable Events: | Cleansing |
The Michigan State Mental Hospital is a large facility on the outskirts of the Detroit Wasteland. As its name suggests, it was previously a mental hospital, before being effectively abandoned after the war. Now it serves as the headquarters of the Army of Revolution.
History
Originally built as a state of the art facility, the conditions in the Michigan State Mental Hospital declined over the course of decades. Constant budget shortfalls left the facility to fall behind in terms of both treatment and equipment, while also being beset upon by constant staff shortages. Even building maintenance became an issue, especially with the shortages caused by the Resource Wars, with much of the infrastructure running on makeshift repairs and portions of the sprawling campus becoming overgrown. The buildings themselves were often dark, damp and leaking, while patient care was minimal at the best of times. Dark rumors ran rife of medical experimentation or patients simply ‘disappearing’.
On the morning of October 23rd, 2077, the staff abandoned the facility to find shelter against the incoming nuclear attack. No effort was made to protect or help the patients, who were simply left behind to their own fates, many still locked in their overcrowded rooms. The result was a case of inmates literally running the asylum, as a new order formed out of the survivors who claimed the facility as their own, barricading themselves inside and doing the best they could in order to survive.
Despite their intentions, this new order was not to last. Radioactive fallout, radiation storms, nuclear winter, food shortages and failing infrastructure all took their toll, whittling down the numbers of survivors. Many opted to leave in the hope of finding food and shelter elsewhere. Those that stayed either succumbed to starvation or were transformed into feral ghouls by the radiation. At the same time, mutated wildlife, including wolves, dogs and even Yao Gai, took up residence around the facility.
The mental hospital remained largely untouched for the next century and a half. Its relatively remote location on the outskirts of the Detroit Wasteland meant that it was not an immediate target for scavengers, who generally saw more lucrative rewards closer to home. The occasional exceptionally brave or foolhardy expedition would set out to explore (and pillage) the facility, but would inevitably fall victim to the ghouls or the wildlife. These incidents, combined with its generally eerie appearance, gave rise to stories that the facility was haunted. Tales of disembodied voices and unearthly wails spread across the wasteland, helping to keep would-be explorers at bay.
It was not until 2251 that a genuine effort was made to reclaim the facility. The mental hospital was ‘discovered’ by the fledgling Army of Revolution, who saw it as an ideal location for the headquarters for their burgeoning force. The combination of intact pre-war structures, open grounds and pre-existing walls made it perfect for their needs, but they were still presented with the issue of the existing wildlife. Rather then mounting a small expedition, however, the Army sent in a number of teams who cleaned the structures and grounds of animals and ghouls, moving in coordinated packs to cover themselves form attack. While their forces did suffer losses, they managed to cleanse the facility and claim it for their own.
An extensive renovation followed, as the Revolutionaries made themselves at home and modified the hospital to suit their needs. Many of the trees that had grown up around the facility were chopped down in order to remove shelter for wildlife while also freeing up space and providing them with raw materials. The exterior walls of the facility were rebuilt and reinforced, giving them a first line of defence against attack. Secondary walls and barricades were built around major buildings to further secure them. The interiors of the buildings were shored up and cleared out from where debris had choked them off. Finally, the generators and pumps were restored, giving the army power and clean water.
Having secured their headquarters, the Army of Revolution then began to utilise it as the launchpad for their campaign of conquering the Detroit Wasteland. The first order of business was raising an army, a gaol that the facility supported admirably. Its extensive grounds served as training grounds for their recruits, while also giving them the room to house their growing forces and the equipment they would need. As they turned to aggressive expansion of their holdings, the hospital’s remote campus also turned out to be an asset. While it did result in long lines of communication, it also put the Army of Revolution’s headquarters and command structure beyond the reach of their opponents.
This would prove to be the key to the Army’s survival as the forces of the Detroit Wasteland turned against them. While the Revolutionaries’ forces were pushed out of the city itself, they were able to regroup and consolidate at their headquarters. Conversely, no force within the Detroit Wasteland had the manpower or reach to penetrate deep into the Army’s remaining holdings or take out their headquarters. Instead, a policy of containment meant that the Revolutionaries had the facilities to allow them to rebuild their forces and plan their next move. With the city’s communities falling back into their smaller disputes and infighting, an upswing in raider activity and the shattering of Black Skull Company on Zug Island, the Revolutionaries had a free hand to rebuild.
With the launch of the Revolutionary War, the hospital was again in the centre of the Revolutionaries’ operations. Once again, its remote location allowed their command staff to operate freely without fear of attack. However, that distance became problematic the more the Army of Revolutions’ forces advanced into the city proper. Once again dependant on runners and couriers to preserve the chain of command, the Army of Revolution found that they were being purposely targeted and eliminated by Black Skull Company. This was a part of their deliberate campaign to separate and isolate chunks of the Revolutionaries’ forces, allowing them to destroy their units piecemeal.
Once again, however, geography proved to be the Army of Revolution’s saviour, with their headquarters too far away to be directly attacked. Instead, the consolidation of their forces allowed them to retain control of it and two other settlements, creating a buffer of occupied territories. Remaining well behind the frontline, the hospital has continued to serve as the army’s command centre as they once again aim to rebuild their forces.
