Part I. The Advert
Do you need $5000?:Participate in a psychological study for 5 days and be compensated immediately in cash!
Sarah's light blue eyes flicked across the poster for the fifth time that morning as she chewed her lip nervously, straddling the precipice of indecision. The psychology department's study lounge was as empty as she'd ever seen it, as if the universe was urging her to make the call. She ejected a small sigh of determination and pulled out her telephone to dial the number listed on the page. A voice replied, cool and clinical but not entirely unfriendly, "AD Research -- Roger speaking. How may I help you?"
She paused, only for a moment. The warm professionalism of the voice had served to soothe her tangled nerves, "Good afternoon. I saw a poster in the student's lounge with a call for participants for a study. It says that participants will be compensated with $5000?"
"Yes, that is correct" the male voice on the other line replied.
"I'd like to participate in your study, if any spots are left" Sarah said definitively.
"We would love to have you. When would you be available to participate?"
"As soon as possible."
She heard the voice laugh, or perhaps she had just imagined it -- his reply came swiftly, "Great. We can start tomorrow, on Monday. Please present yourself at our clinic no later than 1 PM. Inform your family members and friends that you will be unavailable for the next 5 days -- you will be sleeping at the research center. You will return on Friday evening at 6pm."
"Should I bring anything other than clean clothes and toiletries?"
"You do not need to bring anything at all. We will provide everything".
Sarah thought that sounded a bit odd, but didn't take much notice. Her mind was still focused on the money, and if anything seemed at all out of the ordinary she could simply walk right out the door. She attempted to sound chipper and confident, "Great, I will see you tomorrow then."
"Thank you for your interest. We look forward to meeting you tomorrow".
Part II. The Clinic
Sarah knocked three times on the door. The building looked less like a medical center and more like a house.
She was excited, but anxious. Everything had been taken care of -- she had told her roommate that she would be away for a few days and switched shifts at her part time job at the library. She had also texted Adam, her boyfriend, to let him know she would be unavailable that week. That had not gone as well as she'd hoped.
Sarah went over the text exchange in her mind:
Hey Adam! I am going to be away until Friday because I am participating in a psychological study. Want to catch a movie Friday night when I return?
Adam had replied: Sure. Who is organizing the study?
Sarah couldn't remember the name that was on the poster -- was it CBC Research?
So she replied: Some research center. They're offering $5000!
She expected Adam to be fairly impressed with her find. So his response surprised her: Which one? You should probably look into them first to make sure you aren't being scammed.
This message made Sarah nervous. Maybe she was being scammed. Maybe there was no hope for her to pay off her student debt. But then another thought came to her: maybe Adam was just jealous that she had found a way to get rid of debt quickly and painlessly. They were both struggling month after month with school tuition, rent and food. How often had they talked about a simple solution to their problems? That must be it. He was jealous that she had thought of this and not him. She pushed the fears the text message had implanted out of her mind.
Standing now in front of the research center, she couldn't help but notice that it looked more like a house. Adam's concerns tickled the back of her mind. She had expected a small clinic, not a private residence. Before she had time to consider leaving, the door opened an orderly greeted her.
"You must be Sarah. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Robert - We spoke by phone."
The orderly wore pastel green scrubs and was, to put it simply, handsome. He was tall, maybe six feet, and his posture permitted the faintest hint of well built chest and arms to strain the light fabric of his top. His dark brown hair was short but well manicured, and his long lashed amber eyes peered down at her with obvious intelligence and just the right amount of arrogance. His features, young and slender carried a five o'clock shadow well. Sarah felt herself grow meek before him.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Robert. I'm Sarah," she said in a voice that waivered slightly.
They shook hands.
"Allow me to take your coat - and come in!"
Sarah handed Robert her parka and walked into the building. She placed her boots on a mat near the door. The hospitality she was being afforded so far smothered her doubts and, as Sarah looked around, the last of her fears were put to rest. The room she had stepped into looked identical to the waiting room of a doctor's office: tile floors, plastic chairs, non-descript water colours and dispersed magazines. Directly in from of her was a closed door with a plastic window. Through the window, she could see the blurry outline of examination rooms. The only aspect of the place that seemed different from a doctor's office was the curved wooden staircase on the left. This looked more like that of a house. "Perhaps it leads up to the rooms where the patients sleep," she wondered.
"Sarah, why don't you take a seat in our waiting room. I'll be back shortly with some tea and the papers we need to go through before we can get started".
"Sure," Sarah said. She eased into one of the plastic chairs and plucked a Time from the pile of dog-eared magazines that seemed to populate every doctor's office in the world. Robert returned a few minutes later with a teapot, two cups and a clipboard. Sarah put down the magazine. Robert delicately placed these items on the table before the plastic chairs, followed by a cup of tea. He then gestured to the clipboard:
"This is the contract you must sign if you wish to participate in our study. Let me summarize it for you: in short it says that you must stay here for three days time and willingly participate in all testing activities. In exchange you will be compensated with $5000. By signing this form, you agree not to leave before the experiment is completed. Is this clear?"
Sarah nodded and read the contract herself for good measure. Thinking of how exciting it would be to be debt free, she signed the dotted line and dated the form. She then returned it to Robert.
"Thank you" he said in his sugary voice. I will give these forms to Dr. Kremis and will return for you shortly. Do you have any questions for me at this time?
Sarah thought for a moment, and then asked:
"What type of research will I be participating in?"
Without skipping a beat, Robert replied: "Dr Kremis is interested in physical response to sensory and auditory stimulation".
Sarah nodded.
"Do you have any other questions?"