Three hours later, the study group gathered at a table in the cafeteria. Part of the day's schedule had been an introduction over dinner, so that they could get to know each other.

The lead doctor, a short, slight man with a noticeable gray comb over, sat with them, along with a psychologist. Pizza boxes, soda and paper plates lined the tables and the trial participants began to help themselves.

"So, I think we should start out by going around, saying our names, and then something about ourselves. After that, I'll field any questions that you might have. Sound good?" The doctor asked.

The group nodded and grunted in agreement.

"I'll start, then. My name is Bazek Malinowski, and I'm originally from Poland. I've been practicing medicine for thirty years, and I have high hopes that the drug that we're developing will help many, many people." He glanced at the therapist and gestured for her to go next.

She was young, with blonde hair, glasses, and pale skin.

"My name is Amanda Paris. I'm thirty three, and I'm a big fan of books and movies. Over the course of a year, I have read fifty five books. Also, I'm the resident therapist, and if you have any concerns, or you ever need to talk, I'm the one you should come to."

"That's a lot of books." One of the men – a redhead – muttered.

Dr. Paris smiled at him.

Mort, meanwhile, stared at her, fascinated. Not only was she beautiful, but she liked to read?! He wondered if she'd ever read any of his work.

"How about you?" Dr. Malinowski asked, interrupting the writer's thoughts.

"Me? Oh. Okay. My name's Mort Rainey. You might recognize me, I'm a writer." He continued to gaze at Dr. Paris while he spoke. "I've written six books, but I wanted to take a break from it, hence the reason I'm participating in this study. Lots of money, none of the work," He joked.

The doctor nodded in understanding.

"I think that's why most of you are here. Okay, great. How about you?" He looked at the redhead.

"My name's Gilbert. Gilbert Grape. I live with my mom and my brother Arnie. Arnie's special needs, but I love him. And I love my girlfriend, Becky. I want to use the money from this to put a down payment down on a home for us."

"Hey, me too!" Anthony quipped. "Small world!"

"Cool," Gilbert replied. "Nice to see we have something in common already."

"You can go next," the doctor said to Anthony.

"Alright. I'm Anthony Hope. I'm eighteen and I came here with Mr. Todd. He's a good friend, and my partner in crime," He chuckled. "As I mentioned, I hope to use the money on a home for myself and my fiancée, Johanna."

"Nice to meet you, Anthony," Dr. Malinowski replied. He turned to Ichabod. "You're up."

Ichabod cleared his throat.

"My name is Ichabod Crane, and my previous employment was as an officer of the law."

Dr. Malinowski nodded.

"Anything else?"

"Uh... I have a passion for photography?" He tried.

"Alright, good."

"You seemed like you were going to pass out when we were in the medical room," Sweeney noted. "What happened – they fire you because you got too scared of the blood at crime scenes?"

"I may not enjoy the sight of blood, but I assure you that I was excellent at forensics." Ichabod answered, clearly insulted.

Sweeney snorted, but said nothing else.

"Now, let's not mock each other," Dr. Paris said, glaring at Sweeney.

"Yes, alright. My turn, then? My name is Sweeney Todd. I'm a barber. I need some extra money. I came here with Anthony."

"Okay." Fine with Sweeney's response, the doctor moved on to the group's final participant, who happened to be busy twiddling his thumbs and was clearly not paying attention to anything.

The doctor cleared his throat.

Nothing.

He rolled his eyes.

"Jack, would you please give an introduction?"

Hearing his name, Jack perked up.

"My turn? Let's see..." He thought for a moment. "My name's Jack Sparrow. You may have heard of me."

Silence.

"None of you? Really?" He tried again. "No one here has heard of Captain Jack Sparrow? Jeez. Alright. I'm captain of the Black Pearl, sailed around the world many times, stolen lots of treasure, seen lots of sights. But I'm getting older, might as well try a new way of making ends meet."

"Welcome, Jack," Dr. Malinowski said. "Welcome, everyone. Now that we've met each other, I'm open to any questions that you may have about the drug, the study, or anything else."