I woke in a strange bed, which itself was in a large, unfamiliar room. Long shadows were cast by sunlight streaming from the window behind the head of the bed, so I assumed it was late in the day, perhaps early morning. I dismissed the latter; there was something about the quality of the light suggestive of evening, rather than the rosy glow of morning.

Around me were a collection of machines and tubes, one of which was clamped to my face by elasticated straps, with an invasive tube thrust into my throat via my mouth. Curious bi-pedal, chromium mannequins dressed in medical scrubs roved to and fro along the tiled floor-space between the foot of my bed and the adjacent wall, clicking and whirring as they made their way from one arcane task to another. I recognised them as robotic nurses, although I had never seen one before, at least not in the flesh, or metal, as it were.

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