The Medical Center is an integrated hospital and infirmary unit providing complete medical care for Colonists. The facility includes medical offices, examining rooms, treatment rooms, an automated medical lab/drug-synthesis unit, a morgue/autopsy room, a small isolation ward, a surgical suite, a virtual reality training and education center, and several beds for critical in-patient care.

The heart of the Medical Center is the med-station, a self-contained diagnostic and treatment unit. The med-station incorporates a fold-out unit that serves as examining table, surgical table, and critical care bed.

The med-station incorporates remote telemetry of patient life-signs, multiband diagnostic EM and field imaging, and a small biochem lab unit for testing and treatment synthesis. A built-in computer aids in patient diagnosis and monitoring. A backup power supply allows the unit to function at reduced capacity for up to eight hours in the event of a power failure. The med-station is a generalist, good at many things, excelling at few, and works best when supported by the more sophisticated facilities available at a Medical Center.

Remote monitoring via biosensors is also built into all Residence units, allowing all but the most serious illnesses and injuries to be treated on an out-patient basis. The Medical Center coordinates closely with the DIRTs (Disaster Instant Response Teams) to provide emergency medical services, and many Colonists receive special medical-aid training, so that they may be pulled from other jobs to supplement the medical staff in times of crisis.

Since surgical facilities, advanced medical technology, and medical staff are limited, stasis units derived from starship technology may be used to suspend the life functions of critical patients until such time as the resources are available for proper treatment.

Operational Notes: The Medical Center improves Colonist longevity and Morale. It is designed to serve up to 50 Colonists.

Tales from New Terra

Telly O'Hara was surprised to see all the other people waiting when she arrived outside the Medical Center. It had seemed a silly notion when she'd thought of it, and she certainly hadn't expected anyone else to come.

There must have been a dozen or more of them, young, old, some in grubby work clothes, some in their party best. They were quiet, somber, respectful, mostly keeping their distance from one another. She spotted a familiar face, Carlo Ralotta, with whom she'd gone to school. She walked over to join him.

"Hi, Carlo. Long time."

He nodded, and his eyes darted toward the Medical Center entrance, as though he was afraid he'd miss something.

She tilted her head curiously. "You came because of him?"

Carlo nodded. "That's why they're all here, I guess. They say they're taking him out of cold sleep today. I had to come."

"I thought I'd be the only one. It just seemed ... You never miss them till they're gone, you know? He's the last Elder, in Eden anyway, the last Earthman. That's got to count for something."

Carlo frowned. "He's not dead yet. You talk like he's dead already."

She looked away, embarrassed. "I didn't mean it that way. It's just this cold sleep - it's so creepy."

"It kept him alive after he was injured exposing the Gulag," said Carlos. "It'll keep us all alive, when the time comes. I was always afraid of that, of being frozen on the starship someday, but if he can come out of it, so can I. It's easier, knowing he was there first." He looked at her. "That's what being a hero is all about, inspiring us to do what we have to do."

She thought about it, wondered what she'd have done in his place, and hoped that, when the time came, she'd have the courage to do what had to be done, no matter how difficult.

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