"I respectfully refuse to answer that question...I will not have my gender determine my fate!" says a young man as he struggles with the straps trying to get loose.
"Option A or Option B?" the Minbari alien says as they pause to see what the human might say.
"Option C..." the human states as he finally gives up struggling with the straps.
The boneheaded aliens look at one another and the surgeon in-charge shrugs their shoulders and points to the room. They wheel the human into the room and the young man con only watch as the room is pretty much illuminated by wall sonnets. The alien turns back to the human and talks about what is about to happen.
"It is a shame that you could not follow directions, so maybe this will be up your alley." the young female alien says as she points to the center of the room. There are three humans sitting at a table, watching the aliens talk to the captive. The Minbari release the human and he lays there not sure what to think...at one moment he was a captive...now he is free...but it isn't as simple as that!
"This place was set aside for those who want to keep control of their destiny...this will correct that urge." the alien warns.
"What is this place?" the human asks as he feels drugged, unable to escape if he wanted and unable to fight back.
"This is the Dreaming..." the alien says with a smile as she looks at the others. "We needed one more to begin this experiment and luckily you made that search easier!"
"What experiment?" the human asks as the aliens hand him a deck of playing cards. The human looks at the cards and frowns at some of the horrid images on them. "Is this a joke?" he asks...glad to see there are no kids in here!
"What is a joke?" The alien does not know what a joke means as they lack the ability to express and comprehend humor. Not really concern to hear what the human has to say, the alien taps something into a computer and the human falls to the ground in agony. "I apologize to cause you such discomfort, but we need compliance! If you decide to choose either option A or option B...we will take you away from here, but if you wish to remain stubborn...you must complete the Dreamers Trial...now pay very close attention!"
The human tries to comply, but the agony seems to be getting worse by the passing minute. "For every minute you do not comply, the pain-givers will increase the electric shock until it proves fatal and you self-terminate. You must follow the game if you wish to avoid discomfort...I will help you begin."
The alien hands four cards to the human, "These are active playing cards...choose wisely, for they will determine your destiny...once they are played, they can not be reversed."
"What the hell are these?" the human asks as he reads the cards text. The images are of hospitals on planet Earth, hospitals that he has been to!
"I believe you humans call them hospitals..." the alien says as she looks at one card with a white building and a ambulance in-front. "each hospital will determine your next selection of cards...which will be determined by your three other companions."
"How soooo...augh!" the human cries out as the pain increases.
"They will select a card they possess and give them as choices for you to choose from. Depending on the way things go...the card effects might be tolerable. But if you decide to create enemies here...your choices might be incomprehensible!" the alien warns. She watches as the humans pain level is now at stage 3, "As a warning, most of your species can only tolerate this pain for about ten minutes before they self-combust, so I'd choose quickly."
The human looks at his options:
*St. Anthony Hospital -- a hospital he's been at many times for his asthma problems.
*Children's Hospital -- a hospital he was sent to for three respiratory arrest.
*UW Medical Center -- a hospital he's been at as an adult for treatment...and still unresolved!
*Mary Bridge & Tacoma General Hospital -- the hospital he was born at.