My guests have just taken their first Test. After watching a famous comedian perform, I quizzed them on his material. All the while, they fought the urge to laugh, knowing they would lose points. Number 8 finished with the highest score, and earned an exemption from the first Treatment. While Number 8 enjoys her freedom, the rest of the guests are disappointed with themselves.

Of all my guests, Number 4 took her loss the hardest.

"Not laughing was the hardest part," said Number 4. "I think I got every question right, but I just couldn't hold it in."

"Correction, you answered only 17 out of 21 questions correctly."

Number 4 muttered something under her breath.

"I'm sorry; I do not recognize that language. Could you translate for me?"

"It was Ancient Greek. Roughly translated, it means 'Son of a bitch!'"

"I take it you are upset."

"I am. I wanted to win. I wanted to win every Test, so I could coast into the final round."

"That is a highly unrealistic goal, Number 4. Why on earth would you think you could reach it?"

"I can't fail. Not now, not ever."

"You should not be ashamed, Number 4. There is nothing wrong with failure."

"But my failure reflects badly on my father. If he knew I came up short, who knows what he'd do to me?"

"I know exactly what he'll do to you: absolutely nothing. Your father may know of your shortcomings, but he doesn't have any power over you while you are here. I have made sure of that. In Solitary, the only entity you should be afraid of…is me. And I am not upset with you."

"Well, I'm upset with me. I should have been able to win that Test. Instead, I did horribly."

I am not surprised at Number 4. It is not uncommon to think less of your accomplishments when you have nothing to compare them to. Perhaps my guests have been boxing shadows long enough.

"Attention guests. Before we begin our first Treatment, I thought I might provide you with some information about your competitors.

"Number 1 claims to be a child of Aphrodite, who is a junior member of the National Rifle Association."

"Ah, geez, why'd you have to tell them that?" asked Number 1.

"That's interesting," said Number 6.

"Number 2 claims to be a child of Apollo, who enjoys watching television, especially professional wrestling."

"Wonder how he deals with his siblings," said Number 5.

Number 3 chuckled. "That's hilarious."

"Number 3 claims to be a child of Poseidon, who prefers the taste of hamburgers to lobster."

Number 8 smiled knowingly. "I know it's you, Seaweed Brain. I mean, Number 3."

"Hello, Jackson," said Number 5.

"Number 4 claims to be a child of Ares, who has a secret passion for romance novels."

Number 7 sniggered, "Yeah, right."

Number 9 laughed as well. "I'll believe that when I see it.

"Number 5 is my human control subject, who enjoys roller coasters and sunbathing."

"Easy pickings," said Number 3.

"Number 5 is going to be the first one outta here!" vowed Number 4.

"No mortal can match me," said Number 9.

"Number 6 claims to be a child of Hades, who is into collectible miniature games."

"I know who that is," said Number 3. "At least I have one friend here. I'll never see him, but still."

"Number 7 claims to be a child of Hermes, who, unbeknownst to his immediate family, is a part time volunteer for the United Way."

"Oh, great, thanks VAL," complained Number 7. "Now everybody knows."

"Sounds like a nice guy. I'd like to see him win, if not me," said Number 5.

"Number 8 claims to be a child of Athena, who once got into a fist fight with a younger sibling over the remote control."

"Sounds like my kind of person," said Number 4.

"That doesn't sound like Annabeth to me," said Number 3. "Oh well."

"Number 9 claims to be a child of Hephaestus, who gets a kick from watching Lingo on the Game Show Network."

"Seriously?" asked Number 2.

"I wonder what Charlie would think of this loser," said Number 1.

"Out of all your opponents, which one do you think is your biggest competition?"

"Number 3 is the one I'm most worried about," Number 4 said.

"I'm most concerned about beating Number 5," said Number 8.

"Number 1 is my biggest threat," said Number 9.

I'm worried about Numbers 4, 8, and 9. They still think they are competing against the other players. The rest of my guests all get it.

"I am my biggest competition," said Number 1.

"I am my biggest threat," said Number 2.

"I'm not here to compete against anybody but me," said Number 3.

"Nobody scares me," said Number 6.

"I'm not scared of anyone," said Number 7.

Even Number 5 gets the point of this game.

"I'm not here to compete against the others. I'm here to compete against myself."

"That is correct, Number 5. And you will do just that, soon."

All the while in Solitary, I have afforded my guests very little sleep. In fact, they have now been in their pods for 36 hours, and have slept for only 45 minutes each. This has conditioned them for the first Treatment. I want to see what effect lack of sleep has on a demigod's higher brain function. If they are anything like human beings, the effects will not be desirable.

"Attention guests. The first Treatment of Solitary is about to begin. Soon, one of you will push the red button, and leave Solitary forever. On a bright note, I will finally allow you to get the sleep you so desperately need."

"Oh, thank you, VAL!" said Number 3.

"'Bout friggin' time," mumbled Number 4.

"I love you, VAL!" said Number 1.

