For the duration of the gym tour I'm going to hand the interview over to
our Ms. Ruridou.  She can give you a better overview of our patient exercise
program.


     Thank you Dr. ARNie.  Welcome to the Charma Memorial Physical Fitness
Center, or as it's more commonly called, the Gym.  I'm Doria Ruridou, the
Coach/Head Trainer for this area and I've been part of the exercise program
here since, well since my days as a patient.  But that was then and this is
now so it just goes to show there's nothing to those rumours about patients
never getting out of here.  Admittedly we have some hard cases who are in for
a prolonged stay.  I see plenty of them as they're the ones who need the most
help staying in shape while they're patients.  Since they generally wear the
heaviest restraints they don't have much slack to work with and there's not
much room for exercising in their rooms anyway.
     Speaking of hardcases here's one being fitted into the Solar Ring, also
known as the Sundizzy.  Excuse me a moment, I need to have a quick word with
Sebastian.



     Now that you've had a chance to look it over I'll explain its purpose.
Like many patients who have had little exposure to sunlight or light in any
form for weeks Brianna has suffered a case of Institute Pallor aka the Patient
Pales.  There are many causes of this effect, all restraint related of which
the most common is due to prolonged Beta Latex coating.  This is what happened
to Brianna, she joined us as an involuntary patient after Gold Team acquired
her (along with her sisters Gina and Brittany) under unusual circumstances and
has remained in Beta Latex since her arrival.  As you can imagine prolonged
light deprivation causes the skin to pale which is particularly noticeable in
caucasians.  While our dietitians ensure patients don't suffer vitamin D
deficiencies once they are freed from whatever kept them in darkness (be it
Beta, Standing Coffin or other all encompassing restraints) for whatever
reason they are brought here to regain a healthy tan.  While there are no
physical health problems our studies show patients feel better about
themselves when they don't have pale and colourless skin tones.
     You're probably wondering why we don't just stake them out in the
grounds until they've got their colour back.  Several reasons; number one if
it's not summer, late spring or early fall they won't want to be outside in
a bikini.  Then even if the weather permits the patients has to contend with
biting insects, curious wildlife and unwanted attention from staff and
visitors.  There's also the problem of turning them to ensure an even tan
rather than sunburn or underexposure on one or both sides.  After a few
unfortunate but amusing incidents in the program's early days it became
obvious we had to use indoor facilities.  Initially we used an array of sun
lamps which alleviated some of these problems but they were subsequently
replaced by the far more efficient Solar Ring.
     The Ring actually consists of two rings.  First the interior ring is
adjusted for the patient's size.  It can accommodate patients ranging between
three and ten feet tall.  The patient is locked into the ring in a stretched
out spreadeagled posture that ensures maximum skin exposure.  With this done
the patient is outfitted with ultraviolet blocking contact lenses and
ultraviolet permeable sensor disks that enable us to track the degree of
tanning that is occurring so we can make any necessary adjustments.  
    With this done utilizing the same anti gravity technology used in Null
Gravity Therapy the inner ring is levitated then maneuvered into the outer
ring where it is locked into axles at top and bottom.  It can now rotate 360
degrees horizontally within the outer ring.  The outer ring also levitates
and the ultraviolet lights before and behind it activate as the outer ring
begins to turn 360 degrees vertically while the interior continues rotating
horizontally relative to it.  This has the effect of ensuring that every
square inch of the patient is exposed to the ultraviolet lights and by
adjusting the rotation rates we can be sure of the evenness of the resulting
tan though we have to be mindful of the patient's tolerance for G forces.
     Which brings us to another advantage the Solar Ring has over the more
traditional tanning equipment.  By accelerating the ring it can be used both
to test patient endurance and to exercise their muscles through resistance
to G forces if I feel they will benefit from toning up in this fashion.
Naturally this is carefully monitored and we will be observing Brianna closely
during her session.
     Oh yes, it's all been approved.  Brianna is something of an anomaly due
to the circumstances of her birth so her physical tolerances are difficult to
estimate.  From her Solar Ring session we should be able to develop a better
idea of her true physical capabilities and the optimal exercise program.  It
will also enable us to inform Grimbor Ward if their current restraint
precautions to date need to be reassessed regarding this patient.  While the
Beta Restraints held it's not known if they had a serious overkill capacity
or were barely holding.  So during the test the sensors woven into her bikini
will be monitoring heart rate, lung capacity, muscular resistance to
centrifugal forces and so forth,  This is both so we can learn her limits and
know when to cut back so as to not exceed them.
     It looks like Dee Dee's found a glitch in the antigrav generator so why
don't we move along and meet Brianna's sister Gina in the meantime.



