The Great Experiment: A plot for the Ages

Cell A has food and other supplies in such abundance as they can last the patient seven days. However, the great gripe of this cell is that water supplies will shut down automatically the first night that the participant has entered, and water-saturated foods (most vegetables) will not be made available. Since water is dispensed by fountain, and there is no other means of getting it, the participant will feel dehydration, anger, and a number of other emotions, such as delirium.

Since water is much more important to the human body (consistent tests have placed maximum amount of time without water to be about 3 days for the average human), Subject #1’s sense of urgency will be much higher than his contemporary, subject #2. Only the tests will tell if the subject will attack his/her fellow (the participant will be informed of the plentiful water of his cellmate) or attempt to get water from them.

Cell B is the polar opposite of Cell A; they lack of food. Like Cell A, Cell B has 7 days of the same essential supplies as every cell. However, it has no food at all, and there will be no food dispensed through the on-hand dispenser in the wall. At approximately 6 AM on the first day, a single bone (marrow drained) will be dispensed to test the Subject’s will and tendency to despair.

Unlike his/her aforementioned cellmate, B will likely have less aggression and/or need for food. They will still be starving, but will be able to negotiate and think more thoroughly and with more logic than A. This means that it is likely that they may turn to violence, taking advantage of the weakness of their cellmate, or they may barter with another cell.

Please note that having A & B be separate genders is preferable; they may be more likely to be attracted to one another, or may feel that their superior skill as a gender(A may assume that she is more agile, and B more strong) will give them an upper edge and allow them to attack their significant other. Being able to get a misogynist or someone with a history of domestic abuse into one of these cells will likely make the latter option more probable.

Unlike the first two cells, the next three will be focusing on the psychological effects of insomnia and various chemicals. The first of these two will be the Insomniac cell. Cell C will have all the essential supplies, including both food and water, to last the patient seven days. The main quip of this cell is the fact that from 1 AM to 7 AM, there will be a loud humming noise. It will change intensity at random, its audibleness depending on a random number generator. This will stop the patient from developing any sort of familiarity with the sound (as has happened before and has ruined the test).

In addition, various bright colors will flash on and off during the aforementioned time period. This will assault two senses (the hearing and the sight) in order to stop any sort of familiarization with the surroundings. The Bright colors will not flash fast enough to cause epilepsy; they will however be an irritant and will make sleep unbearable. Since the subject’s cell is soundproof, this will not affect any other subjects.

The Insomnia that this chamber induces may cause hallucination and other delirium, fatigue, convulsions, insanity, eye strain, and loss of hearing. This will make the patient disagreeable at best when outside of the cell; likely they will attempt to go into other person’s cell as soon as possible in order to get away from their own. They will have a distinct sense of fear for their cell and will likely associate it with evil or negative feelings.

If the patient leaves the cell to sleep in another, and at any time during experiment thereafter attempts to go back into the cell, it will slam shut for half an hour, and they will be subjected to the usual cycle of assault on their senses, to instill a larger sense of fear in them and to remind them it is not easy to simply run away from a cell.

Cell D is an experiment sponsored partly by our sister institute, the institute of Medicines and Narcotics. They have concocted a powerful hallucinogenic drug which mimics in many ways the effects of LSD. It will be emitted into the cell at 6 AM every day, for an hour’s time. The drug has a duration of Nine hours. Afterwards it will fade away and disappear so that the subject can sleep easier; this is not a test of insomnia, like the previous ones. An insomniac patient would be detrimental to the purpose of this case study.

Unlike Cell G, Cell D’s hallucinations do not assault the area of the brain which comprehends and stores fears. It relaxes every part of the body, but it is important to note that this drug has the same effects as LSD. It can turn the patient into a frenzied, panicked animal, or it can mellow them to the point where they can do nothing but stare at the wall for hours, laughing hysterically. Since the drug is active during the day, other patients may note the weakness of said patient and attempt to maim, enslave, or kill said patient.

D will have no recollection of what happened during the day. They will, however, have a sense of time, so that they will wonder what happened during the day. However, the drug is specifically created in order to tell D that they will go back to their cell, so that they are not delirious and trapped outside of their cell when it is time to return to it. Note that this is an untested drug; side effects may include bloating, boils, blisters, thoughts of suicide, despair, and other harmful symptoms.

