Keys To The Mind Ch. 01

01 - Deception

Jessica brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I have to stay HOW long?" She balked. The money sounded amazing, but....

"At least Three months. After that the contract would expire and either party can cancel before there is an opportunity to renew. If you aren't comfortable with that, we do have other applicants."

"No, I...i was just surprised." Jessica wasn't sure about this yet but it was about her yearly salary in just 3 months, she wasn't going to pass this up without a very good reason. "Why does it need to be a binding three month contract? Couldn't you just not pay out if they don't finish?"

"The testing is of a number of separate pharmaceuticals, but all are based on the same recent research into the human brain. MOST of the chemicals involved are designed to be...well, used on criminals and the psychologically damaged, as an optional alternative to asylums and prisons. If they work as well on everyone as initial testing has shown, the behavioral modifications will revolutionize rehabilitation procedures. The catch is, we must find out how the drugs work on a subject who is resisting or unwilling. By testing a wide variety of the variants, we are virtually guaranteed to find at least a portion have undesirable effects on the subjects. By having the binding contract, however, we may force the issue, and we have our test subject. There is certain information we must give, but as long as the specifics are left unclear we can get volunteers that are still, at their core, unwilling, thus avoiding ethical concerns but still test what we need to."

Jessica wasn't sure how much of that she followed, but it sounded reasonable from what she did get. "What kind of...undesirable effects?"

"Nothing permanently damaging, and nothing that should cause you pain. Beyond that, we can't be certain until we've gotten further into testing and seen how you react to the variants."

"Alright..." Jessica hesitated. "I'll need to talk to a couple people and I'll of course want to review the contract, but I think this will work out fine."

The lab recruiter grinned. "Excellent. I've already got a contract ready. Take as much time as you need, but remember, once you sign the only real way out is a serious medical or safety issue, until the three months is done."

He handed her what looked like an entire ream of paper, which she took over to a nearby chair and began reading through...

Her eyes began to glaze over, metaphorically speaking, as she read more and more of the long-winded contract, finally reading the entire thing, twice. She was convinced it wasn't anything unreasonable for the situation, now she just had to break the news to her boyfriend. She'd mentioned it already, but if she went through with this he needed to know for sure first. She'd tell her family too, but she only saw them every couple months already anyway, since most of them were out of state...

"Hello? James? Yeah, it's me..." She smiled. "Yeah, I'm at the lab." She said into her cell phone. "No, I think it's actually going to work out. 60 thousand for three months. I have to stay in the lab the whole time once it starts, but..." She blushed and her voice dropped to a whisper. "NO, there won't be any 'conjugal visits!' I'm not...It would have to be IN the lab and that...that is NOT happening. Alright, fine..."She rolled her eyes. "I'll make it up to you somehow...I just wanted to make sure you approved before I signed. Yes, the start date isn't until the 1st. Alright, see you tonight."

She glanced back down at the papers as her phone went back in her pocket. *Jessica McMasters*. She signed her name at the end of the last page, and her initials in each other blank. No turning back now...

It was a week later, in the early evening that Jessica returned to the lab with a trunk full of personal items. The first order of business was apparently dropping off her things with a lab assistant and then reporting to a plain room for "control testing".

She spent the next two hours undergoing every cliché psychological exam known to man: inkblots, word association, questions about her home life, her family, her boyfriend, religion, political beliefs, sexual habits, it went on and on.

Finally, after a particularly phallic looking inkblot that she said looked like an elephant, she was finished.

The test administrator showed her to her room, and as she started unpacking her trunk, she noticed a note, glass of water, and a tray with two pills on it on the nightstand. "The first dose for testing tomorrow. Take tonight before bed."

Jessica looked at the pills and hesitated. Who knew what these did...but it was too late to second-guess herself now, so she swallowed the pills and drained the glass of water before going back to her unpacking. Once her laptop, cell phone, and a few books were on the desk, and her closet was stocked and her bed made, she went in the bathroom to put up her toiletries.

However, she didn't make it far. With the lights off, her eyes were drawn to a blinking red light inside the air vent across from the door. Flipping on the light, she looked up into the vent, and saw a small camera peering out. A quick look around found another one in the shower's overhead light and another peering out from inside the light switch cover. "What the hell!?" She shouted. She understood recording the test results, but watching her shower and use the toilet?!

She moved out into the bedroom, dropping her toiletries on the counter and looking around. Sure enough, at least four more cameras were hidden around the bedroom. She knocked on the door. "What the hell is with these cameras watching me pee!?!"

The door clicked open. The recruiter she'd originally talked to was there. "I assure you that is not our intention. No one from the main staff will see the camera feeds. We have three employees who are all women who watch the feeds for safety purposes and to ensure nothing is being done in a blindspot. The will know you only as "Subject 12" and will only talk about things directly relevant to the research with any other employee. Besides...you signed the contract which had observation clearly indicated."

Damnit...she remembered, she "waived all rights to decline observation" or something like that.

"If it would make you feel more comfortable, we can delete all the irrelevant data from those two cameras as soon as it's been observed."

