The right attitude is gratitude, of course. As a timely reminder of this, her fellow care-clients rose as one in a spontaneous standing ovation for the WHS, clapping and banging on the partitions until the holographic green applause icons blinked out. Winnie went through the motions of joining in.
One of those things you have to grin and bear, she mused, or at least bear. Without the monthly health clearance, citizens had no rights to employment or education - no involvement in society whatsoever. Fine, she groaned inwardly, at least stop telling us how much you care.
The waiting time was actually pretty good today. Just 4 hours later, a SynthNurse glided smoothly into her cubicle, in full PPE. Which seemed a bit of overkill, in this sterile environment, but some of the viruses had evolved to attack artificial pets already. The SynthNurse was well protected in other ways too. "Our ALFs are our most valuable resource. Abusive behaviour or language will not be tolerated, and will result in denial of care-service!"
Assorted Life Forms, fuck me backwards! Winnie screamed internally. Fucking robots! The SynthNurse prodded her with pneumatic mini blood samplers, all undergoing instant analysis, flashing up as all clear with the corresponding green ticks. It checked her temperature and blood pressure. Get a move on, you miserable pile of plastic!
An amber light blinked into life across her visor display. Winnie didn't remember seeing that before. Another innovation? The light quickly blinked out.
The SynthNurse then brought out an unfamiliar swab. Winnie opened her mouth, expecting a run-of-the-mill cheek sample, but instead the nurse stuck it into her nostril, waggling firmly.
"Ach, dammnit!" Winnie complained, as the swab emerged, before sneezing.
"Attitude anomaly detected!" came the same flatvoice, now out of an amber face. A fresh swab emerged from the SynthNurse'sforearm, picking up a sample of the sneeze droplets, which were scanned.
"Possible infection," it informed her. "Protocol 2B, further tests required. Please sit."
Winnie tried to rise, but the SynthNurse was gently holding her in place by the shoulder. "What infection? What kind of test is this?" Winnie demanded, red faced.
It rescanned her temperature.
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DOCS
Short StoryThe near future: thanks to the benevolence of the C. Corporation, all citizens are entitled to their monthly health clearance. Failure to show up is not an option - non-cleared citizens have no rights to employment or education - no involvement in s...