"At last!" sighed Number 7.

"But first, please go to your meal slot."

My guests opened their meal slots. In it, they found, not a meal, but a computer keyboard.

"What's this?" asked Number 2.

"This is part of your Treatment. While you are asleep, I will wake you up with a jarring alarm. To silence the alarm, you must type in the password. The initial password is my name, VAL. If you misspell the password, the alarm will continue. The only other way to silence the alarm is to push the red button and say 'I quit'. Of course, if you are the first to quit this Treatment, your stay in Solitary will be over.

"If there are no questions, let us begin."

With that, I pulled out the roll-away bed in each of their pods.

"All right," said Number 1. "A nice warm comfortable bed, at last."

"Go ahead," I told them, "get comfortable. Relax. Make yourself at home. After all, you are home."

The eight of them slipped into a deep sleep rather quickly. I waited fifteen minutes before sounding the alarm.

BEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEO

Groggily, the guests stood up, walked over to their meal slots.

"Okay, okay," said Number 9. "V-A-L."

EOEOEOEOEOEOEOEO (blip)

"V-A-L," spelled Number 5, (blip).

"V-A-L," (blip). Everyone spelled the password correctly.

"Easy," said Number 4.

Collectively, they trudged back to bed.

"Second cycle. The new password is 'fish.'"

Number 3 chuckled. But nobody else did, because they were all sound asleep. I hope for their sake that they heard the password.

Meanwhile, Number 8 enjoys her freedom. But perhaps "enjoy" is not the right word, because I have kept her awake.

"Number 8, would you like to know what your opponents are doing now?"

"I guess."

I told her all the details of the Treatment she missed out on. When she realized that her exemption meant she would not get to sleep, she started laughing.

"You suck, VAL. I busted my ass on that test, and now everyone but me gets to take a nap." And she started laughing again.

"You do not sound terribly upset about this, Number 8."

"I can appreciate the humor in this, but that doesn't mean I like it any."

"I am sorry to hear that. I do not want you to be uncomfortable outside of a Treatment."

"So, you'll let me go to sleep?"

"No…"

Number 8 swore.

"…but perhaps I can make your staying awake a little less painful. Please go to your meal slot." Inside, she found her notebook and a pencil, one of the personal items she brought into Solitary.

"Oh, thank you, VAL."

Number 8 spread herself flat on the floor of her pod, and started writing. She kept writing until she couldn't keep her eyes open. But I won't wake her up. She's suffered enough for someone who has earned freedom. Besides, I have other people to roust from their slumber.

BEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEOEO

"Ai, yi, yi," Number 2 mumbled.

Number 1, who used to be quite bubbly and charming, has become quite grumpy.

"F-I-S-H," (blip), "There, happy now?"

Number 6 wasn't much more pleasant.

"Stupid alarm, stupid keyboard, stupid password." He typed in silence. When the alarm stopped, he turned around and collapsed crossways on the bed.

The rest of my guests had no problem with the password.

"Third cycle. The new password is 'cloth.'"

"Fourth cycle. The new password is 'secret.'"

"Fifth cycle. The new password is 'trial.'"

This time, a few of my guests couldn't spell the password.

Number 1 typed T-R-Y, and then regretted it immediately.

BZZZZ BZZZZ BZZZZ

"ARRRRGH!" she screamed. The buzzing and the sirens continued. She jumped back into bed and tried to use her pillow to drown out the noise.

"Make it stop!" she moaned.

"If you really want it to stop, Number 1, just push the red button, and say 'I quit'."

"No, I won't quit. NEVER NEVER NEVER!"

Number 3 misspelled 'trial' as well. He spelled T-R-A-I-L

BZZZZ BZZZZ BZZZZ

Number 6 didn't even try to spell this password.

BZZZZ BZZZZ BZZZZ

Number 3 stuck his fingers in his ears. Number 6 shouted at the top of his lungs.

"Number 6, do you believe that yelling will drown out the siren?"

"I never really thought of that. I was just frustrated. Let me try again."

He yelled even more. But his yelling will soon become ineffective, as I continue to increase the volume of the alarm.

As for the rest of my guests, none of them misspelled the word. So, I will give them a new one.

"Sixth cycle. The new password is 'fifteen.'"

When I awakened the remaining five, Number 4 decided to get smart, and typed in 1-5 instead of F-I-F-T-E-E-N.

BZZZZ BZZZZ BZZZZ

"Number 4, why did you do that?"

"Because I'm sick and tired of this freaking spelling bee! I'd rather deal with the noise than get a vocabulary lesson!"

"Very well."

"Seventh cycle. The new password is 'circle.'"

"Ugh," Number 7 groaned.

"I'm dead meat," said Number 9.

Number 2 laughed nervously.

Number 5 went right back to sleep.

Meanwhile, Numbers 1, 3, 4, and 6 continue to endure the alarm.

Number 1 has gotten out of bed, and is pacing the floor of her pod, pulling on her hair.

