Conditional Reality

Opencut Dustbowl went to the hospital for minor surgery, the removal of a keratosis from his elbow. While the surgeon sliced out the offending growth a storm dumped several feet of snow on his city. Opencut lived in an ecosystem unaccustomed to snow. The city shut down. No roads were passable. All trains and buses canceled their runs. Opencut accepted the hospital as his temporary home and embraced his leadership powers. He organized the staff and patients into a survival machine. They were eager to do his bidding. Soon the local anesthetic wore off. The snow melted. Opencut trudged home.