Chapter 1: A Quite Adventurous Field Trip

Dawn and Janice stepped off the bus.

So did the rest of their science class. They looked around. Dawn had never been to this part of L.A. She had heard plenty of horror stories from Buffy and her dad about it.

"Why would they build a top research place in a dump like this?" asked Janice. She looked at all the warehouses surrounding them.

"You know how people are about all these medical experiments," replied Dawn. "Stem cell research and all that. I hear medical researchers are far more likely to get attacked outside work than anyone else."

She still felt uneasy looking at the building.

Maybe it was all those stories she'd heard about downtown L.A. Or maybe it was her gut feeling from all the weird goings on she'd seen in Sunnydale. If something there didn't look right, it usually wasn't.

Dawn put aside her instinct.

She followed Janice and the rest of the class into the building. A tall man in his forties and dressed in a smart designer suit greeted them. He spoke for a moment with their teacher, Mr. Taylor.

Then he turned to the class.

"Alright class," he said. "My name is Fink. I'm in charge of operations here at BT Incorporated. I shall be showing you around. I'll also introduce you first hand to some of the projects we run here. Just to show you some of our ideas for a better future."

He gestured towards the elevator.

"Now if you'd just follow me."

Dawn took in the surroundings.

It looked like a posh, but typical hospital waiting area. Lots of marble and expensive wood, but still. She'd spent too much time in hospital last year with her mom's tumor and later death. It made her feel even more uncomfortable than she had in the street.

The class walked down the corridor towards the elevator.

They heard excited voices from behind the reception desk. Dawn and Janice looked and saw two women giggling hysterically and pointing at the class.

"Wow, check out the boob-jobs on those," said Janice looking at the two girls.

Dawn was a little freaked out by their grossly disproportionate bodies. But if her dad had taught her anything it was that men hire secretaries based on two things: boobs and how likely they are to sleep with you.

Why would this Fink guy be any different?

That's when she saw the neon silhouette of the kneeling woman. She nudged Janice.

"Read that line!"

Janice did and guffawed.

"What the fuck kinda place is this?" she shrieked.

Fink ushered everyone into the elevator. Then he turned to the reception desk and gave the two bimbos a menacing glare. He didn't want anyone to get any ideas about what really went on at BimboTech. At least not until he'd had a chance to remove the cell phones from all the class.

He couldn't have them texting or calling for help. Happily they were with a male teacher. There was little chance he'd cancel the tour due to some stuck up feminist's objections to all the glorified sex toys he kept in the building.

The class wasn't that big.

They were only twenty including the teacher. Fink counted eleven male and nine female. It was not the ratio he had hoped for. He squeezed his way into the elevator and pushed the button for the fifth floor. The elevator was roomy. After all it had to pack in several huge titted bimbos. Nevertheless it was a very tight squeeze with little room for movement.

"So what are we going to see?" asked one of the girls.

"Hey can we conduct some medical experiments on those two down in reception?" asked one guy dressed in the school football jacket.

"Here we are, level five," said Fink as the elevator stopped.

"This is where we conduct extensive research into the human brain. We're hoping to use it to eliminate countless problems and make society a better place."

The class stepped out of the elevator into a long white corridor. Doors stretched all the way down. Next to each was a large glass window.

"Now if you'll just follow me," announced Fink. He pointed down the corridor.

They passed several men in lab coats. Dawn felt that they looked at her and Janice with dirty smiles. Once again she experienced a feeling of impending dread.

"This place gives me the creeps," said Dawn.

"Whoa, dude! Check those out," yelled one of the guys to some of his friends.

Dawn and Janice looked through the glass window down into the lab below. They saw a few men in white working with a pink liquid. Several girls who could only be described as porn stars sat around on rather ominous looking chairs. They were swinging their long legs back and forth and twirled their hair.

"You know, I think I'm starting to agree with you," said Janice. "This place is weird."

"Hey," Dawn asked Fink. She pushed to the front of the group. "What's with all the stripper wannabees?"

"That's a rather ignorant stereotype," said Fink calmly. "I'll have you know everyone of the girls employed here is a skilled professional in her specific area of expertise."

"You mean they actually work here?" Dawn said sarcastically. She did not feel comforted by Fink's response. In fact his hiring policy made her feel creeped out.

As were other things she saw.

The class stopped to look down into one of the labs. Another couple of men were circling around one of those suspicious chairs. In it sat a woman. She had a rather strange looking device over her head.

"Victoria down there was a high driven career type," said Fink. "The stress of her job caused her all kinds of problems. We intend to help her overcome them. It'll make her a far happier person."

Fink certainly had to think on his feet today.

True, Victoria - soon to be Vikki - was a bitchy career woman. But she was here rather at the request of her husband. He was getting fed up of not having sex. His wife was always in the office. Or who knows where else she might be, working late.

"How does it work?" someone asked.

"It is mainly a combination of relaxation and therapeutic techniques. The helmet's visor creates optical stimuli to lower a person's resistance. Harmonic frequencies are generated by the helmet itself. They target and alleviate the areas of the brain that cause the problems."

"So it is some kind of brainwashing?" Dawn asked.

"A crude description," Fink said once again balancing between lying and almost telling the truth.

"Psychiatrists use various forms of hypnosis. Even electromagnetic fields are used to aid in rehabilitation. That way you can cure addiction and alleviate stress. What we have done is taken a combination of these techniques. We developed a means of helping people solve their mental problems without the need for drugs. Thus we reduce the number of addicts in society."

Fink's little propaganda speech seemed to have them convinced. They continued down the corridor towards one of the doors at the far end. Fink pushed it open. The room was dimly lit. The walls were purely white, made out of a plastic-like material.

"If you'd all just step inside, we can continue with the tour," he said. With a sense of relieve he saw them get into the room. The most dangerous part of the visit lay behind him.