John nervously walked up to the impressive building whose address was listed in the ad. He was a poor young man fresh out of high school with little career aspects. Any chance to earn some fast cash was just fine by your him.
John didn't know what to expect, but the building was kind of disappointing. It was tall, but otherwise nondescript, just like any other office building. He checked the ad to confirm that he was at the right place. He looked up at the sign over the building - 'Cyberline Systems'.
Hmm, thought John. Sounds more like a tech company than medical research. But the address is right. Might as well go in and check it out.
John put the ad in his pocket and stepped through the sliding glass doors into the reception area. The area was wide with a tall ceiling, the floors sparkling white. The room was empty except for a small desk between two large winding staircases leading to upper floors. John could see concentric balconies circling the floors above him. Occasionally he could see someone in a white coat moving around the walkways above him, quickly exiting one door and entering another.
John nervously moved towards the desk. A pretty freckled redhead sat at a large circular desk filing her nails, looking bored and disinterested. John assumed she was the receptionist and pulled the ad from his pocket, presenting it to her.
"Hi!" John said cheerfully, "I’m here for the medical research."
The receptionist looked at John doubtfully and sighed.
"Of course you are."
She looked at the ad in his hand, then her expression changed. She looked a little puzzled.
"Just a moment, " she said. The woman then picked up a phone and dialed a number. "Yes, Doctor. I have someone here with an ad.... yes.... yes..... really...... I didn't know that ...... are you sure? ........ okay...."
"Is there a problem?" John asked with some frustration.
The receptionist said nothing, just pointed to a door at the back of the room beside one of the staircases. She reached under her desk and pressed button. With a loud buzz the door unlocked and opened.
"Doctor Hurley will meet you inside and take you to her lab for testing," said the receptionist in a disinterested monotone. She then focused all her attention back on her bright red nails, ignoring John completely.
John wanted to ask more questions. Who was Dr. Hurley and what was she testing? But he could see that the automatic door was beginning to shut. He rushed through it before the door could close. The locks clicked loudly as they snapped into place after the door shut behind him. It was an ominous sound. John was beginning to think he had made a mistake.
On the other side of the door John found himself in a long bare white hallway. There were some numbered doors lining the walls, but he could see other signs. Several laboratory workers buzzed by him, clipboards in hand and white coats flapping behind them. They didn't seem to notice him, or if they did notice, they just didn't care.
Too wrapped up in their own research, I guess, thought John. I wonder which one is Dr. Hurley?
John realized he had no idea who the Doctor was or what they looked like. He considered trying to find Dr. Hurley's lab on his own, but the place looked like a maze and he didn't see any names above any of the doors.
John waited several minutes as the lab workers continued to stream by him. A few cast a curious glance at his chest, and John realized that they were looking for the id badge that adorned the labcoats of all the other employees. John was getting frustrated and was about to just grab the next person that walked by and ask for directions when someone gently tugged on his arm. He turned to see a plain looking blonde woman with thick-rimmed glasses and her hair in a bun.
"Excuse me, but are you the young man inquiring about my advert in the paper?" she said, speaking with a light British accent.
John nodded, and the woman beckoned for him to follow her. It was a confusing maze of rounding hallways and identical doors but the woman traversed it easily. John on the other hand, struggled to keep up. The woman seemed excited, probably eager to begin. Or was she nervous?
The woman finally stopped at a door and held it open for John. He slowly walked in and found himself in a room filled with complicated computers and mind-boggling equipment of unknown purpose. The centerpiece of the room was a large glass cylinder with a metallic grid of sorts set inside on both the ceiling and floor. Inside the cylinder was what appeared to be dentist's chair, with a padded reclined seat. Just above the headrest hung a metal semicircular bowl with several wires sticking out the top and attached to the metal bands wrapped around the cylinder. It looked kind of like the electrical chair that they used to execute prisoners. John's feeling of dread began to rise again.
"Please help yourself to a drink while I finishing prepping the other subject," said the woman, motioning to a water cooler. "It will be a long day and you will need to stay well hydrated."
Other test subject? thought John. I thought I was the only one.
John looked around the room and saw no one else. But as the woman exited the room he realized that the other person must be in a different testing area. John decided to take her advice and poured himself some water from the cooler.
John still had no idea what he was going to test. If that Doctor thought they could give him electric shocks or something, they could forget it. No amount of money was worth that. While he waited for the woman to return, he looked around the room. He saw some scientific journals featuring the woman, who was apparently the infamous Dr. Victoria Hurley. John had never heard of her, but apparently she was pretty famous in the scientific world. She had even been nominated for a Nobel Prize. The scientific journals were pretty technical, but from what John could tell her work involved neurology, the study of the brain.
Uh uh no way, thought John. No one is messing with my brain.
He was about to head out the door and just try his best to find the exit when Dr. Hurley returned.
"Now then, are you ready to begin?" said Dr. Hurley with a smile.