[s][b]10 Downing[/b]
Owen Pyke sat in an armchair, relaxing after finally being done with is work for the day. Eyes closed, he didn't even hear the footsteps coming down the hallway, leaving him in a slight panic as arms wrapped around him from behind. Despite the moment of terror, however, it took him only a second to recognize the arms, and he quickly stood up to greet them. 

"My dear Merideth. How was your day, dear?"

Smiling at Pyke, the woman embraced him once more. "Oh, you know. A typical day around here. Fighting off a headache, longing for the moment I get to speak to my own husband, who shoos me away to speak to another woman."

Frowning, Pyke released from the hug. "Oh, please. Dear, you know that my secretary is nothing more than that."

"Oh really? Pyke's wife teased. "Then why is it you have a lunch scheduled with her next Tuesday?"

Eyes widening and face flushing, Pyke was about to open his mouth to ask how she knew, when she beat him to it with a reply. 

"As usual, Thomas told me. And don't you dare threaten to fire him again."

"I won't, I won't! Besides, it's nothing more than a professional meeting. Just because I would like to enjoy food while it's happening doesn't mean it is anything more than that."

Green eyes furrowing under greying red hair, Meridith focused in on Pyke with a playful scowl. "Why do you even need a woman secretary, anyways. Thomas does an exceptional job, I believe. Why don't you go dine with him, instead?"

"Merideth, even when I did dine with him, you asked me if I still felt love for you, or if I felt a sudden urge to chase after men."

"Well, maybe I would just like it if I got to spend the day dining out with my husband again. Is that so bad?"

"Dear, I told you. I would love to take you out for lunch, but my schedule is always so packed, and I never can fit it in."

Actually frowning now, Meridith gave a snappy, witty response. 

"That doesn't stop you from having luncheons with your flings."

Face redder than before, Owen stood tall, and raised his voice. "I told you! That's not what those are! It is professional, and that's all!"

Laughing as her husband steamed like a tea kettle, Merideth walked out of the room, only stopping and turning back to speak with Owen.

"Dear, surely you know I am just teasing you. No reason to get so angry. Especially when I have good news for you. Our son called today. He said that he is at the lab, and is going to start working on the project soon. He said you would know what he was talking about."

Calming down, Own nodded solemnly, and reponded in a serious tone. "Yes, I do."

Quickly realizing his tone made his wife worried, Pyke made up a quick cover story.

"You know him, though. I'm worried that he will get so involved in his work, he won't even sleep.He's always been like that, hasn't he?" 

Laughing, Pyke smiled when he saw his wifes expression become happy once again. 

"Anyways, what are we having for dinner?"

"Well, I am having lobster. You, on the other hand... Well, I think you can just have bread. Need to save room for your date with that young secretary of yours, after all."

Sighing, and giving in, Pyke entered the dining room for supper, knowing that the teasing about the lunch wouldn't stop for at least another week.

[b]British Governmental Research Laboratory, St. Kilda Island, Scotland[/b]
A large, sprawling white structure sat alone in Northern St Kilda, far out of the sight of most civilians. The small town below was there solely to house the researchers and military members stuck on the island. Walking inside would instantly subject you to silence, as the blinding white, soundproof walls let no noise in, and no noise out. In fact, the entire building felt, and looked more like a sanitarium than a research facility at first glance. The buzzing florescent lights, the whitewashed interior, and the painful silence all seemed out of place for a facility that supposedly worked with heavy machinery, medical experiments and other such things. 

However, once you move under the first floor, you begin to see everything you would expect. Test chambers, large machines, doctors, soldiers... It was obvious the upstairs was a disguise, keeping the true secrets hidden deep underground. 

In a testing chamber on the third floor below the surface, a man with long, curly red hair stood in a stereotypical lab coat, in front of three other researchers, and a handful of soldiers. In a smooth voice, he was explaining to them the details of a new experiment they would be beginning.

"Now" he said, calmly. "Before we begin, does anybody here have any moral objections to what we are about to do? This is going to be a very important study, so I don't want any of you losing your stomach if anything goes wrong."

