"Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station │ Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0" is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

short story by

Caroline M. Yoachim Caroline Mariko Yoachim is an author of speculative fiction who writes as Caroline M. Yoachim and Caroline Yoachim.Yoachim, Caroline M.Penguins, Robins, and Science Fiction. Essay in ''Lightspeed: People of Colo(u)r Destroy Science Fiction! Special ...

. It was first published in ''

Lightspeed The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant that is important in many areas of physics. The speed of light is exactly equal to ). According to the special theory of relativity, is the upper limit fo ...

'', in March 2016.

Synopsis

"Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station" is a

second-person narrative Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

in the style of a gamebook, depicting a scenario in which an employee of a

space station A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a human crew in orbit for an extended period of time, and is therefore a type of space habitat. It lacks major propulsion or landing systems. An orbital station or an orbital space station i ...

seeks medical care for an injury. At various points throughout the story, the reader is offered a choice as to what the employee should do; however, all choices lead to the employee's "horrible, painful death".

Reception

"Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station" was a finalist for the

Nebula Award for Best Short Story The Nebula Award for Best Short Story is a literary award assigned each year by Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) for science fiction or fantasy short stories. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a short stor ...

of 2016.“Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station│Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0”
at

Science Fiction Writers of America The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, doing business as Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association, commonly known as SFWA ( or ) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization of professional science fiction and fantasy writers. While ...

; retrieved August 13, 2022 ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

'' felt that the story led to "hilarity", Adventures in Short Science Fiction
reviewed by John DeNardo, at ''

''; published September 19, 2018; retrieved August 13, 2022 while ''

Tangent Online ''Tangent Online'' is an online magazine launched in its online incarnation in 1997, though it began as a print magazine in 1993. ''Tangent Online'' is edited by Dave Truesdale, with web-hoster Eric James Stone. The magazine covers reviews of sci ...

'' called it "terrifically funny".Lightspeed #70, March 2016
reviewed by Bob Blough, at ''

''; published March 30, 2016; retrieved August 13, 2022 '' Rocket Stack Rank'' found it to be "very silly", but considered this to be a negative.Welcome to the Medical Clinic at the Interplanetary Relay Station , Hours Since the Last Patient Death: 0, by Caroline M. Yoachim
reviewed by Greg Hullender, at Rocket Stack Rank; published March 8, 2016; retrieved August 13, 2022

References

External links

Text of the story
*{{isfdb title, 2126073 Science fiction short stories Works originally published in online magazines