Setting the scene

The premise I was going for was stolen right out of a Drizzt novel. The characters were slaves of the mind flayers. I presented each of them with a background. I'll past three of them below for flavor and background.

Kuppies/Leenia
Your eyes open and you are excited for another day. As you look around, you are surrounded by numerous other creatures, or all sizes and races. All of you are stranded on a small island in a massive cavern. The island is surrounded by a seemingly endless fall into darkness. Off to one side, a bridge is being extended by two massive hulks.
Everyone slowly shambles across the bridge where a basic meal is waiting for you. Everyone eats in silence, almost zombie like. The others break into groups and head off to do their work.
You walk unseeing through the city, taking in no sights or details, intent on getting to your assignment, for you have the best assignment anyone could hope for. A small group of Illithids escort you. You enter a large, walled structure, passing through several checkpoints until you find yourself in a chamber dominated by a huge brain. You spend your day massaging it, tending to it, and working out knots. And the brain tells you how much you love to do it, and you do love it.
When the day is over, you shamble, once again, through the city unseeing, eat in the same place, cross the bridge, and rest. Satisfied in knowing you made the great brain happy.

Ekeraath/Rudy
Your eyes open and you are excited for another day. As you look around, you are surrounded by numerous other creatures, or all sizes and races. All of you are stranded on a small island in a massive cavern. The island is surrounded by a seemingly endless fall into darkness. Off to one side, a bridge is being extended by two massive hulks.
Everyone slowly shambles across the bridge where a basic meal is waiting for you. Everyone eats in silence, almost zombie like. The others break into groups and head off to do their work.
You walk unseeing through the city, taking in no sights or details, intent on getting to your assignment, for you have the best assignment anyone could hope for. You spend your day in manual labor, hauling items around the city, delivering them, digging, breaking stone, and doing other hard tasks of hard labor. A small group of Illithids escort you. You get immense satisfaction when you complete a task and wonder how anyone could have a better life.
When the day is over, you shamble, once again, through the city unseeing, eat in the same place, cross the bridge, and rest. Satisfied in knowing you made the city better.

Alexander
Your eyes open and you are excited for another day. As you look around, you are surrounded by numerous other creatures, or all sizes and races. All of you are stranded on a small island in a massive cavern. The island is surrounded by a seemingly endless fall into darkness. Off to one side, a bridge is being extended by two massive hulks.
Everyone slowly shambles across the bridge where a basic meal is waiting for you. Everyone eats in silence, almost zombie like. The others break into groups and head off to do their work.
You walk unseeing through the city, taking in no sights or details, intent on getting to your assignment, for you have the best assignment anyone could hope for. You spend your day in manual labor, hauling items around the city, delivering them, digging, breaking stone, and doing as you are bidden. You occasionally look at your hands, thinking something about them is wrong, yet they are no different than anyone else’s. A small group of Illithids escort you. You get immense satisfaction when you complete a task and wonder how anyone could have a better life.
When the day is over, you shamble, once again, through the city unseeing, eat in the same place, cross the bridge, and rest. Satisfied in knowing you made the city better.