White Room Trials
by Javy R. Gwaltney
Subject Profile
Name: Eric S. Parker
Rank: Private First Class
Division: 2nd Marine Division, 5th Regt.
Tour of Duty: Iraq, 2007-2008
Age: 24
Race: Caucasian
Hair: Brown
Eye Color: Blue
Weight: 201 lbs.
Height: 6’4”
After passing the physical examination and signing the waiver, subject was escorted to the conference room for preliminary interview. The interviewer, Dr. Zackary Chlebowski, reported that the subject seemed uneasy throughout the session.
The duration of the interview was six minutes and thirty-two seconds, and the subject was moved to the research area afterward. The subject was stripped of his civilian clothing, cleansed, and fitted with a standard white jump suit before being allowed to enter the research area.
Research Area
The designated research area is a 5x5 room with white walls and a white tile floor. In the center of the room is an HD widescreen connected to a popular video game console (PVGC). Two feet away from the front of the entertainment station sits a comfortable futon — also white — designed specifically for a “gamer.” Built into the wall behind the futon are a shower stall and a toilet for hygienic purposes. A one-way mirror is embedded in the right wall so that researchers may observe the subject while maintaining their privacy.
Research Log
November 5th
Subject was introduced to designated research area. He admired the entertainment station. Subject was disappointed to find that the PVGC only had one game disc. Subject discovered that neither the PVGC nor the television would turn on; the research team informed him via intercom that he would have to wait until the next day to play. Dinner, consisting of steak and potatoes, was brought to the subject. He ate slowly and then, after finishing his meal, set his tray down and fell asleep.
November 6th
Subject awoke. He was informed that he could test the video game. He eagerly turned on the console and grabbed the controller, watching the screen intently as the game loaded. For six hours, the subject played without requesting food or drink; he did not get up to use the hygienic facilities. Computers behind the mirror measured his progress. The research team concluded that he was a skilled gamer. By the time the subject stopped playing, he was halfway through the game. He was served dinner. Before falling asleep on the futon, the subject used the toilet and showered.
November 7th
Subject completed the video game today. He was briefly interviewed about his experience by researcher Jim Molyen.
November 8th
Subject spent entire day watching television. He was served three meals. He used the toilet but did not shower before going to sleep.
November 9th
Subject was encouraged to play the video game again today. He played for an hour or so before turning it off. He was asked why he would not play the game, and explained by saying, “It’s the same game as before.” He went to sleep without watching television.
November 10th
Subject attempted to watch television, but all that would appear on the screen was static. When he asked about the static he was informed that the satellite was out and it was suggested that he play the PVGC until the satellite was repaired. He complied and spent three hours with the controller in his hands; his expression was one of boredom.
November 11th
Subject became visibly stressed for the first time today. When he couldn’t watch the television, he pounded on the mirror and demanded to know why the researchers hadn’t fixed the satellite yet. They gave him no reply and he kicked over the futon. He did not touch the PVGC for the rest of the night, and no dinner was served to him.
November 12th
Subject pounded on the mirror again, demanding breakfast. He was told to turn on the PVGC. Subject refused and was not fed as a result. Subject was informed of the consequences of his inaction. Subject spent an hour yelling at the mirror about his status as an American citizen and of his constitutional rights before being reminded that the signature on his contract temporarily suspended his rights. The subject beat his fists against the glass and shouted until he became tired and fell asleep.
November 13th
Subject refused to play the PVGC again today. He was brought no food or water. He sat on the futon for most of the day, staring at the mirror, muttering under his breath.
November 14th
Same result as the previous day. One difference: subject kept chewing his finger nails and spitting them on the floor.
November 15th
Subject played the video game today. Food was brought to him during the second hour of play time. He gorged himself on hamburger and fries. Subject complained that no water was brought to him. Researchers suggested that he should play the PVGC for another hour. Subject reluctantly complied and a bottle of water was passed through the slot in the door.