The drug is designed to work on a day by day basis, but it is not addictive, throwing away the issue of withdrawal and addiction itself.

Cell E Has no abnormal effects, except for one thing: With every package of food comes a small, sweet tasting roll of what appears to be a plant rolled up. It is, in fact, an incredibly addictive drug. Insanely so; around Three hundred times more addictive than pure nicotine. Once one has tried one of these, they will want more and more. The patient will get an insane obsession with this drug, which they believe will be supplied every day. However, on Day Six, these supplies will stop coming.

The Patient will experience a range of emotions, from despair to anger to a mad drive to get more. They will be informed that there is more in the center by their personal television: They need the key provided in every single cell to unlock the 12 keyhole door. Otherwise they will not be able to get their addictive drug. The drug itself has none of the effects of Cell D’s, bringing on a very mild buzz, akin to very moderate amounts of marijuana. The true effect of the drug is its addiction.

The drug will likely induce the patient to demand from, attack, bribe, maim, or kill patients in order to get more of it. They have no idea that no other patient will have a roll of this addictive plant. It is unlikely that they will commit suicide since the chemical which causes the addiction attacks their nerves in such a way that the drive to get more will overpower almost every single other emotion.

The effects of the drug are purely psychological; there are no physical effects such as vomiting or muscle loss involved with withdrawal. After a period of three days without it, the need for the drug will fade away. This will be a very interesting test, regardless of whether or not the patient is able to defeat his addiction.

Cell F is the first of three case studies on fear and the psychological trauma surrounding fear. Cell F will focus on one of the most important types of fear, Claustrophobia. Everything is normal about Cell F…but its size. Every night the cell will compress several inches inwards (the pipes and all wall-mounted equipment have flexible cables built to withstand the sort of strain stretching would induce). Optical illusions including mirrors and special mirrors will make the cell seem smaller than it really is, giving the idea of shrinking, despair, and eventually claustrophobia. If the patient already has claustrophobia (preference is given to these patients when placing them in the cell), then the amount of cell compression is increased. By the 7th day it should be unbearable to live in the cell and the patient will likely attempt to find another.

It should be noted that Claustrophobia will likely bend the Patient’s mind to the point where they will be afraid of enclosed spaces as a whole. Thus, they will likely avoid their cell, or any others, and seek shelters on the outside. Their resourcefulness and attitude towards the outside should be observed fruitfully and be an important part of the record of the events that take place.

Cell G is an experiment in more general fear rather than a specific kind of fear. The night of the arrival at the institute, the patient that is chosen for this cell will be subjected to a moderated form of Tracker Jacker venom. Developed by our Scientists, this Tracker Jacker venom is in the form of an odorless gas. Unlike the venom, it does not cause the horrendous swelling that is normally associated with a Tracker Jacker. However, the other main feature of Tracker Jacker venom is present: The gas targets the place where fears are held in the brain and, in layman’s terms, ‘breaks them loose’ to bring havoc upon the composure of the patient.

The gas will not cause extreme hallucination or physical harm; it is simply targeting the psychological aspect of fear. The subject will, however, experience moderate hallucinations unlocking their absolute worst fears. This is one of the more interesting case studies and should be watched closely. Though the Tracker Jacker gas is only distributed for a short period of time, it embeds itself into the mind, bringing back repressed memories and fears that will make the patient incredibly susceptible to a number of different triggers.

If the patient has had some memory that they would rather forget, and something stimulates the remembrance of that memory, the patient may have a panic attack or go into an incredibly aggressive modem attempting to defend them from the perceived threat. This ‘trigger effect’ lasts much longer than the visual effects of the gas and will likely produce some interesting reactions. It will be watched closely.

Cell H is an experiment into how patients cope with extreme darkness. Once the patient enters the cell, the lights turn off, and new ‘lights’ turn on. Unlike conventional darkness, these black lights force an inky, absolute darkness where it can overpower a flashlight without issue. A patient cannot see anything, anywhere, and it is incredibly difficult to adapt one’s eyes to see. The patient would need to improvise and use his or her other senses besides sight, such as hearing, smell, and touch. They would need to adapt to a situation where they have no light at all, and once the doors are opened, the patients will need to cope with an overwhelming light.

However, the fear comes into play at night. Various illusions are superimposed in the cell, such as lights resembling eyes, ominous grumbling noises, moaning, and other things which will assault the senses and make the patient feel fear. Most importantly, several poking devices will come out of the walls above the subject’s bunk, poking the subject and generally terrifying them.

