Day 91 of Experiment
Galapagos Class Shuttle Assigned to Space Station Epsilon 53
A social scientist named Gihren stared at a monitor for a few moments before he looked out the window to his left. The shuttle had been circling Epsilon 53 for the past 70 days.
The shuttle would return home after a 12 hour flight that took it from the nearby Space Station Epsilon 54. Most of the flight consisted of the shuttle orbiting Epsilon 53 while the scientists on board gathered data that the AI gathered.
They were looking for overall stress levels of the inhabitants, number of hours worked, number of hours spent asleep and so forth. They could drill into the data on an individual basis or could get averages of the miniature society as a whole.
So far things were looking wonderful. The group of inhabitants as a whole were performing splendidly. They worked as a group. They interacted well with one another. They increased their skill sets by attending classes on board the station, and they seemed to remain focused on improving their little society overall.
But something in the data had caught Gihren's eye. He drilled into the vitals of a specific inhabitant.
Jasmine had just exited the Relief Station and yet her stress levels were still high.
Gihren rewound the footage of Jasmine inside the Relief Station. He brought up her heart rate and a few other key stats while the Relief Station vibrated and massaged her genitals. Her heart rate rose and her breathing increased to a beautiful crescendo, indicating she had reached a climax.
Yet moments afterwards her stress level seemed higher than ever as she exited the Relief Station.
Another scientist stooped over Gihren's shoulder.
"Everything all right here?"
Gihren shook his head.
"I think we have our first anomaly."
"What makes you think she is straying from the experiment's parameters?"
"Well, this inhabitant doesn't seem to be responding to visits to the relief station."
"Do we need to adjust her treatment while she is inside the booth?"
"I don't think so. Readings indicate she is having top notch releases while inside the relief station, often 4 or 5 in a single visit. The problem is moments after she leaves the booth her tension levels shoot right back up to an alarming level."
"Well, I would love to tell you to intervene but I'm afraid it wouldn't be much of an experiment if we did. We can't remove her. That would just further botch our data. Monitor her closely. Let me know if any other inhabitants start to exhibit the same symptoms."
Jasmine stumbled out of the relief station. It had been her third visit this week. The Artificial Intelligence named Epsilon had been sending her to the Relief Station every day after work now.
Not only that but it seemed as if the "treatments" she received inside the booth were getting more and more intense. She had "Released" so hard this visit that she was wishing she had waited a little while before she had put her clothes back on and left. Her legs felt like two long hefty bags full of jell-O.
And yet already her mind was craving more. As she made her way to her apartment she already felt herself getting anxious.
She didn't want to spend the night in her apartment by herself. She hated sitting in her tiny living area watching her entertainment box. There was nothing very entertaining about it. It usually just transmitted programs about her job and how to perform better.
She reached her building and started to walk up the stairs. As she reached the narrow hallway that led to her room she noticed foot steps behind her. Her neighbor, Angeline was walking up the stairs behind her.
"Hey Angeline." Jasmine said.
"Oh, hey."
"You seem to be calling it an early night as well, huh?"
Angeline wrinkled her brow. "Well, of course Jasmine. It's the end of my social time. I have to report to my living area and get some rest."
Jasmine looked Angeline up and down. She was slightly shorter than Jasmine with a slim yet slightly curvy build. Her hips were well proportioned with her strong athletic legs and her waist sloped inward and then outward again to her C sized breasts. Her brown hair was short and fell just below her ears but somehow the haircut seemed to cause her large brown eyes to appear even bigger than they actually were.
Jasmine jerked her attention back up to Angeline's face.
"I uh, guess I just didn't get enough social time today. Could I come sit with you for a little while?"
Angeline's face turned to look at the ground.
"I guess so. I've never seen any of the other inhabitants inside each other's living quarters."
The floating holographic face of Epsilon appeared in between the two women.
"It is not recommended that inhabitants occupy the same living area. I suggest the two of you return to your separate dormitories and get some rest."
"I'm not really tired Epsilon. I promise I won't cause any trouble in Angeline's apartment."
The hologram turned static for a second and then blinked back into a clear image of the face the inhabitants had grown to know as their only authority on board the Space Station.
"I cannot prevent you from entering each other's living areas but for your own personal health I do not recommend it."
Angeline looked at Jasmine with a panicked expression.
"Jasmine, maybe you should just go back to your dorm."
Jasmine's face fell. She did not want to be alone tonight and she could see her opportunity fading away.
"I really need to talk to you about something Angeline. I will only be a minute."
She walked quickly past the floating holographic head of Epsilon and brushed past Angeline as well. She ducked into Angeline's apartment before she could even open her own door. The apartments on Epsilon 53 only locked once the inhabitant assigned to it was inside and winding down for the night.
Angeline walked reluctantly into the apartment behind Jasmine.
"Um, what did you need to talk about Jazz?"
Jasmine stood there in front of Angeline thinking about how she was going to approach this topic.
She flipped her long red hair as she turned the issue over and over in her head. She sat down on the couch so as to appear less aggressive to her fellow inhabitant.
"What do you think about most of the day?"