Test Subject
“Just sit in the chair and watch the screen. If I’m correct, this will help you with all your troubles.”
Sam’s voice was saccharine, dripping with honey and engrossment. He stood behind the solid metal chair. Hands resting on the back, glasses glinting as he peered down at his precious new assistant. Her bright blue eyes glanced up at him as she nervously slipped into the seat before her. Her hands sat in her lap and she obediently faced the screen. Sam folded his arms and rested his chin on them. Not quite ready to step away. Saphira shifted her weight in the seat slightly. Perhaps she forgot to do something? Or maybe he was just thinking. It was still hard for her to figure him out, but extended, frozen silence made her uncomfortable.
“You neglected to add your species to your consent form.”
“Oh... I apologize. Should I correct that?”
“No worries. I’ll do it for you. I’ll fill out the other info as well,” Sam hummed, clicking a pen and producing a clipboard with her paperwork from within his long lab coat. Saphira nervously fidgeted, picking at her nails and keeping her gaze down while she awaited his questions.
“So. What are you?” he asked finally.
“I’m human,” Saphira muttered.
Sam chuckled, resting his hip on the back of her seat. He tapped the pen on the paper, but wrote nothing.
“What are you?”
Saphira lowered her head, her fidgeting getting worse and her gaze gluing to the floor. She chewed on her lip until it hurt.
“H-human...”
“The truth, Ms. Nightingale,” his voice lowered, dark and stern. Saphira flinched at the pain she inflicted on her lip, wincing and sitting upright slowly. She sighed. If he knew there was no way around it. She couldn’t help her hesitation, but she knew the only thing she could do now was tell the truth.
“I’m a shapeshifter...” she said, finally.
“Doppelganger, changeling, mimic?” he swept his hand in a rowing motion, insisting she continue.
“T’vahren.”
Sam hummed softly. A somewhat surprised noise. He jotted down what she said, assuming the spelling, and moved on to the next question. Saphira did feel a tad lighter after finally telling him. She just hoped it was information kept between them. The remaining questions should be easier to answer.
“Have you reached your species’ maturity?”
“I have.”
“Do you know of any incompatibility with other species?”
“No.”
The rest of the form went smoothly. And Saphira was able to relax as it went on. She was here for a reason, after all. This would be pertinent info for the tests ahead. As Sam looked over the form for anything else that was missed, Saphira wondered about what was ahead. What she was told was rather cryptic and this room seemed very empty for a lab. Only a chair, a projector, and a screen. What could he possibly learn from those alone?
“In calendar years, how old are you?”
“Uhm...” Saphira blinked out of her thoughts and quirked her brows, “I never kept track... uh... I was born under the star of Sivalune?”
Sam paused at that, glancing at her before writing down ”ancient?” and moving on.
“Thank you. Now we can prepare you for your procedure,” he beamed, the honey returning to his tone, “would you please assume your more natural form?” Saphira didn’t speak, nor did she move to change at all. She didn’t want to remove her mask. She felt safe behind it. Safe as anything but the supposed “natural” form of herself. Sam drummed his fingers on the back of her chair and tilted his head, his wild, raven hair falling over his shoulder.
“We won’t get proper results if you’re straining yourself to remain hidden,” Sam said, attempting to hide his impatience.
Saphira closed her eyes and reached up to her face. Her fingers pressed on her chin, cheeks, and forehead, lightly until the surface solidified into a stone-like accessory. As she pulled it away from her face, her body changed, clothes dissolving into the cape-like wings on her back, her flesh darkening to navy blue. Sam smiled as she shifted into her true self. A little bug-like being with long, curly antennae and bright cyan eyes. She rested the mask against the sigil in her chest and it melted into her with the rest of her human form.
“Thank you,” he breathed, “now for the next step.” He leaned over her from behind the chair and swiftly strapped her wrists to the metal armrests. She yelped at the sudden motion and tugged at the restraint. The emptiness in the room only grew more worrying now that she was stuck there.
“I-Is this experiment gonna hurt? I-I really don’t like pain,” she whimpered, struggling against the leather straps.
“No, no. It won’t hurt in the slightest. We just need you to stay put. And watch the screen,” Sam explained, approaching the projector and turning it on. It glowed bright, casting the scientist’s shadow on before her.
“Okay...”
“I’ll observe you from the other room.”
Sam left, his coat fluttering behind him as he swiftly slipped out the door and pulled it shut. Saphira tried to settle into her seat, but her anxiety kept her from relaxing. Despite her attempts to breath deeply and calm down, she still shook and whined.
The light finally changed, a title card on the screen taking her attention momentarily.
--INSTRUCTION - TEST SUBJECT 1--
She sighed softly. Instructions would distract her a little and she welcomed any form of distraction at the moment.
-- PLEASE RELAX --
-- WATCH THE SCREEN --
Saphira took a couple deep breaths. They still weren’t too effective, but she tried. She straightened in the chair, shook her head a little, and locked her eyes on the screen. Whatever the doctor needed to show her must be very important with all of this emphasis.
The screen suddenly changed. Instead of the solid white with black text, it was now an endlessly shifting pattern that filled the screen. As Saphira watched, it appeared to fill the whole room, surrounding her in the ever shifting shapes.
All of her wandering, fretting, panicking thoughts stilled into silence.
Staring, unblinking, into the shifting, fluid shapes that enveloped her.
Messages flashed across the dancing colors. Each in such quick succession that Saphira couldn’t read them if she had the capability to try. Each one flashing and burrowing into her skull with the words whispering themselves in her ears. She felt the nerves melting off of her shoulders. She sank slightly into the seat. Feeling herself adrift in the sea of shapes and color. It was warm and light. Like a blanket of feathers wrapped tightly around her body. She never felt so relaxed. So pliable...
“Subject is taking the conditioning very well,” Sam chuckled to himself, watching through the two way mirror, “we’ll be progressing to the next phase in no time.”