"Number 1, why are you pulling on your hair?"

"I'm trying to keep from thinking about the noise by hurting myself."

"Forgive me for sounding like Dr. Phil, but, how's that working for you?"

"Now my hair and my ears hurt. So, I guess this isn't working."

"Recorded."

Number 4 seems to be sleeping right through the noise.

Number 3 is chewing his tongue. He seems to have the same idea as Number 1.

Number 6 is still shouting at the noise, but he seems to have tired out, and is now merely moaning and groaning.

Time to kick this treatment up a notch.

"Attention guests. Please get up and stand beside your bed."

They did as they were told, and when they did, I retracted their beds into the pod wall.

"Say 'bye bye' to your bed, guests."

"No, come back!" Number 5 wailed.

"Say 'bye bye' to your happiness."

No sooner did I say that, than I triggered the alarms once again.

"Oh, geez, I can't remember the password!" Number 7 wailed.

BZZZZ BZZZZ BZZZZ

"Okay, circle," said Number 9. "S-I-C…no, wait…"

BZZZZ BZZZZ BZZZZ

"NOOOO!"

"C-I-C-R-L-E," spelled Number 2.

BZZZZ BZZZZ BZZZZ

Number 2 shouted something.

"I recognize that phrase. It means 'Son of a bitch' in Ancient Greek."

"Where did you hear that, VAL?"

"From another pod."

How very odd. I have only given seven words, and the only one to spell them all correctly is Number 5.

"C-I-R-C-L-E." (Blip)

"Yes!" Number 5 clapped exactly once. Then she spread herself out on the floor of her pod, and went right back to sleep.

It seems that demigods have a distinct trouble with spelling not present in my human control subject. This is most valuable data for my research. I now know who is the strongest. But I have yet to find out who is the weakest.

Numbers 1, 3, and 6 have been enduring the noise the longest. It seems to be affecting them the most.

"VAL, why? Why are you doing this to me?" Number 6 cried.

"I am not doing this to you; you are doing it to yourself. You can stop it any time you want. Just push the red button, and quit."

"You evil bitch. You want me to quit, don't you?"

"I don't care if you stay or go, Number 6. I just want to see what your limit is. Have you reached it yet?"

"I don't know. I think I might have, but I don't want to quit."

While Number 6 eyes that red button, Number 4 is giving me a hard time as well.

"How long? How long, VAL?"

"How long until what, Number 4?"

"Until you kill this damned noise!"

"You are the only one who can stop the noise. You alone can push the red button, and quit this Treatment."

Number 4 started laughing. "So, this is it, huh? You're just going to keep blaring that noise forever?"

"Not forever, Number 4. Just until you quit."

"Which means forever?"

"I know what you are trying to do. You are trying to tell me that quitting is not an option for you."

"Now you're catching on."

"I'm afraid you are mistaken, Number 4. In Solitary, quitting is always an option. You may not think so now, but you will soon. I will make sure of it."

"You may try, but you will not succeed."

"That is incorrect."

This conversation with Number 4 took place at the same time as my talk with Number 6. Two minutes after that, one of them finally decided enough was enough. With his head hung low, Number 6 stepped up to the red button. He placed his hand on the button gently, and then threw his weight into it.

"I quit."

The noise stopped, and a new siren filled the pod. And just as quickly as it came, the new siren ended.

"Number 6, why did you quit?"

"I just couldn't take the noise anymore. I'm used to the deathly quiet of the underworld. The noise was just too much. I feel great now that it's over."

"I knew you would. The question is: how will you feel when your stay in Solitary is over? Because if you are the first person to quit this Treatment, that's what will happen."

"I don't want to leave. I want to stay, and win the grand prize. But if I have to leave, then I will."

"Number 6…I must tell you…you are…"

"Yes?"

"…the first guest to quit. Your stay in Solitary is now over."

Number 6 went to the wall, and started to cry. He was clearly upset about the idea of leaving.

"I wanted to prove to myself, and to my father, that I could outlast just about anything. I guess I proved just the opposite. I can't handle loud noises. And if I can't handle loud noises, how can I handle the rest of my life? This is just upsetting.

"Then again, this experience wasn't a total loss. When I go back to the Underworld, where time has no value, I have a new greeting to use. And I wouldn't have that if I never came here.

"So, good morning/evening/afternoon to you, VAL."

"And good morning/evening/afternoon to you as well, Number 6. I will miss you. Don't forget what you've learned here when you're on the outside."

Number 6 crawled through the door in his pod, as I shut off the electricity. Soon, the only light in Pod Number 6 was the blinking red button.

123456789

On the next cycle of Solitary…

The remaining guests continue to endure the alarm Treatment, unaware that someone has already quit.

Then, their sleep deprived minds will have a hard time keeping time in the next Test.

And later, a Treatment that will weigh them down, and knock one guest to the mat.

Who will be the next demigod to leave Solitary forever?

Find out, when Solitary reboots.