<strong>Kate Bartlett<br/>Inmate Processing Facility</strong><br/><br/>Kate had been staring at a spot on the floor a few feet in front of her but not really seeing anything. She was consciously trying to stop her brain from thinking through the 'what if's' and'what next.' There was nothing she could do to prevent whatever it was that was going to happen in the next few minutes or perhaps hours. It was clear that the processing of newly arrived prisoners was a well rehearse routine. So 'just deal with the moment' she told herself. 'Don't try and work out how you're going to deal with things that might never happen.'<br/><br/>It was the sharp short scream of one of the prisoners next to her and another further down the line which brought Kate out of her mental reflection. The prisoners had screamed and certainly the girl next to her had jumped quickly to her feet. Kate looked at the girl; she was maybe 20ish. She looked like she was in a state of semi-shock, dazed from what the processing had entailed. Kate wondered whether they all looked like that; it would have been more than understandable. And then she realized someone was talking.<br/><br/>Kate turned her head to the source of the speech. It was a woman, maybe a little older and a little taller than Kate and the suit she was wearing was top of the line. There were plenty of high priced attorney's Kate knew who would have worn a suit like that as a symbol of their status and, more importantly, of the fees they charged. Her stance and bearing made it clear to everyone who cared to notice that she was someone in control... of everything. Then Kate kicked herself mentally; she hadn't been listening. 'What had she said first?' When she did finally start to appreciate the words being spoken, the woman stood in front of the small group was outlining the work opportunities... your output assessed against your costs... that was not particularly surprising. What came next however was... illness plus cost equals death? A voice in Kate's head was already making the legal arguments against that proposterous situation. But when the woman started on her second point, the voice was silenced as the words began to sink in. Kate blinked as little faster, her jaw dropped just as little and a look of complete incredulity appeared across her face. She swallowed hard. The shock was fortunately enough to keep Kate's instinct for legal argument completely at bay. She quite literally could not find the words and it had been a long time since something had done that to her. At that moment in time however it might very well have saved her life. The work that she did both professionally and as a volunteer had given her access to rumours, some stronger than others, about what happened at correctional facilities, but nothing she had ever heard had come close to this.<br/><br/>And then the reality of what had been said hit her. She swallowed hard again. The notion that she was 'now the property of the Gen-Tech Corporation' took on new meaning. Kate struggled to take in much of the woman's third point. Yellow - pain. Red - death, eventually.<br/><br/>She was conscious of being seated, although couldn't remember making the decision to sit down; she was conscious of a video being played but again was talking very little of its content in. She drink and ate... but more as an automated response and she certainly wasn't aware of tasting it. She couldn't help but wonder how many previous inmates had taken the 'red' option.<br/><br/>