Between

Episode 1

Episode 1

Philo opened his eyes. Everything around him was dark and still. He spent a few seconds trying to figure out if that was good or bad. Darkness and stillness aren't the worst things to wake up to, all things considered. Fire and screaming, for instance, would have been much worse. However, since he couldn't remember what he had been doing before he fell asleep, it was distinctly possible that darkness and silence were bad. He chose to be cautiously optimistic, at least until he remembered a few more details. Nothing major, just little things like where he was and his last name.

"Okay," he said out loud, noting that he was able to speak and breathe—two more things to add to the "good" column. The sound of his voice had a muted, close quality to it, as though he sat in the center of a very small space. "I am sitting in a chair." He tried to stand, unsuccessfully. "Strapped. I am strapped in a chair. And I can't see anything. Either it's completely dark, or I'm blind. I'm going to hope it's the first one."

His arms were free, so he felt along his chest in search of buckles to release himself. By probing along with his fingers, he found that the straps holding him in place weren't part of something as simple as a racing harness. They disappeared into the cushioned chair behind him. Whoever had done the strapping had been extremely thorough, too. Straps crisscrossed his chest and held each of his legs to individual leg rests. The only things with any freedom were his head and his arms.

It briefly occurred to Philo that awaking in an unfamiliar location, strapped to a chair, with no memory of how he ended up in such a state was the sort of thing that should at the very least make him nervous. He set aside that thought, reasoning that a lack of panic was just another thing to add to the good column. This good column was really filling up!

At either side of the chair were armrests, and along the front edge of one armrest was an array of buttons.

"Oh, good. Buttons. Those usually do things," he remarked.

There were five buttons, one much larger than the others. He picked the big button and gave it a press. The straps released with a quick sequence of clicks.

"Right, strap-release button. So that means I'm either not a prisoner, or I am a prisoner, but my captors are extremely trusting or inept. More stuff for the good column."

He tried to sit up and immediately slapped his face into something. Whatever it was swung away when he struck it, then slapped him again on the return swing. He leaned back and grasped blindly until he found the culprit. It was light, roughly rectangular, and dangled from a springy coil. The front of the object was smooth, while the back had a matte finish. In his investigation, his fingers brushed a small button near the top corner, which caused the glassy front to spring to life. It took on a dull glow that caused him to squint and turn away until his darkness-adjusted eyes could tolerate the light. When he could look at the screen without pain, he turned back to it. There were words, black text on a white background: Test Subject Philo Middleton: Post-Phase Instructional Materials. Tap to continue.

"Oh, good! I thought I was going to have to figure everything out on my own." He tapped the screen. The text vanished, replaced by a video of an old woman with thick glasses. She was dressed in clinical attire and had short white hair.

"Hello, Philo," she said. "You may be experiencing some confusion and disorientation. This is normal. Your faculties should return within twenty minutes. At this point, you may not remember me. My name is Darva." Her voice was rather impressive in that it was entirely devoid of anything even resembling enthusiasm.

"Well, that's a relief," Philo said.

"If you are viewing this video rather than being debriefed personally by laboratory staff, then you have successfully advanced beyond the first phase of the experiment. On the leading edge of the right armrest of your seat you will find five buttons. Please depress the large central button to disconnect your restraints."