Subject 5

The Laboratory

The pure, clean white corridor in the mountain was lit by blue lights you would see in no home. Azure orbs levitating in their own magnetic fields, working day and night to keep the place alive. The lights on the ceiling were pure white with not a hint of yellow, and were perfectly lined up like soldiers preparing for the battle that would end their lives.

5 walked in front of Elaine and opened the next door for her.
Elaine scoffed. "Don't open doors for me," she said coldly. "You will do as I say until the tests are over."

At the CSSAI, the tests were never over.

Elaine walked in front, 5 following with no idea what else she should do. The corridors seemed to stretch for miles, some tiny windows showing dark, empty cells. Elaine opened every door, with 5 as nothing but a subordinate, nothing but a freak of nature without a glimpse of humanity in her eyes. For a second, 5 wondered if Elaine had any humanity.

"You will be taken to the laboratory to be studied," Elaine said formally. "It's nothing too serious, I will just be taking notes on your behaviour. You'll meet the other subjects soon enough."

Eventually, 5 was led to a gigantic white room which looked as if you would need a rocket to reach the top; its walls, just like all other walls at the CSSAI, were an eerily clean white colour. The room was almost empty, except for a few machines which all seemed to be switched off.

"I will just be sitting in the other room," Elaine told 5 apathetically as she walked through a door to a room with a tiny window, through which 5 could see four seats and fancy computers.

Once Elaine was gone, despite watching it from the other room, 5 decided to explore. It walked over to the nearest machine and switched it on; a large, metallic object flew to the machine, and when 5 turned it off, the metal fell back to the ground.

5 looked back to Elaine. A clever being that knew how to read lips, it deciphered Elaine muttering the word "electromagnets" as she wrote in her notebook. Electromagnets... Perhaps that was what it had been switching on and off.

A long time passed; there was what seemed to be a digital clock on the wall, but 5 did not yet know how to tell the time. It found entertainment in the electromagnet, and even found a pole to swing from. At one point it spotted Elaine murmuring "enjoys playing on machinery".

Other than that, 5 didn't pay much attention to Elaine; it didn't know what was coming, and was excited to find out. Could this place be its new home, or was it just another inhumane research facility?

When Elaine eventually returned to the lab, she had the same cold look in her eyes that she always seemed to have. In the fancy computer room now was a tall, dark-haired man staring into its soul - that was if it had a soul.

"Come, subject," Elaine said heartlessly. "You've been here long enough. You will now go through a series of tests intended to determine your intelligence level. Dr. Blake requests we execute the first test today."

What was 5 to do? It seemed it had no choice in the matter, so reluctantly, it followed this woman who had so much authority over it. This woman with her neat hair, her clean white suit and emotionless attitude.

This woman who was practically a robot, controlled to serve only the facility.