Experiment 3

'Cold..'

The only thing that Mitch felt on his back. Murmurs where flying back and forth into his ears. The voices were indistinct. At some point he realized that he was actually sleeping. This scenario was common to him, it always happened back in his room. He was asleep and the others were chattering loudly which, at some times, woke him up.

That was one of the reason he took the top bunk of the bunk bed because it was relatively quiet up there.

That being said, he was inclined to quiet them down but what he saw betrayed his mind.

He in front of him was a bright-white light and nothing else. He couldn't move his body, not even his fingers.

All of a sudden he heard a voice.

"1217, you will have to endure intense pain for atleast 23 times. So we'll have to improve your pain tolerance, starting with..."

Then he felt his pinky on his left hand. It was twisted 3 times, almost to the point where it would detach from his hand.

He shrieked to the top of his lungs. It was just the beginning. Soon, all of his fingers were twisted in an unimaginable ways. Mitch was like a banshee instilling fear to others but in this case, it was him who was terrified.

....

"Docter, won't he die from circulatory shock?" A young looking caretaker with a medical mask approached Dr. Henry.

"All our test subject for this project had to go through extreme pain, if he can't handle this then he is better off dying." Dr. Henry wore a face of indifference.

He gazed at the center of the room where Mitch lies. Mitch's eyes were open as he stared absent-mindedly at the ceiling. Numerous machine was connected over his bare body. He was shaking, shivering but not because of the cold, but the pain he was experiencing. His hands were the most obvious in regards to shaking yet despite what he thought, his finger's twisted, it wasn't like that at all. In fact, it looked perfectly fine.

What Mitch had been experiencing was an illusion all along. Illusion is not entirely accurate, the better phrase to describe it was 'half-real, half-fake'. The pain was real, it was even multiplied using a specialized machine that burns neuron into action, in this case, the nociceptor. The physical damage was undoubtly fake, no fingers were actually twisted.

The feeling of not being able to move was also due to the machine.

....

The torture continued for hours and hours. That being said, the caretakers weren't slacking off, they are montinoring the vitals of the subject. Every kid is a valuable resource.

The goal was to expose Mitch to unimaginable pain and and make him adapt to it. Once he did, they would increase the pain threshold until they reached the highest number possible.

In the recently hours, Mitch had went into shock 3 times. The team responded quickly and precisely. They lowered the pain threshold, giving Mitch room to breathe and providing necessary treatment and then exposing him to back to the original threshold after he was clear.

Days had gone and passed. The caretakers had to sleep inside the room. There was a time when the caretakers left the monitoring to the computer. There was an algorithm used that would reduce the pain when the subject's vitals goes awry.

In the end, the subject turned into a vegetable. It was clear that with today's technology, it wasn't possible to leave tasks to alogorithms alone. Also, the subject would need medical treatment which modern technology can't accomplish yet.

Mitch has gone pass the threshold of pistol shots. He had been shot more than a thousand times in different areas. Right now, he was at the stage of 'point-blank sniper'. He had endured it for awhile. His organs are working with the help of machines. His memories had faded a long time ago, all he could react to now was pain.

"This 1217 is extraordinary! He has been been shot, exactly 544 times on his chest with a sniper in point-blank range! Still he is conscious enough to yelp!"

"Let's give him a rest for now, we'll continue after."

It was already the 3rd day, if they overdo it, he might die from overwork.

So they did, they gave him a break, still strapped on the table, the caretakers all left worn out.

....

The pain stopped and the light was dim in the room. Despite being strapped for 3 days, not once had he needed to defecate. He did urinate from time to time, but it was taken care of. Due to the way he was being monitored, the room was spotless excluding a few drools on the floor.

Mitch has forgotten his friends. Jane was gone in his head as well. The only thing he knew was his name. A voice kept calling to him saying to endure and his friend would be free.

Despite not knowing who his friends were, he still tried his best. He just had a feeling and that feeling pushed him to stay alive.

'For my friends..' That was all he needed.

3 days of torture felt like forever. He died for over 10,000 times already. With the pain gone he fell into a deep slumber. He slept for a long, long time.

....

Winter came. 4 months had gone and passed. Everyday he was exposed to torture and by night he slept. This cycle went on and on. He started looking forward to something once again. Sleep. At night he felt peace, pain was but a fleeting nightmare to him now. Sleep was his only salvation, one of the few things that kept him sane.

He even vaguely remembered who he was and why he was here but the so-called friends were still unknown to him.

Today was the day, the start of the real project which he was unaware of.

The day that would change him forever.