The Asylum

The abandoned mental hospital lists steeply ot the side. Near the docking disk, more modern facilities can be seen.

I’ve never been a fan of horror stories, personally. When you live the life of a pod pilot, where death can visit you at any given moment (again and again, if necessary), I don’t really feel the need to get my adrenaline pumping or my fight or flight reflex to kick in. It happens all the time already. Even before entering the pod close to 4 years ago now, I never really understood why people would want to be terrified for fun. I suspect that it has something to do with escapism. You’re not normally going to be running for your life from a zombie or getting hunted by an axe murderer, so the opportunity to (safely) put one’s self in those shoes is very attractive to some people. Just not to me. I’m a powerful capsuleer, one of the most powerful people to exist in the history of mankind. What do I need with escapism?

A drydock stands near the abandoned hospital, with a ship in for repairs.

In any case, if I did enjoy horror stories, I have to admit that this week’s site has all the makings of an excellent story. An old mental hospital, fallen into disrepair. Crazy “psychiatrists” who performed horrific experiments on those sent there. A new group coming in, trying to turn the site around. Throw in some unexplained disappearances, mysterious noises, as well as a group of teenagers who are determined to set things right, and the story practically writes itself. Perhaps the creepiest thing about this entire site, however, is that it does seem so perfectly fit for a horror movie. It’s rare that you see those kinds of places in real life. As much as you’d like to think that there are not and never have been evil psychiatric institutions that may or may not be haunted,I suppose it was bound to happen eventually. And happen it did in Lanngisi. As Aura explains:

Before the Minmatar rebellion, this facility, among others, served as a treatment center for mentally ill individuals. The Asylum was formally named Compulsions, Obsessions and Mania Asylum, or COMA in short. It used highly questionable methods to treat those suffering from mental illnesses. Notably the neuro-shock therapy coupled with a dream-induced state, doctors at the facility claimed they were able to ‘transfer the conscious to a new level’. In recent years, the facility has served as a refugee center. Conflict in nearby systems has increased lately and the Sisters of Eve have taken the role of aiding those in need.

The detainment facility sits slightly inside the now-abandoned superstructure of the hospital. Lanngisi III floats in the background.

Leave it to the Sisters to attempt something like this. While I, of course, commend the Sisters for their attempts to handle the wave of refugees, I couldn’t help but question their choice of where to put the center. Indeed, it was an odd choice in many ways. As far as I could tell, none of the structures the Sisters are using are actually attached to or rely on the old Asylum. They’re merely set up in proximity to the old station, which is just as well, because it is clear that that station has seen better days. As with most older and abandoned structures, it has been picked to the bone, leaving only the massive superstructure. Moreover, the station has been abandoned so long that it has lost its normal orientation: the station is listing heavily to one side (as much as one can list in directionless space, at least), a product of years without even stationkeeping thrusters to keep it stable. It certainly gave a rather eerie feeling to the area.

The various facilities set up by the Sisters of EVE.

Ignoring the super creepy abandoned mental institution of horror, the rest of the site was actually fairly lively. The Sisters have created a fairly extensive support infrastructure for the refugee center. Beyond the refugee center itself, which was a predictably drab and boxy thing, the site hosted a number of satellite facilities. One of these support facilities was a small drydock. A ship was docked there at the time, though I couldn’t tell if it was being built or merely undergoing repairs. In either case, the robotic arms moved back and forth along the length of the Minmatar vessel, bringing supplies and building materials to where it was needed. There was also a second smaller center, as well as a few other supporting structures and a ship keeping watch on the area. On a more ominous note, and more set off from the rest of the site, the Sisters had established a detainment center, suggesting that not all the refugees were acting as grateful as they should have been. Perhaps to give them a more appropriate setting, the Sisters had actually built the detainment center inside what used to be the station’s main docking port. A rather ominous location when things start going bump in the night, as they so often do on space-based facilities.

The old asylum hangs ominously in the background, beyond the rest of the refugee center.

Despite the Sisters’ attempt to reclaim the Asylum, even being near the old facility gave me the creeps. Despite all of my input coming directly from ship sensors and sound synthesizers, I could have sworn I heard some odd noises coming from the old hospital. Of course, it was probably just my ears playing tricks on me, but suffice it to say that I was very, very happy when I had finished my investigation of the site. I have seen many things in my travels: wrecks of countless ships, the sites of fierce battles, homes of many creepy cults, but nothing unnerved me quite as much as this abandoned hospital. As much as I tried not to put much stock into supernatural happenings that are all too common in horror stories, I couldn’t help but doublecheck all interior ship sensors to make sure that nothing unwanted had joined the ship while I was there. It was just my imagination that something was watching me… right?

Basic Information:

• Attraction: The Asylum
• System: Lanngisi
• Security Rating: 0.5
• Region: Metropolis
• Potential Hazards: If you’re below a -4.5 in security status, or -5 standing with the Minmatar, you’ll have to deal with some rather unpleasant policemen.
• Additional Notes: This also serves as a Minmatar COSMOS site.