Question 2A

Its my first time doing such a piece of writing so I'm not sure if I should write this on Monday.



2a. I waited, twiddling my fingers, sometimes looking up from the book on my lap, sometimes glancing furtively towards the white door on the left, with an ominous sign on it saying "Danger, strong electric current inside. Please do not go in during testing." I gulped at the sign of the word "testing." What exactly did they do to the dozens of people that went in before me? I scanned around. Another person on my left, not inclined to have any chat. He was doubled over, in a posture I assumed to be praying. The white door opened. A monotonous voice inside called out "Next one in: 15647263." The man looked up, knowing it was his turn. I shuddered at the name tag they gave me. 14667738. It was like some name tag of a criminal, waiting for his turn on the death row. The door closed with a resounding click. The man was gone too. Now there was no one down the ash-white corridor. Just some chairs. With noone else, I knew I was next.



The last fifteen minutes I spent engrossed flipping and reading, trying to take my mind off the testing. But the voice called out again. "Next one in: 14667738." The door seemed to be held open by an invisible force. A strange white light emnated from inside. A straight staircase to heaven. Nice. A sigh came out from somewhere, and I realised it was mine. I shuffled into the room. A man in a white lab coat, presumably a researcher, was observing something from a monitor on a table. The door clicked behind me, and I looked back. Preparation/ Observation room. Another click, shutting me from the strange light that seemed straight ahead. The researcher told me, "Okay, you are here for a easy but a little dangerous experiment." He seemed to stress the word little. I had in my mind the thought to bombard him with questions, but I stopped when I opened my mouth. What was there not to trust in a man seemingly capable of a science degree, and also a job at this research institute? Furthermore I also volunteered for this, I had been warned about the dangers. I stood there, staring straight at him. he continued talking. "You will need to wear this." he explained while getting a wristband like thing out of a minifridge on the same table beside him. It was a weird green, and the liquid inside squished around. It gave off a green light, and was refreshingly cool when he wrapped it around my hand. The green liquid swished and changed to a lighter yellow, with a spiral of green still swirling inside, to a hypnotic effect. water vapour condensed on its side, and danced on the sides of the band. The researcher smiled and flipped on a button. The machines that lined the walls of the room started humming, to a tune that almost resembled a chord. The door in front opened and I could see where I was going into. It was a warehouse with a huge ball connected by a huge spiral of wires to the ground, and some pillars of wires. The researcher gave me a push into the warehouse, pointing me towards a chair. He allowed me to bring my book in. It was surprising that he did not follow me in. What was I really going for? I looked to the left, and saw some natural sunlight for once. But also the vans of paramedics. Sweet. I shuffled towards the chair and sat down, waiting for something to happen.

Next, I saw the door close and the garage door leading to freedom close. They locked me in. Now I had no way to stop what the researcher had planned for me, or what I was expected to do. I began to read again. My heart was beating erratically, and I felt an abnormal sense of fear. The researcher's voice boomed right past the silence, echoing on the rigid, cold aluminum walls of the warehouse. "Now I strongly suggest you stay still on that chair. Don't worry, nothing dangerous is going to happen. I assure you it is spectacular." The ball in the middle of the warehouse started to hum and crackle. My breathing was hard and deep. I tried to keep my mind of the experiment. The ball crackled and sparked and I saw bolts of electricity arc to the ground. It was a spectacular show, being so close to an electrical storm. Sparks flew everywhere, reflecting off the pillars of wires, set off to a random course to somehow reach the ground. It was evident one would reach me soon. I was getting dizzy. The experiment was crazy! A split second, and a bolt zig zagged towards a pillar, and continued on its journey downwards. Three seconds, and its course was evident. It was arcing towards me.

The bolt struck, but I felt no pain. Was I already dead? Did I wake up in a hospital? Neither. The bolt was attracted to the band on my wrist. It glowed yellow, then red, then white, then a mix of random colours flying around inside, but still kept cool. I realised yet another thing. My hand was moving towards the ball, linked together by that bolt. The rest of the flying sparks seemed to beckon me towards it. I thought, "Strange! I have no control over my body and I cannot even turn the page of my book." Instead I was moving closer to the ball, dragged by an unknown force, forced to stand and walk, even when my sense of balance was affected. Too close to the ball, and I would die. I thought of how to escape, slowly running out of time. I yelled to stop the experiment. The wristband glowed stronger and stronger. Taking me with it. But something happened and I fell backwards. The strong crackling stopped. The researcher must have heard my plea and stopped the experiment. Back through the preparation room, the researcher did not tell me if the experiment was a failure or a success. He just thanked me for my participation and left me to think about my near death experience. But I guess that would make a great theme park ride!