The posters were plastered all over town, on every wall and telegraph pole and bus shelter:
MAKE MONEY PARTICIPATING IN RESEARCH
WOMEN AGED 18-30, $$$.
I was 25 and broke, so I wrote down the phone number on the poster and called it that afternoon.
A pleasant female voice answered. "Ataxiss Industries, how may I help you?"
"Um, hi, I've seen your poster ads," I said nervously.
"Ah, of course. Can I ask you a few screener questions to see if you'll be suitable for this research?"
"Of course."
"First, can you confirm that you are female and aged between 18 and 30?"
"I can confirm that, yes."
"Great. Now what is your current state of health?"
"Um. Pretty good I think? I don't smoke, I'm not overweight, I don't have any health conditions or anything."
"Perfect," said the woman from Ataxiss Industries. "And are you currently single?"
"Yeah," I said, wondering what that had to do with anything.
"Do you live alone?"
I said yes again, but I was starting to get a bit concerned. I knew nothing about this company after all, or what this research might entail. I decided to ask a few questions of my own.
"So how much does this pay, exactly?" I asked. "And what does the research involve, I mean-"
The woman on the phone cut me off, saying brightly, "You'll find out everything in due course, we can't give you too many details at this stage as it might bias the results of the research, but I can tell you that if you pass the first stage the remuneration can be from ten to fifteen thousand, and significantly more if you progress further. Do you masturbate?"
The question caught me so off guard I answered 'yes' without thinking, dazzled by the thought of ten to fifteen grand and possibly more. So what if they asked me weird questions? I really needed the money. She asked for my address and phone number and said the company would be in touch shortly.
I had assumed I wouldn't hear anything for a while but it was the very next day, just as I was getting ready for work that my phone rang.
"Hello?" I said breathlessly, half way through getting dressed.
"Hi there, it's Angela from Ataxiss Industries here, I was just wondering if you were free today for a quick medical exam?"
"Uh, I've got work," I said.
"The exam pays $500."
"Oh wow, in that case I'll just call in sick," I said, delighted. "Where do I need to go?"
"We'll send a car," said Angela.
#
I spent the car ride nervously looking out of the window, wondering where we were going. The driver didn't talk much and wore sunglasses in cloudy weather like a gangster in a movie, and he didn't answer any of my questions. We were going through a rough part of town, and pulled up to a long low building in the warehouse district.
"Uh, are you sure this is the right place?" I asked him nervously. The area was run down and abandoned-looking and didn't seem like the location of a doctor's office.
"Yes, this is right," said the driver in a heavy Eastern European accent. "I will show you."
He got out of the car and escorted me to a glass door with a series of buzzers along the wall beside it. He rang one of them and muttered something I couldn't hear into the intercom. We were buzzed in and entered a long white corridor with chairs lined up along the wall, beside an ominous looking door. It didn't look like any doctor's office I'd ever been in in my life. The driver gestured to one of the chairs and I sat in it, and he sat down next to me. I had the weirdest feeling that he was guarding me. Stopping me from running away. But what was there to run away from? I was being stupid. He just wanted somewhere to wait that wasn't the car, that was all. I'd go in, they'd ask me a few questions, maybe take my blood pressure, pay me then I'd be on my way back home.
It didn't happen like that.
The door opened, and a man I presumed was the doctor stuck his head out. He was tall and attractive, about my age.
"Hi there," he said, and stuck out his hand for me to shake. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.
"Hi," I said, and shook his hand.
"Come in, Sarah, let's get you checked out."
"How do you know my name?" I said, stupidly.
He laughed. "It's in your notes!"
"Oh." I wanted the ground to swallow me up. Of course they knew my name, I'd told them, hadn't I?