Facility- Chapter 8
#8 of Facility
But still good progress nonetheless. Now all I have to do is to make it so that the thing it will be transforming me looks as human as possible and then maybe use that one and then tweak it further as needed until I can manage a form that is nearly identical in appearance to a human as possible. But since I don't really need to have a lot of samples I go about and decide to just go ahead and make this one be one that will take a lot of tests rather than just one then come back after dinner. I step onto the pedestal and let it take all its readings, barely even bothering to think about what all it's showing me. In part because at first it was a thing of looking at something foreign. Now it's more just a checkmark and looking at things that are increasingly difficult to see as mine. Like seeing it as my tail that's grown to just over a foot long.
But I go to doing all of the setup, picking a bunch of variables to test. And then once that is done I decide to leave Bob to his own devices this time. He was right in not being much help. Even with me trying to encourage him it seemed like he was struggling with even the simple concepts and almost a mirror to the first couple times we ran the experiments. Which I guess must be all sorts of frustrating for him. Hopefully he ends up feeling better soon. In the meantime it's time to go and continue trying to find a way out of here that doesn't involve having to go through the flowerbed of potential death. Bob just wanders off back towards the rec room, whether to just sit down or run some more I can't tell.
I decide casually to first check to see if it's still raining and when I open the wall to reveal the outside it does look like it's currently stopped, though it does definitely still look very wet outside still and likely to start raining again sometime later. Definitely not something I'd want to be outside during going barefoot and not having any sort of extra clothing to help keep me warm. Yes I have fur now over most of my body, but I'd really not like to stress test just how warm a coat it is. It is definitely soft, though.
That curiosity sated I start exploring the rest of the walls trying to see if I can figure out where there might be another secret entrance. Though being here I'm reminded of just how much bigger this place is from what I'm actually able to reach and decide to first start on the complete opposite end of the complex, checking the wall that is the most interior. And that both is and is not a success. On my way I did note that Bob had decided to simply sit down and stare off into space rather than run again but knowing the approximate sizes of the room I can conclude quite readily that there is a few gaps that are larger than they should be. And by a large margin too.
One in particular is a very long stretch of wall somewhat close to the kitchen. Now the rooms' walls are both about four steps away from the door but the distance between the doors is about twenty-five steps between them. Meaning there's a space for easily a hallway or something between these two rooms that I'm not able to immediately see. But the entire time from when I had begun checking the area to when the dinner bell starts to ring I was not able to find a single indication of how it would open or even where a door might be located. If there is a door it's simply far too well disguised for me to be able to see it. Which I'm sure means it only opens from the other side and they could probably end up hiding cameras all around this place so well that I wouldn't be able to tell even if I was touching one.
But dinner bell means time to go eat and so I make my way over to the cafeteria again. And I find another interesting fact to this place. Yesterday I had lost sight of Bob for a while so there was a question of whether or not Bob had been the one to cook the food or if it was prepared. But I arrive at the cafeteria before Bob does and the food is again already laid out for us. And this is extremely interesting since I was around this area for quite a while and did not hear anyone moving around. The main obvious entrance was covered by me and I didn't hear anyone the entire time I was checking. And yet, not only has all the food been cooked but set out without dispensers.
It's as if whoever is truly in charge of this place is mocking me. But they are changing things up and this time giving us our squishy square substance in the shape of pizza, with pieces of colored squares and colored goops as toppings and sauce. Even still it is a welcome shame. But it does bring me even more to question just what the purpose of the squares truly are. There is someone clearly around. I can rule conclusively on that. I haven't found any sign of then more can I even smell any sign of anything out of the ordinary but there is too much that cannot be otherwise explained. And then why bother with the squares? Why not just give us normal food? I imagine that this place truly serves as an experiment in itself, to see if I can cure myself in time or not while doing a psychological assessment on me during the entire time. I imagine they did the same to Bob regardless if he is aware of that fact or not.
The only real explanation I can come up with for the squares comes back to my chocolate thought yesterday. I don't know what all this body can and cannot handle. But simple proteins it should almost undoubtedly handle. So the squares are there because that's what they know for certain what our bodies can handle. At which case I can only shudder to think how miserable everyone was until they figured out what all our bodies could successfully stomach. And thinking back on the explanation earlier I guess it is quite possible that that is the real answer. After all, since he couldn't actually speak Bob didn't actually say the food went bad. Instead he had made a gesture of time passing and then a disgusted face in regards to the food.
Which could just as easily be his way of saying that eating normal food would just make us very sick as the food not keeping. At any rate, guess I'll just have to settle for protein square things dressed up as a pizza. At least it's a nice warm meal. Bob actually arrives a bit late and when the food has started to get a bit cold, the fur on one side of his face definitely more than a bit disheveled. Apparently my guess is that he ended up falling asleep and taking a nap on the couch in the rec room. Which is fine I guess. He doesn't have anything more to change and if it helps him out in the end then that helps me out as well.
