Chapter 1: "Greetings", Breakfast with Lilith, the Number
White walls. White linoleum floors. White ceiling. White plastic table and chair. White refrigerator, dead silent. White cabinet. White fluorescent lights. White bed with white blanket.
A single silver metal elevator door.
A black reflective panel in the wall above it. A black speaker and black camera in the top corner of the same wall.
And a single occupant in the bed.
The woman was stirring, lost in a bad dream. She saw her apartment door was ajar when she got home. She saw herself being subdued in her kitchen by two masked figures. She saw one of them stab her arm with a syringe as a cloth bag was brought over her head.
The refrigerator kicked on, sending a hum to reverberate in the sterile room.
The woman woke up, shooting upright and gasping. Her eyes were wide, growing wider as she took in her environment. She had never been here. Before her mind could form a complete thought, the speaker blasted a message with a synthetic voice.
~[GREETINGS, LILITH.]~
She screamed in shock. Her head whipped to the direction of the sound. She was shaking, breathing heavy, staring at the camera and the speaker next to it.
~[WELCOME TO YOUR EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT. I AM YOUR TEACHER, MR. LOGIC. PLEASE EAT BREAKFAST, THEN WE CAN BEGIN.]~
Lilith turned to look at the refrigerator and the chair. She turned back to the camera. "Where-where am I?" Her voice was soft and quivering. The speaker replied loud and strong.
~[YOU ARE IN YOUR EDUCATION ENVIRONMENT. PLEASE EAT BREAKFAST, THEN WE CAN BEGIN.]~
Lilith looked down at herself. She was wearing a white t-shirt. She lifted the white blanket to find she was wearing white yoga pants and white socks. She stammered out her next question, her eyes wet with tears waiting to spill. "H-How did I g-get h-here?"
~[PLEASE EAT BREAKFAST, THEN WE CAN BEGIN.]~
Lilith looked to the camera, to the door, to the pantry, to herself again. She noticed a dot-sized wound in her arm. It was in the same place she dreamed she had been stabbed with the syringe.
("Get a hold of yourself, Lily. This is a clusterfuck already. You were dragged here somehow, you don't know where 'here' is, you aren't getting answers from them, and that door is your only way out. You have to stay calm.")
She looked up to the fridge and the pantry, then back to the door.
("This Mr. Logic wants you to eat breakfast, so they don't want you dead. You can only leave through the door, and unless there's a secret password to open it, you have to do what they want. What other choice do you have?")
Lilith glanced at the camera as she swung her legs off the side of the bed. She stood up, felt lightheaded, and paused to catch her balance and breath.
~[YOU MAY BE FEELING DROWSY, DIZZY, OR FATIGUED. YOUR BREAKFAST WILL CURE YOUR SYMPTOMS.]~
("You mean counteract the drugs you freaks put into my system?")
Lilith opened the pantry. It had four shelves and contained only two items; a tablespoon and a pre-poured bowl of her favorite cereal, Frosted Flakes. She felt herself getting dizzy again.
("How much do they know about me? Who are these people? What is going on?")
Her mind and vision cleared up. She picked up the bowl and spoon and walked them to the table. She made her way to the fridge. Lilith moved as though in a trance.
She opened the refrigerator to see two more items; a quart of 1% milk (the same type and brand she had at home) and a large glass of transparent violet liquid. She took them both to the table, poured the milk, then sat down.
~[DRINK THE BEVERAGE FIRST, PLEASE.]~
("Oh God, what am I doing here? What is this drink going to do to me?")
Her eyes met the camera again. She reached out to the glass.
("Do I really have a choice?")
Lilith brought the glass to her lips and drank. It tasted like strawberry jam and sent cool, tingling waves through her stomach and throat. Before she could stop herself, she drained the glass.
~[THANK YOU. PLEASE EAT AS I BEGIN YOUR EDUCATIONAL PROCESS.]~
Lilith brought the glass down to the table with a light tap. The tingling spread throughout her body. Her mind felt sharp. Her fatigue had melted away.
("Whatever this is, it's too late to turn back now.")
Lilith began to eat. Mr. Logic began to speak.
~[YOU HAVE BEEN SELECTED TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR EXCLUSIVE UNIQUE EDUCATION PROGRAM. YOUR RESULTS ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO US AND TO THE FUTURE. TO GENERATE THE BEST RESULTS, YOU MUST PARTICIPATE AT YOUR OPTIMUM EFFICIENCY.]~
~[YOU WILL MOVE FROM CLASSROOM TO CLASSROOM AS YOU PRODUCE RESULTS. YOU WILL RECEIVE INSTRUCTIONS ON PRODUCING RESULTS FOR EACH CLASSROOM UPON ENTERING THAT CLASSROOM. DO YOU UNDERSTAND MY INSTRUCTIONS?]~
Lilith had stopped eating after the first spoonful of cereal.
("Producing results? What kind of school is this?")
~[DO YOU UNDERSTAND MY INSTRUCTIONS?]~
"Y-yes, I think so."
~[YOUR ORIENTATION IS COMPLETE. WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED YOUR BREAKFAST, PLEASE ENTER YOUR FIRST CLASS.]~
The silver metal door slid open. Lilith couldn't see anything in the other room; it was pitch black. A moment later, the reflective black panel above the door lit up with a digital readout. On the left side was a timer, counting down from 15 minutes. On the right was the number 500. Lilith's hand was holding the empty spoon in midair.
("Oh God, I know I don't ever ask you for anything. If you're there, please...please help me. Let me get through this.")
Lilith managed to eat half of the cereal. The drink had helped her anxiety, but did little for the nausea she was feeling. She sat staring at the timer and the number.
("What does 500 mean? Is that my results? What is it?")
The timer had dropped to 4 minutes before Lilith stood up. She walked over to the doorway, taking one last look at the camera and that out-of-place number. As she looked into the room again, the darkness was dispelled with another row of fluorescent lights. She saw a few black rectangular glass pillars in an otherwise white room. Another silver door, camera, speaker, and information panel were on the other side of the new room in the same positions as the room she was in.
("God help me.")
With the timer at 3:16, Lilith entered the room. The door slid shut behind her.