The reaction the subject will have to his or her peers when they emerge from their cell shall be most interesting and productive to our experiment. They will likely have an intense paranoia for those around them, and will not attempt contact with them. In addition, they may have a fear that could either be for their cell, or the outside world, depending on how their adaptation to their uncomfortable position develops.

Cell I is an interesting cell, because it with it and J that the Great Experiment turns to a sociological experiment, rather than focusing on individuals. Cell I, unlike J, relies on psychological molding and shaping of the patient into someone who can be an authority figure. Cell I has a relative disparity of essential goods. However, it holds something very important: Cell I can lockdown other cells for an hour at most at any time (the only exception is during the night, where locking and unlocking of cells is only available to the observing staff). Essentially, if the patient in cell I wanted to, he could use his powers to threaten other Cellmates.

Another important thing which protects Patient I is that the fact that he or she has a theoretical immunity; the other patients are informed on the first day that they will not be able to pass the test if Cellmate I is not alive at the end of the test, and they will be trapped forever. In addition, only Cell I can authorize the opening of various chests and supply crates (as well as the central door) with fingerprint identification. Otherwise, they will not be able to enter the central area (unless of course some of the more cunning patients kill or incapacitate Patient I and put his fingers up against the scanner provided).

Essentially, Patient I has a considerable amount of theoretical power, and the others assume they must keep him or her alive, regardless of their attitude. However, if Patient I takes it too far, it could result in…consequences.

Ah, Cell J. The personal brainchild of the leader of the Institute, Cell J is an experiment into the use of threats of violence and monopoly of force as a pretext for control of a group. Patient J is informed of his lack of materials (enough only to last three days), but is also notified that he or she is the only one who has any sort of weapon of the twelve within the institute. More specifically, their cell contains a variety of weapons, from spears to maces to arrows and bows, in order to make sure that they will be able to fight anyone, and anything, off. They are instructed by their television to protect their Cellmate, I, or they will be destroyed. The two are inseparable from one another, much like Dictators were protected by the military before the Armageddon of the old world.

For added effect, find the most aggressive patient of the twelve and put them in Cell J. It will make for a better experiment, though perhaps there will be less than twelve leaving at the end of the two weeks.

Cell K is an experiment in how to manipulate the mind of the isolated to believe that they have in fact been in an area for months, and that everyone else has perished. Every cell opens at 8 AM the following morning, and closes at 10 PM. Except, of course, Cell K. Unlike the other cells, Cell K does not open until three days later, on the fourth morning. This is only the tip of the iceberg, however. Clocks will be falsified, misinformation will be fed, and overall, the entire experience will seem to stretch into months. An illusion of sunshine and moonlight will confuse the participant to the point of panic, and create a belief that they will never be let out. As the days progress they will feel feelings of hate, despair, fear, and other emotions that are characteristic of those isolated.

The ingenious thing about this experiment is that it allows us to test long-term isolation in an environment where only short-term isolation is possible. On the fourth day, at 8 AM, the door of the cell will open, and they will be shown to the outside world. The reaction to their finding out of their plight will be almost as interesting as the period of isolation itself. Once they are opened to the outside world, they will find a very different experience. Who knows; they may even lash out at their fellow cellmates. After four days their food and water will cease to be supplied, and they will attempt to get some from others as they also search for some sort of respite for their troubles.

Cell L is both a blessing and a curse. Cell L has every single essential material provided to the other cells in abundance. Enough food and water for 36 days (supplied portions of two, not one, per day), warm clothing, a comfy bed, and a working, comfortable toilet. However, at the same time, every single other participant will have active knowledge of the fact that Cell L is defenseless and that they have a large amount of supplies. For a few participants (A & B, for example) this will be more pressing than others at first. After the first week, when all other food dispensers cease to supply, it will truly be interesting to see what happens.

A few points of interest include: Only L can access his or her food and water dispensers, and if another participant wants a piece, they will need to force, or at least agree with Patient L in order to gain the food or water. In addition, there is nothing that could possibly be harmful in Patient L’s cell, while other cells have various pieces of equipment that can work, in a pinch, as weapons, and Patient J has actual weapons. How they deal with Patient L, especially if Patient L does not comply, will be very interesting.