November 16th
Subject beat video game for second time. He turned off the PVGC, walked up to the mirror, and asked if he could go home. No response was issued. Subject asked the same question a total of 41 times. Subject turned over futon and punched the mirror until his fists were raw. After he was finished, the subject fell to the floor and went to sleep
November 17th
Subject would not touch PVGC and when he discovered that he could not watch television, he chewed his finger nails until they bled. Subject received neither food nor water.
November 18th
Subject refused to play PVGC or look at the mirror. He kept mumbling to himself and the only time he got up from the floor was to vomit in the toilet. He fell asleep afterward.
November 19th
Subject’s third interview was today. Researcher Simon Mulock and guard Peter Dylan entered the research area while the subject was still sleeping. As the two approached, the subject awoke and Dylan pressed his standard issue taser against the subject’s neck and suggested that he not cause Mulock any trouble. The interview was conducted quickly, and Mulock and Dylan left. The subject stayed on the floor for the rest of day. He did not even rise to retrieve the plate of food that was passed through the door slot.
November 20th
Subject spent entire day in shower even after researchers turned off the water. Sobbing could be heard from inside the stall. Subject could not be lured out of hiding with promises of sustenance.
November 21st
Subject emerged from shower stall shivering. It either did not occur to him or he refused to ask the research team to turn up the heat. Subject did not eat today.
November 22nd
Subject requested food and was asked to activate the PVGC. Subject did so reluctantly and played the game for an hour before food was brought to him. Subject did not bother with plastic ware that was provided; he ate with his hands. Subject later asked if he could go home once he finished the game again. Research team did not respond. Subject sat on the floor and stared at the wall until the next morning.
November 23rd
Today’s findings were interesting. Subject began talking to himself at 6:00 a.m. and continued for the remainder of the day. He did not respond to announcements from the research team. As the day progressed, subject’s mumbling devolved into a conversation between the subject and his deceased mother.
November 24th
Subject began to chew the flesh of his forearms. Researchers considered interfering but decided against it because subject was only bleeding slightly.
November 25th
Subject urinated on the futon and hissed at the one-way mirror.
November 26th
Subject began screaming about non-functioning television, threatened to defecate on the PVGC but refrained from doing so.
November 27th
Subject continued conversation with imaginary mother. Subject is no longer providing intriguing results. Administration is considering pulling the plug on experiment #49.
November 28th — “the incident”
Subject requested breakfast and was directed toward the PVGC once again. Subject began screaming that he refused to play longer because he could see the messages in the game. Subject then approached the entertainment console and picked up the PVGC, ripping the device from its cables.
Research team requested that the subject put down the PVGC. In response, the subject flung the device against the one-way mirror with such force that the PVGC shattered. The security team was contacted 5 seconds later. Subject then began to pummel the television screen with his fists, breaking the screen in a matter of seconds, resulting in lacerated arms. He began to bleed heavily and, within two minutes, fell to the floor kicking and screaming.
Security members Thomas Sage and Bart Jackson entered the room accompanied by medical personnel Delilah Murtha. Sage and Jackson held the injured subject down while Murtha attempted to sedate him and prepare him for evacuation to the research facility’s medical center. Subject broke free and stabbed Murtha in the face with a large shard of glass. Sage managed to break both of the subject’s hands and sedate him with Murtha’s syringe. Both the subject and Murtha were then transferred to the medical center.
Aftermath
Both subject and Murtha survived the ordeal though Murtha has lost the use of her right eye. After careful review, it has been decided that the project is to be shut down. Researchers will be relocated to different facilities.
Murtha has been given a generous life-long pension and an impressive estate in Ocean City, Barbados on the condition that she never return to the United States and that she never come within 300 feet of any journalist. Three FBI agents have been sent to Barbados to ensure that neither occurs.
The subject has been terminated.
Copyright © 2012 by Javy R. Gwaltney
