[centre][color=00aeef][h1][i][b]Arthur Seymour[/b][/i][/h1][/color]
[h2]Lounge and Pool[/h2]
Interacting with:[@Aquanthe][@HecateProxy] Introducing: [@Ornatur][/centre]

"Good afternoon all! Firstly, congratulations on the successful completion of your first testing sessions!" [color=Gray]The sound of clapping clearly sounded through the intercom system, echoing oddly around the vast and mostly empty facility.[/color] "Tomorrow will be more of the same and we'll gradually ramp it up but first y'all need to rest up so the afternoon is yours! Oh, and there are a couple of new faces joining us today who took a bit longer to get here.  If you see them make sure they feel at home." [color=Gray]A long beep and the intercom fizzled out, the short announcement now delivered.

Arthur had been leaning back in his chair, still alone in the lounge, listening to the peppy researcher and letting his mind blank out from his intense focus on marking.  It was something he had always enjoyed, reading through the work his students put so much effort into and helping them to improve where necessary, cheer them on where they had done well.  Some small part of him had suspected the papers had been faked for his benefit, to make him feel more at home and trust the facility administrators more, but the work was recognisably that of his students; he could spot the quirks and where they had specifically tried to act on advice he had given them from their last piece.

So distracted was he that he nearly missed the odd sight of the remnants of his tea spiralling out of the mug in a form of double helix, twisting in and around itself as it rose until its structure stood nearly double the height of the mug.  As soon as he noticed it, taking a double-take to make sure he wasn't just seeing things in his peripheral vision, the helix collapsed and tea sploshed down mostly into the mug, some onto the table.

Leaping to his feet, Arthur looked into the mug, picking it up tentatively and examining its exterior but there was no device, no trick set up to create such a strange phenomenon.  He say down again cautiously, his mind drifting as it attempted to untangle what had just happened and produce an explanation.  This time, when the helix rose again he caught sight of it immediately as well as feeling a subtle press on his consciousness.  He tried to explore the sensation more but the helix collapsed again and the feeling was gone.

Unable to focus on his work anymore he gathered the papers together and headed back to his room to drop them off.  As he passed the pool area he could hear the quiet splashes of swimmers and paused, considering his options, and decided to find out what was going on.  It helped that there would be a large body of water, he [i]needed[/i] to find out what was going on and see if it was related with this 'powers' tale they were being given by the administrators or whether he was simply going mad.

The pool was large, with plenty of lights under the water to illuminate it clearly should the users want to dim the other lights to cast the illusion of night swimming.  From where he entered he could see a diving board to the right end of the pool and to his left there was a carpeted seating area, set back from the pool a safe distance, with chairs and tables set out and what looked like a small kitchen area behind that.  In the pool he could just about make out Bailey and Sienna, apparently oblivious to one another as they swam.

Shrugging to himself, Arthur turned to the left and made his way to the seating area and laid his papers onto a table and set about finding the kettle and what supplies were in the fridge to restock his tea reserves.  That small, but vital, task completed, he turned back to the pool and walked to the edge, looking down into the water and trying to grasp the illusive sensation he had detected before but it refused to be summoned again and he grunted in frustration, turning back away and sitting down at his chosen table and took a sip from his tea.

And there it was again, a niggling in the back of his mind, a curious sensation not dissimilar to when one felt like they were being watched.  His eyes shot to the mug in his hand but there were no abnormalities there this time.  Frowning, he put the mug down and turned towards the pool.

[color=00aeef]"Oh sweet Lord..."[/color] He stood up, as if dazed, and walked towards the edge of the pool where a towering double helix rose from the corner closest to him, almost reaching the ceiling in its colossal majesty.  Each tube of water looked to be as thick as his arm and he could clearly see the smoothness of the water although it shimmered often, as if unstable and about to crash down at any moment.  Calling to the others he pointed at the double helix, still maintaining its form next to him.  [color=00aeef]"Just to check... you guys can see this too, right?"[/color][/color]