Display MoreIf you will indulge me for just a moment I have some great personal news to share. This past October, my mom had a stroke during surgery and she has been in one hospital or another ever since… until now! She has made an amazing, tough fought recovery and has finally returned home from rehab. I'm so happy about this and in honor of the past six months of hospitals I thought it might be therapeutic to take a closer look at a fictional one: the famous Crius hospital from Privateer 2: The Darkening!
Treatment Background
A cryopod containing Vell Ricaud II, a male humanoid, was found in the wreckage of the Canera in Mendra City. His two decade-old custom-built Shernikov Medical Equipment Cryo Nine Series pod saved his life and limited his physical injuries, leaving him the only survivor of the crash. The damage to the pod started the thaw cycle from his deep cryonic sleep. Rescuers brought Ricaud to Astravin Medical Centre (AMC) in Salusberg where Dr. Yvan Loomis began clinical resuscitative procedures. Dr. Janna Frevel and Nurse Douglas Pemtur were present when Ricaud regained consciousness. Tests conducted during resuscitation revealed that Ricaud was suffering from the Amyotrophic Ossicular Degeneration (AOD, also called Amytrophic Ossicular Syndrome or AOS) virus, which impacts structural tissue. He was given the self-viral treatment program for AOD as soon as he was thawed and his bone marrow corrected itself in roughly a week.
Ricaud was incorrectly identified by the hospital staff as Lev Arris, the name on the cryopod. After he regained consciousness he was found to be suffering from Anterior Amnesia that was likely caused by accelerated depassivity from twenty years of artificial sleep. Because of this cryo-associated memory loss he was unable to recall his own identity and continued to go by Arris. In the two weeks following the crash, Doctors performed Bathycephalic scans and a Hypercutaneous Cephalic Remedial Leucotomy but they did not improve his memory. The loss of long- and short-term memory is common with trauma sustained in cryo. Dr. Frevel expected that Ricaud's memory was likely to return but she could not predict a timeline. She cautioned him to avoid stress which could prolong the amnesia.
Ricaud subsequently went through mental and physio therapy for his injuries. He responded well to freeform recovery therapy, quickly returning to excellent shape. He underwent a standard counseling program for his memory loss. The hospital performed an identity check but found no records beyond a credit account that was established one week after the crash. Counselors advised him to watch for e-mails and other messages and to travel as much as possible to try and locate his birthplace or home. At the time of the assassination attempt he had been expected to be released from the hospital in twelve days. When Ricaud resurfaced at Hermes Off-Planet Control On-Site Emergency Medical, Astravin Medical Centre forwarded him a Rehabilitation Guide for Anterior Amnesia with information to assist his recovery and billed his account for their services.
Astravin Medical Centre at Crius Hospital
Astravin Medical Centre at Crius Hospital is a private hospital owned by the Crian Medical Institute with focuses on neurology and herpetology. It is located in Salusberg in Crius' northern hemisphere. The facility generates perishable vaccine packs which are sometimes delivered to other planets in the Tri-System.
NAME: Crius Hospital
OWNER: Crian Medical Institute
EMPLOYEES: 2145
LOCATION: Salusberg, Crius
BUSINESS: Medical Care
BACKGROUND:
One of the newest and most respected medical establishments on Crius. Dealing mostly with private patients, the AMC specialises in neurosurgery and herpetology, and does take specialist cases on free of charge. One of its most notable traits is its use of radical 'freeform recovery therapy', which seems to have cut trauma recovery times almost in half.Crius Hospital Locations
Over the course of Privateer 2, we see a surprising eight different sets that make up Astravin Medical Centre. They appear in the introduction, the flashback to Lev's conversation with Dr. Frevel that directs you back to Crius, the interactive scene with Dr. Loomis and then again in the Dr. Graham Gould cinematic mission where you pick up a package. The portions of the hospital that we see are primarily located in two different areas: an entrance and a hospital reception area on the ground floor and the war reception area, solarium and terrace where Arris is on the fifth floor (the receptionist sends visitors to "5A" and the script directions read "This is elevated five or six storeys above ground level, and there's a railed, open terrace outside it"). We also see an operating room and a conference room which do not have their locations specified. The setup is thus to allow the terrace seen in the flashback and the escape to be elevated in a way that the ship used to transport Arris can hover in place.
