Introduction

It's been a long, exhausting day at the lab and you're ready to go home for a much needed night of sleep. Your job as the director of one of the leading cognitive neuroscience labs in the country has left you with an immense weight on your shoulders. Stepping into this role had been a dream—it felt like years of your hard work and innovation had finally been rewarded. But in reality, the job was heavily management oriented and had far less to do with your true passion—research itself. As you shut your office door behind you with a soft click, you hear footsteps approaching you from around the hallway. With a frown, you check your watch; it's well past midnight—who would be here at this hour?

When the unknown figure rounds the corner, you let out a sigh of relief. It's none other than your good friend, Mari. You had been roommates in college and remained close due to your mutual fascination for the brain. Eventually, you both managed to land a job within the same lab and years down the line, had risen up through the ranks considerably.

As Mari gets closer, she lets out a wry smile.

"I had a feeling I'd find you here."

You reply with a chuckle, "It's not really a surprise anymore, is it?"

"Not after your big promotion to director." She nods at the nameplate on the door to your office. "It's a good thing that I found you," she continues. "I have a project that I could really use some help on. I was hoping you'd be interested?"

Your interest is piqued; Mari hasn't mentioned anything about a project recently. "What's it about?" you inquire.

"I'm conducting an experiment on the effects of interactive virtual reality play on neural stimulation. I haven't had the opportunity to run the test on anyone yet but I need preliminary results to fine-tune the program."

"That sounds promising! I'll help in whatever way I can," you reply. It's exciting to hear about new projects; that's the aspect of your old position you miss the most.

"Great, let's head to my lab!" Mari exclaims, an eager glint in her eyes.

"What, now?" you say, with another glance at your watch.

"No better time than the present," Mari calls over her shoulder, already headed back down the hallway.

———

As you lay back in the chair with the EEG electrodes attached to your scalp, Mari hands you the paperwork that all subjects have to complete before undergoing any procedure. You sign off and hand the clipboard back to her.

"We're all set," she says. "The drugs will kick in any second now. You'll feel drowsy at first but when you wake up, you'll be inside the simulation. Now remember, your task is to..."

Mari's words begin to slur together. You try to look for her to tell her to speak more clearly, but your vision is tunneling and your eyelids are fluttering shut. Then, darkness.

Banner information: Dark lab hallway on Flickr.