The Ivory Tower

[aidan cooper]

The Latere Asylum for Children


Please don't walk away, I want you to hear what I gotta say.

Asylum seemed such an ugly word, full of negative implication, and it was never referred to as a Sanitarium, because they weren’t necessarily there for the recovery, they were more there for the tolerance and so these troubled kids had a place to go. The attempts at recovery were secondary and the staff and even the children at Latere were more realistic then the rest. They knew that some people just couldn’t be fixed.

I never had anyone ever care for me, I never had anyone ever there for me.

They called it the Ivory Tower. It seemed a fitting name for such a huge building, harsh stone against the soft and simple landscape of rural Pennsylvania. That was the name outsiders and residents alike referred to it. The Ivory Tower. It was absent of the negative connotations and gave the place a soft sort of feeling, something that was vaguely full of mystery and perhaps a little hope. Goodness knows the children there needed it.

If you would listen to me instead of callin me names, I would explain why I'm shakin and I'm goin insane.

The function of the Ivory Tower grew and changed with the medical field and what was considered ‘insane’ and to what degree. Of course insane wouldn’t be a correct term. Mentally ill or impaired was a better term, gentler somehow, not that the children there cared. The huge castle like structure has been renovated over the years, outfitted for it’s purposes. Rooms have been altered or changed, the building got heat and running water, air conditioning. It was a pain and very costly over the years but the Ivory Tower never ran out of funds. The building seems far from society and the closest large city is perhaps 30 minutes away. There are smaller towns much closer by and for these towns the Ivory Tower still holds that air of mystery and intrigue.

My mind is on vacation, Like a conversation, I'm like a radio, with static on every station.

Nowadays the Ivory Tower is home to about 200 children. They range from the ages of 11 to 18. On their 18th birthday there’s nothing left the staff of the Latere Asylum can really do and they are children. At the legal age of adulthood, the no longer children, must find help elsewhere. It is a sad fate, but plenty of children leave before they become adults anyway, swept up by another Intuition that is more fitting, carted off to jail or, in the worst cases, dead, by their own hand or someone else’s. It is by no means a common occurrence, but when there are 200 damaged children in one building… well something like that is bound to happen sooner or later.

Still I wanna know will I be normal again You say it's bullnuts and tell me that it's all pretend

Schooling is not neglected and they attended several hours a day, 5 days a week. These children have no where else to go, so School is basically a constant. But it is easy school for the most part, teaching what the children want to learn, and rather free in it’s curriculum. The children are grouped based on skill rather then age, and the brilliant but broken little 12 year olds may be in classes with the elder teenagers. Art in many forms is encouraged; music and theater are also encouraged. They have dances and balls, organized (though highly regulated) sports and perhaps a small play or two. Everythign is watched and regulated by the staff.

But if it's false then why don't the demons just disapear? And if it's untrue then why am I seein them crystal clear?

This is not necessarily a home exclusively for the mentally unstable. They cater to a whole host of children who are simply… different. Savants, high functioning children who are a little off in the head perhaps. Some are brilliant, but have trouble functioning in the general society. Those that are considered unstable, they are at varying levels. Some function well on medication, others do not. There are a whole host of mental illnesses, from social issues, bi-polar disorder, depression, varying level of autism, eating disorders, post traumatic stress disorder, signs of schizophrenia and a whole variety of other things. There are those children that seem to have nothing wrong with them except what they chose themselves, the selectively mute children who may or may not also be depressed, who sit in their corners and refuse to speak.

Because I do, the mirror is turnin blue. And soul after soul keeps walkin right through.

Often times these children are the from broken families, shove into the foster care system who can’t handle them. Looking for an out, they are set here through the funding provided by the Ivory Tower itself. Most times these are the children who do not age out and are instead shipped off somewhere else, or dead before their time. Some children are sent by their families who do not wish to be embarrassed by such a child and are put out of sight and mind. These are often the children that have no where to go when they turn 18. What happens to them after that is anyone’s guess, but no good guesses are afforded them. The staff and the children themselves no better than that.

They're livin in my house and livin inside my head, Some sleep inside the closet, others sleep under the bed

Some children have been at the Tower since the age of 11, some are 17 and only just arriving. Some will get sent to a new institution or pulled out by their parents, or someone else. Some are her for the long haul. Alliances will be forged, friends made, lines drawn, enemies sworn against. These are children after all, some with voices in their heads besides their own. It will certainly always be interesting in the Ivory Tower, if not a little bit terrifying.

Something...is wrong with me... I can't be who I need to be...
Something...is wrong with me... Will it last for eternity?

We are an intermediate to advanced RPG for literate writers. We’re looking for cannons and originals. Characters range from 11 to 17, boys and girls alike.

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