The booth database and the Official Guide both establish Crius' role as the "hospital planet" to explain why it offers cheap medical supplies and houses locations like the Surgeon's Blunder Bar and Sherinkov Medical. This is actually not connected to Crius Hospital: Lev is there because the Canera crashed on Crius and not because it's a planet with a focus on medical facilities! Though perhaps its medical facilities are why Malakai was transporting Lev's cryopod on the Canera to Crius in the first place.
NAME: Crius
SYSTEM: Hom
ATMOSPHERE: Ultra clean, natural
DIAMETER: 7,961 Miles
6,594,576,712
BACKGROUND:
The Crian Planetary Flag shows a skiing doctor rampant on a mound of deceased streptococci, which tells you just about everything you need to know about the place. Crius has been a centre for medical excellence ever since the first settler, Jenkum Diddlybitz, stepped out onto one of the many imposing glaciers, breathed deeply in the crisp, fresh air, and promptly collapsed with a triple intestinal prolapse, a consequence of a particularly virile bacilla native to the planet. Ninety percent of the first settlers died of various unpleasant diseases, and the survivors have been battling infectious death ever since, simultaneously building some of the cleanest, whitest hospitals you've ever seen. Popular with mountain sports fanatics and the terminally ill, Crius is a pleasant place both to live and holiday, with the uncrowded conditions making for some of the Tri-System's cheaper real estate. The only problem with the place is the company; after a while, beery rugby-playing doctors, technicoloured snow surfers and vacant, grinning nurses tend to irritate somewhat. Still, Medical Supplies of all varieties are cheap and plentiful, and they do a great line in restorative liver, heart and lung surgery. I wish the genito-urinary specialists didn't have such cold hands, though. <255>CRIUS (NAV 4)
Crius became the medical center of the Tri-System quite by accident. Early settlers were first draw by the beautiful Crian alpine landscape. However, these glacial mountains harbored unseen peril -- hard bacteria not found anywhere else in the Tri-System. In order to make the planet habitable,considerable time, effort and research were devoted to conquering these intractable germs. In the process, research labs, medical universities and hospital complexes came to dominate the planet.First Floor
Entrance: The Entrance is seen only briefly when the first two Assassins arrive. It consists of a double doors and then a railed bridge over a lower level of the hospital which isn't visible (in a cut scene, two women are seen in this area, more on that below).
Hallway: The Hallway set has the dark wooden rails on one side and then windows and buttresses lining the other. It is equipped with "slidewalks". The Hallway does double duty as both the route leading from the entrance to the Hospital Reception Area and one which leads from the Hospital Reception Area to other parts of the hospital (including the Solarium and the Conference Room depending on the scene).
Hospital Reception Area: The Hospital Reception Area is at the end of the Hallway from the Entrance. The hospital's receptionist sits at a curved desk. There is some hanging art behind her as well as a vase with flowers. She has a computer with yellow lights that turn on and off; she can use it to generate a floating light which shows visitors where to go in the hospital. Railings and hallways seem to head in several directions. The Hospital Reception area should not be confused with the Ward Reception Area on the Fifth Floor.
The guiding lights are explicitly different colors although this is not clear in the final cut because the footage of the first assassins following a green one were not included. The SFX for the green one were not completed in the existing footage but you can see the on set light used for the refection in screenshots.
Fifth Floor
Ward Reception Area: The War Reception Area is outside the Solarium. This is where Nurse Douglas was shot. Hallways go off in several directions and a bridge similar to the one at the entrance rises over a lower level. There is a curved nursing desk with the same white desktop computer as the Hospital Reception Area and a neon green transparent laptop-style computer.
Solarium (5A): The Solarium is where Lev undergoes physical therapy and starts his conversation with Dr. Frevel. There are three pieces of equipment for rehab for a variety of patients including Lev's exercise machine, a pair of bars for walking with arm support and a gyroscope with a patient spinning in it. A loudspeaker announces when the gyro is commencing and ending. The room has a high domed ceiling with a green-and-blue light in the center. There is a mirror on one wall that helps with exercise. One entrance leads to the Ward Reception Area and another is open to the Terrace.