After waiting for five minutes, giving the people time to think it over, the head researcher clapped his hands together. 

"Good! Now, remember. Do not tell these men the exact details. Just read these lines off. 'You will be undergoing a study, in which you will not be allowed to sleep. We will trust you to uphold your end of the agreement, of course. But, should we see anybody nodding off, we will begin to sound an airhorn within the chamber every thirty minutes. Though, we trust that this will not be necessary. In the chamber, of course, is everything that you will need for the next thirty days. Running water, dried foods, toilets, and chairs. We have also supplied books, and a television, which will be turned on from noon to six, daily. If, at any time we deem somebody unable to go through with the experiment, we will have military personnel escort you from the chamber, to a medical office. If you successfully complete the month, you will be paid in full for your time. Now, please follow me.' Do not, and I cannot stress this enough, release details about the Nocturne Gas. I want them to go in without knowledge that they will be under it's effects the entire time."

Once he finished speaking, a brown haired girl raised her hand to ask a question.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Well, I was just wondering, Doctor Pyke, what we will do if the gas has a negative effect?"

"Simple. We do nothing but observe."

"But sir! If something goes wrong, wouldn't it be unethical if we did nothing?"

"Ah, Lisa. If you would please remember, before I started explaining, I asked you all if you would have issues. You said nothing at the time. So what changed?"

"I... Nevermind."

"No, please. I insist. Tell us, what is on your mind?"

"Well, sir..." Lisa said, clearly very nervous. "I was just thinking that we might have done something if it goes wrong. That we wouldn't let anyone get hurt if we made a mistake."

Nodding with eyes closed, Pyke took what Lisa said to heart. He then let out a sigh, as he opened his eyes. "But, Lisa. How do we learn the negative effects that this might have if we do not observe? Do you see the problem? We can't know what negative side effects might occur if we let simple thoughts such as 'what if it hurts them' get in the way. Besides, each of them signed a contract. They agreed to stay for the duration of the expirement, unless it was deemed they were unable to continue. So, you see, as long as I deem them able to continue, they will stay in. So if I am willing to let them die for important data, then they will do so."

Looking terrified, Lisa stood there in a nervous sweat. "Sir... I... I wish to resign from the project."

"I assumed as much." Pyke said, before looking at one of the soldiers, and giving a nod. "Please escort Doctor Lisa from the lab, if you would."

Nodding, the soldier replied with a "Yes sir."

Laughing, Pyke responded. "Williams, you don't have to call me that. We've known each other for years, and your father is close friends with my father. Just call me Matthew. That way people don't mix me up with my him."

"Yes sir, err... Matthew."

With an awkward silence behind them, Williams took Lisa by the arm, and escorted her from the labs, to an elevator. When they got on, however, he pressed the down botton, rather than up.

"Excuse me." Lisa said, concerned. "You pressed down."

"Yes, I did." Williams replied.

"But... You were supposed to escort me out, what's going on?"

In a dry voice, with no emotion, Williams responded.

"I am sorry, maam. Matthew Pyke has ordered that no information leave this facility without his approval. You did not speak up when you had the chance, so to let you leave now would be letting you leave with classified information. I am sorry. He gave you a chance, but now it's too late."

Now in a complete panic, Lisa tried to break free of Williams' grip, but was not successful. Seeing no other option, she grabbed a pen from her front pocket, and moved to jab it into Williams, but was caught before the pen could reach. 

"I am really sorry about this, maam." Williams said, as he snapped her wrist breaking it, and leaving her screaming in pain and crumpled on the floor, until the elevator stopped, at which point Williams just picked her up as she sat, sobbing in both pain and fear, as they moved toward a door labeled "HUMAN EXPIREMENTATION."

Back up above, Matthew Pyke just finished introducing himself to the volunteers, and reading the script off to them. Once finished, he clapped his hands together again, smiling with his eyes under his round glasses, as the soldiers escorted the six men inside the chamber that they would spend the next thirty days in.
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