The guards weaved their way from one corridor onto the next, their steps hastening to reach the reception area. Styled uniquely from the rest of the facility, the reception was where everyone other than the specimen felt at ease. The atrium was bright and lively with walls lined up with screens and posters boasting of ‘<em>new life and a new you</em>’, a typical tagline for any marketer but one that always worked.<em>Consumerism, they called it</em>. The reception was so named because it was receptive to visitors and members of the facility. It was the one space where things appeared to be ‘<em>normal</em>’. Of course, the staff members knew the hall was merely an illusion; to hide the truth of what lay beyond.<br/><br/>Alicia Silverton was one of them. She was the in charge responsible for floor<em>51</em>–<em>where the specimen was kept</em>. At the moment, she had been waiting patiently for the new analyst to arrive, her legs crossed over as she leaned next to the information kiosk, the heels leaving visible marks on the carpet below. When she spotted the man, she teared herself from the desk and headed in his direction, her lab coat sashaying and heels clacking across the hall, the guards following closely behind.<br/><br/><strong>“Mister Graham, I presume”</strong>she started, extending her hand out to him,<strong>“Welcome, follow me please.”</strong>With a curt nod, she led the man down the hall, from<em> light to darkness</em>and narrated the same instructions she had given to every one of them.<strong>“I assume you’re well aware of your duties and responsibilities. No contact whatsoever please be mindful of that. You are to observe only and here…”</strong>as they turned the corner, coming to a halt a few feet away from the room, she dug inside her pocket to retrieve a small device and held it out for him,<strong>“in case of an emergency, ring this and we can pull you out”.</strong>Her instructions were terse and monotonous; given that it was the hundredth time that she had done this.<br/><br/><strong><em>“In case of an emergency, ring this and we can pull you out”</em></strong>, it echoed and Alicia sighed, patting Graham’s arm before turning away,<strong>“good luck”</strong>she mouthed.<br/>