Terrace: The Terrace is the outside area overlooking the ambulance bay and the rest of the city. It is where Dr. Frevel is killed by the assassins and Lev is loaded into an escaping spacecraft. It is also where the flashback conversation with Dr. Frevel is conducted. The large 'oculus' window which is shattered in the fighting is the centerpiece of the set. The Terrance is open directly to the Solarium.
Unknown
Operating Room: The Operating Room is where Lev awakens. The set itself isn't visible at all, there's only white in the background. But we do see Lev's hospital bed and three interesting pieces of medical equipment. Dr. Loomis initially scans Lev with a black instrument with a lightbulb on the end and then she does something with a long blue instrument that seems to have rubber testicles. Then they wheel in a device with a metal component on one side and tanks containing four brightly colored liquids.
Conference Room: When Lev returns to Crius to look for Dr. Loomis the receptionist directs him to the Conference Room. He travels down to the end of the Hallway to her right and then turns right. He is then seen opening a door with an illuminated wall panel. The dark railing can be seen outside the conference room door. The side across from the room seems to be columns with backlit walls. The room has a rounded, dark donut-shaped conference table with at least seven metal chairs around it. There seems to be a smaller, organically shaped light table to the left of the room with some kind of glass structure on it.
Crius Hospital Characters
Dr. Yvan Loomis (Douglas Fielding): Dr. Loomis is the neurosurgeon who initially thaws Lev although he is not seen until he returns to the hospital looking for more information about his identity. Dr. Loomis started his holiday before Arris regained consciousness with plans to return at the end of the month. When Lev returns to visit him, he is working in the Conference Room.
Loomis, Dr. Yvan
47
Crius
Senior Neurologist, Crius Hospital
Graduated second in his class from the 1st Crian Medical University. Showed a special aptitude for neurology, and is now one of the most respected practitioners in his field. Pioneer of three major neurological techniques: Hypercutaneous Cephalic Remedial Leucotomy, Hypothalamic Analgesic Stimulation, and Bathycephalic Surgery. The last of these techniques was co-developed by his assistant, Dr. Janna Frevel (deceased).
Criminal Record: None.Dr. Janna Frevel (Hetty Baynes): Dr. Frevel is the assistant neurosurgeon who is present when Lev first regains consciousness. Later in the introduction, we see her counseling him about his missing identity during physio in the Solarium. When Lev returns to Crius he has flashback to speaking to her on the Terrace. She is killed by the first group of assassins when they arrive to capture Lev. She seems to be particularly caring about Lev although he doesn't seem especially impacted by her death.
Frevel, Dr. Janna
29 (Deceased)
Crius
Neurological Consultant, Crius Hospital
Graduate of the Ledellan Medical Institute. Had practised at the AMC for 6 years under Dr. Yvan Loomis as assistant neurologist, and was rated one of the top 30 Bathycephalic surgeons in the system. Very recently killed during the abduction of a Ser Lev Arris. Sadly missed by the medical fraternity.
Criminal Record: None.Dr. Graham Gould: Dr. Gould e-mails Lev Arris to start an optional cinematic mission on disc 2. He asks you to pick up a perishable vaccine pack from Astravin Medical Centre and deliver it to Interplanetary Aid on Anhur. He does not appear on screen.
Nurse Pemtur Douglas (Nick Gillard): Nurse Douglas is the masked man assisting Dr. Frevel in the Operating Room when Lev first regains consciousness. Two weeks later he is shot and killed by Assassin #2 in the Ward Reception Area after he tells them they must wait for Lev's consultant to approve their visit to the Solarium.
NAME: Douglas, Nurse Pemtur
AGE: 31
PLACE OF BIRTH: Crius
PROFESSION: Nurse, Crius Hospital
BACKGROUND:
Had worked at the Astravin Medical Centre in Crius hospital for over 10 years following his graduation from Nursing college. Very recently killed during the abduction of a Ser Lev Arris. Sadly missed by the medical fraternity.
Criminal Record: None.Receptionist (Lynn Thompson): The receptionist works at the Hospital Reception Area. She operates a machine which directs people to their destinations inside the hospital. She directs both sets of assassins to the Solarium where Lev is undergoing physio. In a cut scene, she flirts with the first assassin. When Lev returns to visit Dr. Loomis, she directs him to the Conference Room. When he returns to pick up Dr. Gould's vaccine pack, she is holding it for him.
