Lurch. The Director.
Cut and calculated steel. Square etched lines of marble and stone, colorful in only small speckles. In spite of appearances, there was an undeniable warmth to the room. An optimist lived and breathed within these walls. Perhaps they had drugged me again? The floor was made of some sort of luminescent sheet metal, adding a subtle bounce to each step I took. Considering the company, I had assumed the space would be much larger, but the Director was as famously modest as they were elusive. In the center of the room, a half-moon stone desk rose from the ground without a sound. Curiously, the Director’s throne materialized at the apex. I was compelled to sit in the concave center, greeted by a blue velvet arm-chair that smelled faintly of smoke. I became acutely aware of a subtle, pleasant hum emanating from the marble walls. It was in this moment I realized that my stream had stopped completely. Not just the noise from advocates and advertisers, but the noise of my own mind. It was as if the room existed outside of time itself. I wasn’t sure how long I had been seated, but I felt no urge to move. Hallucinations began to set in, fantastic beasts and shapes danced and fluttered about the marbled walls. My velvet chair expanded three times its size. I felt like a child, whimsical and top-heavy. A soft voice woke me from my daze. “Wonderful, isn’t it? The creative capability of the mind when paired with silence. They say the worst thing that ever happened to man was self-awareness...” “Director…” I swooned reflexively. I hadn’t quite noticed when the stone seat in front of me had become occupied. Still, there was something obstructing my vision. I couldn’t make out a face. They sure do love their hallucinogens, I thought. “This room is no illusion. You’ll be relieved and terrified to know we haven’t drugged you at all. In fact, quite the opposite. To put it simply, this is... a sensory deprivation chamber, although these words are, again, quite the opposite. You may find your senses magnified.” “Well, at least this chair has some character” I wiggled myself deeper in to the velvet folds. “The décor was not chosen for style, Lurch, but for your sanity. The chair you see is simple a representation of what you feel to be the most comfortable. It’s one of the few illusions I offer to my guests, I find it calms the nerves.”
The Director’s voice seemed to materialize from the air itself. Words assembled themselves from microscopic particles, forming cohesive sounds and thoughts, before a gentle sprinkle flooded my ears. These fluffy clouds felt like warm rain. Trying not to skip a beat, I continued: “And what of the hallucinations, I suppose that’s supposed to be calming as well?”
The Director’s laughter was pure sunlight. I found myself keeled over in my chair, brimming with happiness and basking in the delight of their hearty chortle. A spike in my consciousness warned me against this sort of artificial bliss. I disguised my suspicion at all costs. Clouds began to form once more.
“I understand this experience can be somewhat overwhelming. It will all make sense in due time, assuming sense is what you prefer to make, and time is how you choose to perceive it. I invite you to release your guard and let the power of your mind guide you through our experience together. You are an inquisitive man, and I encourage you to question me to the full extent of your imagination. Once you have exhausted your curiosity, I will reveal to you the purpose.” ----------------------------
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