Description
Before the war, the Michigan State Mental Hospital consisted of a number of buildings scattered across a large campus. A main central building was used for intake, administration and was the primary patient living facility, as well as also including medical facilities. Secondary facilities were added as the hospital grew, including utilities such as power and water, additional patient housing, specialty treatment wards, a gymnasium and swimming pool and other such facilities. The campus was surrounded by a high wall, intended to keep patients in.
Years of neglect saw the grounds become overgrown, the wall crumble in places and several of the smaller buildings collapse. The larger buildings were not immune either, with several of them suffering internal damage and decay. Upon taking control of the campus, the Army of Revolution set about reversing the process, clearing the grounds, shoring up the remaining buildings and performing repairs where possible. Repairs restored the power and water systems, although they were never bought up to full pre-war capacity. The main walls were rebuilt and reinforced, including the addition of gun turrets and watch towers.
After halting its decay, the Revolutionaries began converting the facility to their needs. Much of the interior space was given over to living quarters for their burgeoning army, as well as command facilities including a radio station. The lowest level of the main building was reinforced to act as a shelter and fallback should the worst come to the worst and the hospital itself was attacked. Other buildings were converted to armouries or equipment storage, allowing them to maintain the weapons they needed to support their campaigns. The grounds were converted over to training facilities, including parade grounds, an obstacle course and a firing range. As the Army grew further, additional makeshift structures were constructed to add additional living space.
Population
Having been ‘cleansed’ of feral ghouls and the lingering wildlife, the population of Michigan State Mental hospital now consists solely of the Army of Revolution. This includes both their soldiers, and their support staff such as armourers, technicians and medical personnel. Everyone on-site is a member of the Army in some fashion, save for their few external visitors (Which are largely limited to traders from The Foundry). Due to the Army’s beliefs in racial purity, its membership is entirely made up of humans. Presently, due to the losses suffered in the Revolutionary War and the need to garrison and patrol the Army’s occupied territories, the hospital grounds are relatively thinly populated, and operating far under capacity.
Before the war, the Hospital was equipped with several Protecotrons and Ms Nanny robots for medical support. A number of these had been withdrawn before the conflict for budgetary reasons, and none survived to the present day. The Army of Revolution has been trying to acquire new robots of their own, but so far have had no luck.
Notable Inhabitants
Eliza Horton
A rare talented, literate and well-educated individual, Eliza Horton is the chief medical officer for the Army of Revolution. Horton has remained deliberately unclear about her past, but regardless of where she came from, she is an actually qualified doctor whose knowledge and skillset extends past the usual array of folk remedies and handed-down practices and instead has the hallmarks of genuine pre-war level medical training. And while the revolutionaries’ leadership would like to know more about her background, they are thankful enough for her presence and skills to let it pass.
Horton acts as the chief medical officer of the Army of Revolution. While already a capable doctor in her own right (and the personal physician of several high-ranking officers), she also serves as an instructor to the army’s small but skilled medical corps. Her training has helped them to save the lives of countless soldiers, which in turn helped to staunch losses and aid the arm in rebuilding. Horton is fascinated by pre-war knowledge, and has amassed a considerable collection of books and holotapes on a wide variety of fields.
Karl Bossmarler
A large and imposing man, Karl Bossmarler serves as the chief training instructor for the Army of Revolution. His task is not an easy one, given the often low quality of their recruits and conscripts. Many are raiders or scavengers with little actual combat experience, a poor grasp of tactics, no discipline and a tendency to break and run at the first sign of trouble. To deal with these issues, Bossmarler uses brutal and punishing tactics, scaling up from verbal intimidation to actual physical violence. He has killed unruly or poorly performing recruits in the name of improving the performance of others, and the Army’s leadership has knowingly turned a blind eye towards his behaviour, knowing that it also gets results.
Keiko Suzumiya
The Army of Revolution’s chief quartermaster, Keiko Suzumiya has the unenviable job of trying to provide adequate supplies for an army in a scavenger-based economy. Her role is largely concerned with ensuring that the Army’s forces have the weapons, ammunition and equipment that they need to do their jobs. However, the reality of the situation is that the average soldier will often have to make do with what’s available and augment that with whatever they can find. On the other hand, she is very careful with heavy weapons, energy weapons and other advanced equipment, and tightly controls their distribution to the correct channels. The supply of Foundry made rifles has somewhat eased her job, as it has allowed her to develop something resembling a standard issue.
Suzumiya has a fantastic head for numbers, a talent that greatly aids her in her role. In her spare time, she is a consummate gambler, and again puts those talents to work in her aid. She has a reputation for being unbeatable in card games, but also seems to find a ready supply of people willing to take her on for a chance at winning big.
Donald Henderson
Rather then being a member of the Army of Revolution, Donald Henderson is instead the Foundry’s ambassador. A member of the Foundry’s inner circle, Henderson accepted the role with the firm understanding that what he was doing was serving to bolster the industrial city’s goals. His primary role is as a liaison and point of contact, enabling the flow of communication between the two groups. He also acts as a source of information for the Foundry, giving them a more complete picture of the situation within the Detroit Wasteland and the state of their allies. While Henderson has no real love for the Army of Revolution, he also understands the necessity of his role and the value of the revolutionaries, allowing him to disguise his true feelings for the sake of the cause.
More then just a diplomat, Henderson is a trained soldier who fought to take Flint and, presumably, in whatever conflicts bought together the Foundry’s leadership in the first place. He is an excellent marksman, capable of precision fire with his rare AER12 Laser Rifle. However, this side of his skillset remains unused in his current role.
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