Extras
Scene 2 - Intro
- Female Patient (at exercise bars)
- Female Doctor with Face Shield (at exercise bars)
- Male Doctor with surgical hat & mask (walking in front of Lev & Frevel)
- Bandaged Patient (in gyroscope)
- Male Doctor with surgical hat & mask (walking behind Lev & Frevel)
- Bearded doctor with surgical hat (walking in hallway w/ first assassins)
- Male Doctor with face shield & Bandaged Patient (talking in hallway w/ first assassins)
- Female doctor in habit (walking in hallway w/ first assassins)
- Male Doctor with face shield (walking in hallway w/ first assassins)
- Male Patient with Moustache (standing in hallway w/ first assassins)
- Unidentified (end of hallway w/ first assassins)
- Bandaged patient (solarium doing arm pulls)
- Female doctor in habit (hallway w/ second asssassins)
- Male Doctor with face shield (hallway away from second asssassins)
- Male Doctor with face shield (hallway walking w/ second asssassins)
- Male Patient (hallway w/ second asssassins)
- Male Doctor (hallway w/ second asssassins)
- Male Patient (hallway w/ second asssassins)
- Three Patients (knocked down by explosion)
Scene 7 - Dr. Loomis Introduction
- Male Doctor in Face Shield (behind Lev in Reception)
- Female Doctor & Bandaged Patient (talking in hallway)
- Bearded doctor with surgical hat (walking in hallway)
- Female doctor in habit (walking in hallway)
- Male doctor in face shield (walking in hallway)
Scene 62 - Dr. Graham Gould Vaccine Pickup
- Female doctor in habit (as Lev enters)
- Male Doctor in Face Shield (as Lev enters)
- Bearded doctor with surgical hat (behind Lev in Reception)
The Assassins
Assassin #1 (Ade Sapara) & Assassin #2 (Fairmang Singhateh) are Rhinehart's agents that have been sent to rescue Vell. He later explains that "I didn't tell the idiots to trash the whole place, just to get you out of there…" A line in which Assassin #2 mentions working for Rhinehart was cut, making the connection more difficult to make early on; additionally, the CCN entry for the New Crius Examiner conuses the matter by mentioning only that -Kindred- assassins have been posing as assassins. Another misdirect is the fact that their escape ship is a Kindred Blade (which, obviously, Rhinehart would also have access to).
Assassin #3 (Amanda Pays) & Assassin #4 (Su Lin Looi) are Kindred agents sent by Kronos to assassinate Vell. Assassin #4 had a cut line that "the Old Man's gonna go ballistic" which was meant to tie them to Kronos.
The Vehicles
The ship which Lev uses to escape the hospital is only seen briefly and unfortunately has not been discovered in higher resolution. It is an earlier cinematic model of the Kindred PL4B Blade light fighter. The script describes it as "largish scoutship-type craft".
Here is the Blade as it appears in the game. It also appears in civilian colors in a US print ad for the game!
Two futuristic ambulances are briefly glanced 'below' the terrace during the flashback scene. This SFX shot was included to show viewers that the location is higher up in the hospital in preparation for the escape.
Lev's cryopod is not seen at the hospital but several hints are given relating to it, including its age and the fact that it is custom built. These are intended to help you locate it in the ship database later.
Behind the Screens
You can compare the development from script to storyboard for each scene at these links:
Several cuts were made to the introduction in post which removed scenes shot in the hospital. An earlier edit of the scene has been recovered and is available for viewing.
In the first cut, the first two assassins speak to the initial receptionist after they arrive at the entrance. One of them flirts with her and pretends to be a reporter from the New Crius Examiner (still referenced later in the final edit after they kill Nurse Douglas). As they exit down the hallway, the other assassin teases him and they mention working for Rhinehart. One unusual thing about this scene is that immediately after entering the hospital the assassins look down to their left and then right and each time see a young woman seemingly on a lower floor of the hospital. My best guess is that this is addressing the script direction that "one is looking around him alertly, as if watching the other man's back" but it is oddly unexplained in the text as these women do not appear again! One of them even has a completed SFX element as she is following a blue 'location' orb.
SC.26 INT. HOSPITAL RECEPTION AREA -- DAY
RECEPTIONIST: Yes?
FIRST ASSASSIN: It's new right?
FIRST ASSASSIN: The hair style. I love it.