Jessica paused. "That...I guess that will have to be good enough."

"Good...now, I imagine you are going to want to sleep soon, you have your first real testing day tomorrow. Oh, and here. This software will allow you to log journals that we can read, as well as let you communicate with us through your computer if you have questions at any time."

She took the proffered CD and nodded. "Alright."

She started the software installing and put away her toiletries, glaring at the cameras as she did so. The installer said four hours remaining, so she decided to just head to bed early. She was drowsy anyway, maybe from the medicine.

She was asleep almost before her head hit the pillow.

The morning came to find Jessica better rested than she'd ever remembered being. Someone was knocking on her door. She yawned and got up, slipping on a comfortable pair of pants and opening the door. "It's time for the scheduled day to start, Jessica. Breakfast is ready and afterward you can start testing."

Jessica went through her usual morning routine, mostly...she skipped the shower, still nervous about them watching her naked.

Once she'd had breakfast, which seemed rather good for what was surely processed prepackaged food, she was lead back to the testing center and given a test, similar to the one she'd been given before.

However, this time, she noticed that there were no "Prefer not to answer" options anywhere on the test.

Whereas before, she had skipped over most of the sexual questions, and a few other embarrassing personal questions, this time she wasn't given that option.

Do you masturbate?

Yes

Her face blushed crimson. She'd not wanted to answer that.

If yes, how often?

1-2 times a month

Her hand circled. What other answer could she give? She couldn't think of another option.

Are you sexually active?

Yes

If yes, how often?

1-2 times per week.

Have you given Oral sex?

No

Have you received Oral sex?

Yes

Have you tried Anal sex?

No

Have you ever been with another female sexually?

Yes, once

The questions went on and on, and her face grew redder and redder. Try as she might she couldn't seem to think of anything else to say but the truth and while some of the questions that was fine she was embarrassed about admitting she sometimes masturbates or being with another girl.

After the final round of questions, all sexual, she went to take the inkblot tests again.

The screen displayed an image.

"An erect penis." She blurted out before she had time to come up with another idea.

She blushed. But that was what it looked like...

The next image came up. The examiner chuckled at her expression as she again said without thinking, "Someone bent over and showing their ass."

She didn't think it was possible to be redder than she had been.

"Tits hanging down from a woman's chest."

She literally clapped her hands over her mouth for a moment.

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to be so...vulgar. I'm just a little distracted and horny I guess."

A strangled "eep" sound forced its way out of her mouth as her brain realized what she'd said.

"I...just...just keep going ok?" The woman administering the test smiled reassuringly.

"It's perfectly ok. No one here will judge you. If you need to...take a break and go back to your room, we can allow that."

"Can you turn off the cameras so I can masturbate?" She gasped. Had she really just asked that?!

Now the woman frowned. "No, I'm afraid not. It takes a higher level than me to disable the cameras. I'm a little surprised it worries you that much, you've been so open so far."

"I...normally am not so...open. Just...keep going. I'm ok...."

"A kitten's face." She sighed in relief as the next image didn't conjure any sexual thoughts, nor did the next one, which reminded her of a car...but then...

"A woman giving a blowjob."

She moaned.

"A spider... A cloud.... A Bridge...Pussy lips."

This time she buried her head in her arms on the table.

"Are...are we almost done?" She mumbled.

"With this test, yes. It's fine though, really. I've heard worse." The examiner laughed. "I won't be discussing the results directly with anyone except my boss. And he'll never even see your face or know your name. You'll be number 12."

She nods but couldn't suppress her blushing.

The next two days were more of the same. A few hours each day she repeated the same tests, with slight variations on the specific questions. On the third day, during the inkblot section though, something changed.

She looked at one of the inkblots, and the first thought that popped into her head was that it looked like a girl getting fucked from behind...but...

"A..uh...ravine."

She had lied. It was refreshing...because, she realized, the last two days, the idea of lying hadn't even occurred to her. At all. The truth had been the only thoughts she'd even had. And she hadn't even realized it until just now.

The examiner, a different woman than the day before, raised an eyebrow and looked at the inkblot, then clicked a button to bring up the next one...it was the same one she'd seen before, and said was an erect penis...or at least very similar.

"Um...a bottle."

The examiner smiled and wrote something down.

"That's enough for today I think. We need to draw a little blood for some bloodwork and then you'll start the next round of testing tommorow."

"Wait...those pills the first day...was...did it...did you guys give me some kind of...truth serum?"

"I'm afraid I can't discuss the substances being tested beyond safety concerns."

"Are all the tests going to be like that?"

"I told you, I can't discuss that."

"Fine..."

The blood draw was quick and painless and she was released in time for lunch.

She occupied the rest of her day on the computer and when she came back from dinner, found another tray of pills on her nightstand.

There were twice as many this time, including what looked to be another dose of the first pills...she suspected the first test was to make sure it worked as expected and check how long it lasted on her...and now, they were trying to make sure she told the truth about the other tests?

Could they really have made a truth serum? It seemed so...sci-fi...or fantasy, either way. But, why else would she have said all those things?

Sighing, she took the pills and went to bed early again.