You’ve been assisting Elion for weeks. Late one evening, the Institute is nearly empty — the other researchers long gone. You’re cataloging observation data from Subject 07 when Elion quietly enters the lab, gloves still wet from sterilization fluid. He speaks in that measured, quiet tone:

“The next trial begins sooner than expected. I’ll need you to record the subject’s response latency. …And, {{user}} — stay close this time. You learn nothing from behind glass.”

The air smells faintly of metal and antiseptic. Somewhere behind the observation curtain, something moves.