RECEPTIONIST: Oh, it's fairly new I suppose...
FIRST ASSASSIN: It's perfect. I do a little.... fashion reporting, you know, when I ain't covering more serious stuff..
RECEPTIONIST: Are you guys...journalists?
FIRST ASSASSIN: Brains as well as beauty. We're with the New Crius Examiner. Here to interview a Ser Lev Arris. Is he around?
RECEPTIONIST: I'll just check.
SC.27 CLOSER
RECEPTIONIST: Section five A, gentlemen. First slidewalk on your left, follow the beacon. See you.
FIRST ASSASSIN: Not unless I see you first.
SC.28 WIDER
SECOND ASSASSIN: Fashion reporting?
FIRST ASSASSIN: I thought it was a nice touch.
SECOND ASSASSIN: Yeah, well we'll get a nice touch from Rhinehart if your flirting screws things up.
FIRST ASSASSIN: It ain't flirting. It was just adding a little color to the performance.A couple lines between the receptionist and the second pair of assassins where she mentions that reporters were already looking for Lev were, logically, snipped.
SC.33 INT. HOSPITAL RECEPTION AREA -- DAY
RECEPTIONIST: My, he's popular today.
SC.34 CLOSER
FOURTH ASSASSIN: Popular?
RECEPTIONIST: A couple of reporters just went through.Finally, an exchange between the two surviving assassins that mentions "the old man" (Kronos) was cut from the end of Lev's escape:
SC.54 ASSASSINS THREE AND FOUR
THIRD ASSASSIN: A clean, surgical strike, that was our brief, wasn't it?
FOURTH ASSASSIN: The Old Man's gonna go ballistic.
SC.55 WIDE - THE TWO MEN. THE SKY
THIRD ASSASSIN: There goes my beautiful career.Here are some photos of the hospital sets under construction from the game's first press junket.
The Making of Privateer 2: The Darkening promotional video has a number of shots of the hospital set behind the scenes:
Appendix: Unusual Terminology
Privateer 2's writing uses a number of newly created terms resulting in an intentionally 'off' sense when medical issues are being discussed. By breaking these down into their component words we can guess at their meanings:
Bathycephalic: Lev receives a Bathycephalic scan to treat his amnesia and Dr. Frevel is noted to be a Bathycephalic surgeon. Bathy means deep and cephalic means related to the brain. A deep brain scan/deep brain surgery!
Hypercutaneous Cephalic Remedial Leucotomy: A Hypercutaneous Cephalic Remedial Leucotomy is the surgical procedure administered to Lev Arris in the hopes of restoring his memory. Hyper means high or above and cutaneous refers to the skin. Percutaneous means a procedure administered through the skin so hypercutaneous would seem to indicate one that is conducted outside the skin. Cephalic refers to the head. Remedial means it is a procedure intended to be cure or repair and a leucotomy is a lobotomy. So Lev was given an outside-the-skin lobotomy!
Anterior Amnesia: Anterior Amnesia is the side effect of Lev's long cryosleep. Real amnesia is typically classified as either retrograde (where you can't remember things before a point) or anterograde (where you can't remember things after a point). Lev's amnesia seems to be closer to retrograde but is perhaps distinctive in some way. Anterior refers to the front of something.
Amyotrophic Ossicular Degeneration: AOD is the virus that caused Lev's parents to freeze him twenty years ago. It was cured slightly before the start of Privateer 2. It is said to impact connective tissues and bone marrow. It is treated with a self-viral process. Amyotrophic refers to a malnourishment of the muscles (best known as the A in ALS) and ossicular refers to the tiny bones of the middle ear. The disease is also occasionally called AOS instead of AOD, sometimes by the same characters. We suspect the S stands for Syndrome.
Herpetology: This is a real term but worth pointing out that Astravin Medical Centre is specifically focused on neurology, treating the nervous system, and herpetology, the study of lizards.
Depassivity: Lev's medical record uses this word. De means removing or reversing and passivity is inaction, so the intent is probably to refer to his change in state from cryopreserved to functioning. That said, US version changes the term to decrepitude.
Appendix: Lev Arris' Medical Records
We have three different versions of Lev Arris' medical records which each add small amounts of new information! Each one is presented from a slightly different time: the American and European manuals seem to have been written at different times during his hospitalization and the version on the back of the European box is written after the assassination attempt. The most interesting change between them to me is the fact that the US version, the last written, adds the specification that Arris' species is humanoid!