     Unlike her sibling Ms. Diggers has shown no sign of enhanced strength or
any paranormal capabilities nor is there any evidence to suggest that she
ever possessed such attributes.  While she was listed as an extreme threat
when acquired that was because of the technology she possessed.  Once that was
removed she was downgraded from "Dangerous" to "Noisy" and not long afterwards
transferred to the Open Ward where she has resided ever since.
     While possessing more freedom to move around and stay in shape than
either sibling she has spent all her free time of late moping and eating.  The
abysmal failure of a number of escape attempts took its toll and put her into
what I would call a deep funk rather than actual depression.  Of course I'm
not a doctor so that's not an actual diagnosis.  However while taking my
regular tour round the Open Ward looking for candidates for the gym I noticed
her and suggested a bit of exercise might both perk her up and get her in
shape.  Harley agreed and sent her over earlier today.  So I decided to start
her off with a little walking.  No sense overdoing it on the first day.
     Oh, the Beta Latex sheet behind her?  It's called a Beta Wrapper, one of
Sebastian's latest innovations.  It's both a patient transportation aid and, if
necessary, a punitive device.  Gina's been assigned a pace to keep and she can
see from the readout on the panel how well she's doing at keeping it.  When
her session is done the manacles automatically open and the treadmill carries
her back into the Beta Wrapper behind her.  As the name implies it's designed
to envelop and wrap around on contact so a few seconds later she'd be secured
and ready for transport back to the Open Ward without any bother about getting
her into restraints first.  Once she's returned to the Open Ward it's a simple
matter to deactivate the sheet.
     Correct, that does mean she'll then be unrestrained but she won't be
alone and the Orderlies watching her will be removing it in the Showers area
as our policy is to wash patients off after a visit to the Gym before
resecuring them and returning them to their Ward.  So it's more efficient than
us putting her into restraints that need to be removed again as soon as she
returns to the Open Ward.
     Yes, as I said it also serves a punitive purpose.  There's a one minute
grace period but after that if Gina is still failing to maintain her minimum
pace the manacles open and she gets wrapped up.  True, that does sound like
an incentive to goof off but if she gets wrapped because of slacking off she
doesn't go back to the Open Ward.  Instead we fit her with a China Doll and
find her a temporary room in Grimbor Ward where she spends her punitive period
mummified and missing taking mobility for granted.  
     Oops, there she goes!  A disappointing show Gina, my little sister used
to do twenty laps around an olympic sized track before breakfast.  We'll just
have to work you harder next time.
     Excuse me a moment.  DeeDee, take a break from the messing with the anti
grav and get a China Doll out of stores and notify the Whites that Gina's going
to need an unassigned room in Grimbor Ward for the next ... let's make it three
days for lack of effort.  Once you've got a room number find some Orderlies to
take Gina to her temporary quarters before you can get back to work on the
Solar Ring.  I'd do it myself but I've got to finish our guest's tour.  
     Good girl.  You know they're both great kids, enthusiastic and eager to
please.  Hard to imagine they used to be regarded as heading for a life as
career criminals.  Just goes to show the benefits of an active lifestyle with
lots of exercise.
     Sorry, I'm doing public relations when I should be showing you around.
While even with the "Carrot and the Stick" technique Gina wasn't much of a
runner the woman on this next treadmill is a textbook case of motivation in
action.



     Ms. Nabiki Tendo came to join us because her skill at manipulation
combined with her avarice was beginning to scare her family in a way threats
of physical violence never did.  We're addressing the issue of her being a
master manipulator via Puppet Therapy.  It's early days yet but she is
starting to develop an aversion to pulling other people's strings.  Which is,
of course, the whole point.
     An unexpected development of her presence within the institute is Cash
Withdrawal.  I'm not talking banking, I mean that the lack of a constant flow
of funds is getting to her.  This was unanticipated and makes her vulnerable
to manipulation which, judging by her case file, was almost impossible to
achieve before.  However that's what has happened and I'm not above taking
advantage of it to make Ms. Tendo take the exercise she needs.  As I said to
Harley it's much better for her than loafing around the Open Ward watching
the business news channel with that sad look in her eyes.
     No, it's a Common Room TV but she still has a remarkable aptitude for
convincing the other patients to let her watch her shows.  Anyway I told
her if she can outrun the treadmill and grab the wad in her teeth that it's
hers.  That was all the motivation our Ms. Tendo needed.  She's from a
naturally athletic family and it shows in the way she can dash along the track
for hours.  I swear it looks like she's actually getting closer despite the
treadmill's onboard computer supposedly being able to vary speeds and maintain
the user at a consistent distance.
     I suppose we'll find out one way or another eventually.  Until then money
may or may not make the world go round but it certainly does the job for
Nabiki Tendo.
     There's much more to the Gymnasium including the outdoors and our heavy
training equipment but I realise you plenty to see and a limited amount of
time.  So if you prefer I'll reunite you with Dr. ARNie and you can continue
touring the rest of the institute

Otherwise, Follow me for the rest of the Gym Tour!

Or would you like to skip directly to the Holo Arena?