Battleship Live

The first Neonatal Unit Smidge stayed on was only twelve months old. It was situated five floors up in a state of the art building.

Thirty meters along a pale blue corridor you'd find the centralised staff reception area which was encircled by a large curved desk. In the background monitors would bleep high tones of varying speeds and frequencies.

If you swiped your hand over an illuminated sensor, the doors to the intensive care would swing abruptly open. It was very cosmic. So cosmic in fact, each time I saw that large rounded desk I was half expecting captain kirk to pop up and declare the status of our space craft.

Like a space craft flying through the night skies is how I remember it....and on our journey I encountered whole new sorts of species that I never knew existed.

Aboard our ship you'd find the very accomplished. These were the consultant Neonatologists. Very much the captains they strided the hospital corridors with confidence and pace. As experts in command, they prefer to keep their communications brief and to the point. Pleasantries included short curt smiles and occasional nods of the head.

Second in command were the registrars and the SHO's. As doctors they were knowledgeable and more liberal in their communications, But their toned down uniform and hierarchical positioning meant they often came across as learners, lacking both the conspicuousness of a consultant and the elegance of a nurse.

Next were the Gliders, these were the nurses, the native breed who appeared the most adept in these realms. They moved around the craft with warmth and grace, carrying out instructions with care and precision.

Finally there were the parents, the hostages, the ones who didn't want to be there, the ones who were stuck, lost and scared. They would try desperately to expand their knowledge base at quite rapid speeds in order to find a role, a purpose in this ski -fi reality.

Bunched together the hostages would try to determine what what was going on, what was the meaning of the various terms, risks,lingo and procedures..

Their vulnerability transcended the every day structures that bind groups together.

Class,Gender, Age and Ethnicity.... It didn't matter a hoot.

We had stuff in common, Our dreams had been shattered, Our futures were uncertain and we all wanted for the exact same thing...

A safe landing.