There were so many questions to be answered, and Dan was more curious than frightened. If they had wanted to harm him, they could have done pretty much anything while he was unconscious. He decided against any escape attempt until he knew more, and the orientation seemed ot be the best choice. He waited a few more minutes before the door opened and the woman looked in. "All ready? Follow me."
He trailed her down a hallway which turned a couple of times and ended at double doors. The woman nodded approvingly. "You would never had found your way out of here if you tried to escape, and the consequences would have been unfortunate." She gestured towards teh open doorway. "The orientation will start soon."
Dan went inside and saw a small conference room with a large digital screen on one wall, and a wide table with five chairs. One was occupied by a moderately homely Asian boy who looked to be about Dan's new age. From his wide-eyed expression, the new kid was just as baffled as Dan was. The other boy nodded slightly and said I'm Chen... no, Tom. My real name is Tom." He frowned. "Tom Norris. Thomas Norris. Thomas Gary Lawrence." He seemed to be talking more to himself.
"Jacob William McNeally." Dan did not struggle against the new identity. "At least, that's who they say I am. Did you sign up for their program, too?"
Thomas/Chen nodded. "But why make us kids? and ugly kids..." he flushed and said "Sorry."
Shrugging, Dan said "Same questions here. I signed a contract but I didn't read it. Like that would really matter to anyone who can do this!"
A dark-haired girl, also early teens, came in next, followed by a blonde boy and a brown-haired girl. All were about the same age, and below average in looks. However, all were obviously in excellent health, lean and athletic looking. The dark girl introduced herself as Angela, , and the other girl said her name was Mary, though neither elaborated if it was their 'new' or 'real' name. The blonde boy glared sullenly around and plopped down in one of the chairs. As they last arrivals sat, the door closed on its own and the screen flickered on. An Asian woman seemed to look them over - there had to be a camera on this side. Then she nodded. "Welcome to our facility. As one of you already discovered, leaving is not an option." She smiled at the blonde boy, who responded by crossing his arms in an obvious sulk.
"I an very sorry you have chosen to be difficult, Andrew. However, you will make an excellent lesson for the others."
"Huh? What do you mean?" The blonde boy sat up, looking nervous. Then his eyes widened and the others all gasped as he started to change.