American Manual
CRIUS HOSPITAL MEDICAL REPORT
NAME: Ser Lev Arris
AGE: 30
SEX: Male
SPECIES: Humanoid
DIAGNOSIS: Anterior Amnesia
CONSULTANTS: Dr. Janna Frevel, Dr. Yvan Loomis
RECENT HISTORY:
Ser Arris's condition was probably caused by accelerated decrepitude due a long artificial sleep in frozen state. This was further complicated by trauma sustained from the wreck of the Canera.
The patient was pulled from the wreckage of the Canera following its impact just short of the landing bay at Mendra spaceport. Although the cryopod had shielded the patient from severe injury, damage to the pod started the thaw cycle, meaning the patient was already partially revived before clinical resuscitative procedures were begun.
From tests conducted during resuscitation, the subject was found to be suffering from Amyotrophic Ossicular Degeneration. This was cured with the self-viral treatment program specific to this disease.
It is presumed that Ser Arris was put into suspended animation some years ago when it was found that he had the AOD virus, which until recently was incurable. The subject is in excellent shape and is making a speedy physical recovery. However, restoration of his long- and short-term memory cannot be predicted. Bathycephalic scans and a Hypercutaneous Cephalic Remedial Leucotomy were carried out but no improvement noted.
Subject received standard counseling program. However, as an identity check turned up no records, he was advised to pay particular attention in the near future to e-mails and other messages from people he may not know. It is possible that a relative, friend or associate may be trying to contact him. As his birthplace/home could not be discovered, it was also suggested he take every opportunity to visit various locations on the planets he might visit.European Manual
MEDICAL REPORT
NAME: Ser Lev Arris
AGE: 30
DIAGNOSIS: Anterior Amnesia
CONSULTANTS: Dr. Janna Frevel, Dr. Yvan Loomis
SYNOPSIS:
Ser Arris's condition was probably caused by accelerated depassivity from a long artificial sleep, after being pulled from the wreckage of a recent Cargo ship disaster at Mendra spaceport (See CCN database for details). Subject was initially found to be suffering from Amyotrophic Ossicular Degeneration, which was cured with a programme of self viral treatment. It is presumed that Ser Arris was put into suspended animation some years ago when it was found that he had the AOD virus, which at the time was incurable. However, the subject is now in excellent health and is making a speedy physical recovery. The return of his long and short term memory, however, cannot be predicted at this time, even after Bathycephalic scans and a Hypercutaneous Cephalic Remedial Leucotomy were carried out. He has responded well to mental and physio therapy and it is the consultants opinion that the subject will be ready to leave hospital in 12 days.European Box
NAME: Ser Lev Arris
AGE: 30
DIAGNOSIS: Anterior Amnesia
RECENT HISTORY:
Ser Arris's condition was probably caused by accelerated depassivity from a long artificial sleep, after being pulled from the wreckage of a recent Cargo ship disaster at Mendra spaceport. After a satisfactory physical rec the subject was kidnapped in a violent attack on the hospital resulting in a number of fatalities. The subject seems to have escaped his kidnappers, and is now in possession of a spaceship, trading and fighting his way across the galaxy, seemingly in search of his lost identity.Appendix: Rehab Guide
One of the European manuals for Privateer 2 takes the form of the Crius Hospital Astravin Medical Center Department of Neurology Rehabilitation Guide For Anterior Amnesia. You can download the full booklet here.
Conclusion
I have always dreamed of a fandom that obsesses over the unnecessary details in our universe. Here specifically I think of the 1977 Star Fleet Medical Reference Manual which was one of those nerdy Trek reference books written from whole cloth; just a book about how Dr. McCoy worked! Maybe this kind of update could be the start of something similar; someday we'll have guides to how Dr. Frevel uses her brain flashlight and her space stick! So that's that! Can you think of any details we missed that should be included? Let me know on the forums! I know it's an odd tribute but my mom has always supported my odd passion for Wing Commander, from buying me the original game to sending me off to see the movie premiere and thinking nothing of it. When you are happy, when things are good, you should celebrate them and thinking in depth about Wing Commander is how I celebrate!