Once I'm done eating I make my way over to the rec room myself and begin looking around, seeing what all I can find. Apparently there is actually quite a lot in this room. A lot more, definitely, than I had originally thought. There actually is a television in this room, though not only does it not look to be powered up but the display of the television has long since been damaged, as if someone had thrown something at the television or hit it with something or other. I don't smell anything else unusual about it, though.
There are quite a few other things in the room, some regarding fitness, others around more entertainment, but most of the entertainment things don't currently work. Again leading me back to the concept that this place was built for people to willingly come and work. A rec room where they could exercise, play games, watch television, etc. But then the botched serum must have changed things, though how long after the start of it all that the other labs went dark and the entertainment items stopped working I have no way of knowing.
Finally giving up and I decide that I might as well go ahead and just take a walk for a while. I've found that now that the padding on my feet is so much thicker than normal and that I'm no longer fighting going around on the balls of my feet that I'm able to walk for much longer periods without any real discomfort. Doesn't mean I have to enjoy the fact that my legs are somewhat animalistic. Hell, other than my tail and my junk my legs are probably the most animalistic thing I have. Though I imagine eventually I'll be able to say the same about my face. Probably not too much longer and that'll no longer even look remotely human.
Eventually I decide that it's late enough that I head off to bed. I don't quite see Bob there already but that's just as well. Nothing says he has to go to bed when I do, so long as he doesn't end up waking me up in the process. I go to the room and note that there was a nightgown placed to the side of my bed. Shrugging I just undress on the spot and put the shirt on. It's not like there's any really concern for the situation, after all. And it probably wouldn't be all that comfortable to try and sleep in clothes that are a few sizes too big for me at this point. Heck I could probably have just worn the shirt I wore today and it'd be almost as good as having worn a nightshirt. To some degree at any rate.
I fall asleep easily enough while pondering if perhaps they do something to make us fall asleep or not. But either way I start dozing off before Bob comes in and pokes me a few times, rousing me fully. Curious I stare at him with a bit of disdain, wondering what all he'd do that for. Instead he simply makes a brushing notion over his teeth. So he's going to wake me up just to make sure I brush my teeth? Just how anal is he about that. I try to turn over and just ignore him but he's quite insistent on the matter and eventually I snap at him.
"Just why do I have to brush my teeth? Would it be so bad to go one day without brushing my teeth? Would it cause my new teeth to fall out?"
Bob sighs and then tugs my arm towards the door. At first I think he's going to try and direct me to the bathroom to force me but he makes a motion of writing. So in other words wants me to follow him to the dry erase board so that he can write his answer. Fine enough, I did ask the questions. I groan in response but do get up. And again I notice him avoiding looking at me as best I can though I did notice his eyes did linger on my crotch for a split second. Ignoring that I head over to the lab and he goes to the dry erase board and grabs the pen before gesturing me close. Confused I get closer but he pulls me right in front of the board and then writes in a very awkward manner.
"They are watching. They are testing. You don't brush. You don't eat." He immediately erases the board, perhaps a bit more thoroughly than normal to make sure that there's absolutely no sign of anything that was there. And then points at me and makes a brushing gesture again. Sighing I go ahead and follow his instructions and go to the bathroom to brush my teeth.
This means that he is aware we are being watched. It also confirms a few more suspicions I have about this place. And the fact that they are able to do such as they are describing, or denying food for not brushing means it is a psychological experiment as well. Though to what purpose whether or not you brush your teeth at night I don't know. But I'm guessing either he or someone else tried it at some point and paid the price. And I suppose it might be more insistent since there's no guarantee he won't get punished as well for it. For all I know it might be if either of us don't brush our teeth, neither of us get food. Bob follows me so far as to make sure I start brushing my teeth before heading to bed himself. Grumbling I finish brushing my teeth and then climb back into bed.
The next day I find that I slept a lot more deeply than normal. I didn't even wake up when Bob started rummaging around. Bob had apparently already gotten up and left for the morning, probably heading off to brush his teeth again before breakfast. I move over to the dresser and pull out the clothes. I can tell they weren't fixed from where I had sorted them yesterday, and I can also tell that they currently fit me perfectly. At least perfectly for now. I'm sure over the course of the day I'll probably end up shrinking a few more inches. But not knowing if I have to do both or not I follow suit and go to the bathroom and brush my teeth before getting breakfast.
And then once that's done time to go and check the lab results again. I notice that Bob still is acting somewhat distracted and kept stealing glances at me while eating. But when we get to the lab I find that the dry erase board has vanished again, which is annoying. But I'm guessing it might me they're anticipating me being able to start learning Bob's language over the course of the day. Either that or we're being punished for the message he tried to let me know last night, that he ruined the experiment and we're being punished by having the board removed. Bob also looks somewhat confused at the situation.