Chapter 1

Day One

Being the first to arrive, Megan had no idea when the others would show or who the others even were. Being first gave her the right to choose her own room, she assumed, but all three of the bedrooms were identical, absolutely identical, so she decided to hold off until the others arrived, in case they had a preference. Instead she explored the suite that would be her home for the next seven days.

It was bigger than she expected and well appointed. Nice bathroom, terrific kitchen, a workout area with a treadmill, nautilus and a stair climber, lots of books, DVDs and CDs in racks by a wall mounted HDTV. Everything, with the exception of the bathroom and the bedrooms, was grouped in a large common room. There were no windows, clocks or phones. Megan had been instructed to leave her watch and cell phone at home. Two computers were set in a corner, high end machines with a comprehensive package of software. There was no internet connection, and the time/date display in the lower right-hand corner had been disabled. She'd be completely isolated, just like they'd said.

Between the couch and the TV was a low coffee table, and on that lay three red folders marked "Lyn", "Megan" and "Olivia". She picked up the folder with her name and read the letter inside.

On behalf of the Dacess Corporation, thank you again for participating in this experiment. We realize giving up your Spring Break is a sacrifice on your part. Please know the research conducted this week will have profound implications for future scientific endeavors.

That, Megan recalled, was a point her interviewer had come back to again and again... the importance of the research. All she really knew was they were examining co-operative behavior in sealed environments. The interviewers had been vague about the practical applications, speaking generally about manned space flight, trips to Mars, that sort of thing. Her eyes were drawn to a paragraph in bold print.

While all activities in the suite are being recorded, these recording will not be reviewed until after the experiment is over. For the duration of the experiment you will be isolated from the outside world. You will recall you have signed a waiver assuming all risk for anything that happens during the course of the experiment.

Megan certainly did remember. The waiver had been 13 pages of very dense, single spaced legal jargon. An unsmiling rep from Dacess Corp had sat in the room with her to make sure the document was read in its entirety before signing. That had been the final act of a grueling, fifteen hour day filled with physical, psychological and intelligence tests. On the bright side, the Dacess Corp doctors assured her that her mental and physical health were outstanding and that she'd graded very high on the intelligence tests. That was good to know.

The next page was labeled "House Rules". For the most part she was free to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. She and the other participants could set up any rules they wished. The only requirements were the three had to wake up at the same time and take their dinners together. After wake up, before sleep and before their evening meal, the three had to watch a video presentation on the HD together. A chime would sound one minute before each video was to begin. The sheet made plain she would be paid for her service only if all of the participants watched all of the videos. If any one participant missed a video, none of them would get paid.

The final piece of paper was her payment, a check for $7,000 dated one day after the experiment was to end. Megan smiled at the cleverness of it. Giving the check now would be a powerful incentive to follow the rules... and it wasn't as if she could rush right out and cash it.

"Hey."

Megan looked up. A blond was standing in the entrance, a pack slung over her shoulder. She crossed the room, hand extended, "I'm Olivia."

"Megan."

They shook, and Megan handed her a red folder, "Looks like this is for you."

Olivia was very pretty. Her straight, blond hair fell just past her shoulders, high cheekbones, with startling blue and an impish mouth. She was built like a woman who worked out regularly.

Lyn arrived as Olivia sifted through her folder. In her way, she was every bit as pretty as Olivia... dark haired and olive skinned with a smoldering voluptuousness. Megan wondered if this was part of the experiment somehow, because she knew she was beautiful as well. Fair skinned like Olivia but with a curvy, busty frame like Lyn's, with thick, brownish red hair. Megan couldn't think of a way beauty would be relevant to the experiment. More likely, she decided, the guys at Dacess would find analyzing seven days worth of video easier if they were looking at pretty girls.

Olivia had finished reading. She was tucking the check into her pack, "Pretty much what they told us to expect, right?"

"Pretty much," Megan and Lyn agreed.

Lyn continued, "What's the deal with the bedrooms?"

"They're exactly alike," Megan informed.

"If they're alike, take anyone you want," Olivia said as she started for the kitchen area. Lyn scrutinized the rooms intently.

Olivia opened the refrigerator door, "Whoa. This is a little weird."

"What?"

Olivia pulled out a small plastic bottle. The label was white, with black lettering. It said only "Water". The Dacess Corp logo was etched under the word. Olivia pulled out a second bottle, which was labeled "Lemonade". A third bottle was labeled "Cola".

"Great," Lyn griped, "a week of crappy generics."

"It's the same thing with the food," Megan reported. The shelves were stocked with every food stuff and ingredient she could think of, and they were labeled in the same, spartan way.

"As long as it isn't poisoned... ," Olivia said. She returned the lemonade and cola to the fridge and took a deep pull off of the water. Her face scrunched up, and she took a second, experimental sip. "Does this taste funny to you?"

She handed the bottle to Megan and the water did taste odd. Not bad, not exactly skunky, just a subtle, mediciny aftertaste. Megan gave the bottle to Lyn, who agreed it didn't taste quite right. Olivia tried a second bottle and found the same taste.

"It'll have to do," she shrugged.

There was a sharp report from the door as the lock snapped into place, followed by a soft hiss. The door was sealed.

"I guess it's on," Olivia said.

They sorted out the sleeping arrangements and set up their rooms. Megan finished first, and not wanting to bother the others, decided to take a shower. It was closer to dinnertime than breakfast, but she'd skipped bathing to grab a few extra moments of sleep. In the bathroom she stripped while the water heated up. Despite the weirdness with the food, it was so far so good. Lyn and Olivia seemed nice enough, and more importantly, committed to getting along. It was inevitable that there'd be clashes over the week. Everyone being nice now meant, hopefully, everyone would try to be reasonable when the conflicts started.

Soap, shampoo, conditioner and such were on a ledge in the shower wall, all packaged like the food. The next surprise of the day came as the water streamed over her body. She was used to the hard water back in the dorm. The water in the suite had been treated with something to soften it. It felt smooth and nice of her skin. Megan took her time.

Olivia was on the treadmill, immediately to the left as Megan exited the bathroom. The blond smiled.

"Perfect timing," she said as she stepped off the machine. "You didn't use all the hot water, did you?"

"Uhhhh... I have no idea."

Olivia's eyes twinkled, "Don't worry, I'm just having a little fun with you. We probably should make a shower schedule, though..."