Chapter eight

The girls looked on in amazement as they saw the great dome coming down, until there was no way out, except for the small emergency-exit. But that looked like it was pretty much sealed off.

' Ladies, we would like you to take off your clothes now.' Mr. Sinjohn said.

Their attention returned to their teacher.

' What do you mean, take off our clothes?' Dot asked.

'  You can't do this experiment with your clothes on, it would disrupt the process. Now, strip!'

Unwillingly, the girls stripped, until they were clad in nothing but their underwear.

' The underwear will have to go, too.' Their teacher said.

 This was a bit too much for our girls.

' No fucking way!' Tony said.

' But, they will disrupt the equipment.' Mr Sinjohn said hesitantly.

' If you don't back off really fast, I'm gonna seriously disrupt your equipment. Am I making myself clear here?' Tony answered, every inch a viper.

Mr. Sinjohn took her advice to heart and backed away from them. Tony had scared him off pretty good. In the end, it was decided that the lab assistants would find a way to work around it. Though some of them were pretty sorry not to see anything worth seeing. The girls stepped towards the tubes, but the stern-looking woman held them back.

'Hold on, girls. We'll have to do a physical before you can go in.'

She led them towards four physicians that were standing quietly aside. It didn't take very long, before they were all approved. They were now led towards the tubes. Dot was quietly a bit claustrophobic, but refused to tell anyone this. She didn't want to ruin it. Besides, she hadn't suffered from it for ten years now. Surely it would be gone by now? But as they were getting closer to the tubes, she wasn't so sure about that. She stopped. It wasn't long before Mr. Sinjohn noticed this. He stepped back, until he stood next to her.

' What's the problem, Dot?' he asked. Dot breathed deeply.

' I, I think I have claustrophobia, sir. I don't think I can do this!' she replied sheepishly. The others had joined her.

' You never told us this. Why not?' Tony demanded to know. Dot blushed. She honestly didn't know why not. Maybe she hadn't thought it important enough. Maybe she was just scared.

' I don't know why not. I just didn't. you'll have to do this without me, guys.'

The girls were dumbfounded. Even Janet forgot not to show emotion.

' But, we're in this together.' Sal said. Dot was silent, looking at the floor. Then Tony resolutely turned back to the tubes and continued her way.

' Hey, Tony, where are you going?' Janet said. Tony halted, but didn't look back.. When she spoke, her voice was restrained.

' Let's just get this over with, shall we?' she said.

' She's right. You guys go. I'll keep an eye on you, make sure nothing bad happens.' Dot said, feeling her friend's disappointment. Sal and Janet hesitated for a moment, then joined Tony. As they were standing in front of the tubes, Sal looked at Tony. There was that stubborn expression on her face, like always when she got impatient with someone.

' Don't be so hard on Dot, Tony. We can't all be tough.' She whispered in her friends ear. Tony turned and faced her.

' This is not about being tough, it's about honesty. She's kept this from us for all these years. I thought we were close, Dot. I really thought you trusted me.'

Now, people don't usually get as upset over such petty things as Tony did about Dot not telling her. But strange occurrences make fools of us all. Tony was stressed, like any animal once it enters an unknown environment. She felt insecure, and tried to talk and bluff her way out it. Dot was used to this, she and Tony had known each other since kinder garden.  They each had their ways of doing things. Tony was straight to the point, Dot was more diplomatic and quiet.

Right now, they were both stressed.

' Sorry, Tony.' Dot whispered. Tony seemed not to hear. Dot walked back to the stern-looking woman. The tension was almost visible. Three lab-assistants joined the other three, and started placing tiny, strange-looking squares on several parts of their bodies, carefully avoiding any parts  that may cause them to be slapped hard in the face. When the girls were all 'squared up' one of the assistants pulled a lever, and simultaneously the glass openings of all four tubes went up. The girls looked within to see what the interior was like, and it looked very comfortable indeed. Once more, the assistants aided them, helping each of them in her own tube. There, the small squares were attached to a series of wires on the inside of each tube. Once each girl, except for Dot of course, was all wired up, Mr. Sinjohn stepped up for one last pep-talk.

' There's nothing to worry about, girls. In fact, you should all be very glad to be in this experiment. This will give you the ultimate opportunity to meet with the object of your undying devotion.'

At this, the girls brightened up a bit. They were all very anxious to meet their lust object. Dot sighed. If she wasn't such a wimp, she could be there with them. Now, she felt isolated. Missing out on all the fun. For a moment, she considered going. Then there was that small space in which she would end up, and she didn't want to go at all. The stern-looking woman seemed to notice this inner struggle.

' If you're having second thoughts, now is the time to make up your mind. Once the procedure starts, it'll be very difficult to plug you in, if not impossible. Are you sure about your refusal?'

Dot thought for  a second, then looked at her neighbour.

' I'm sure.'

The woman looked at Dot, then nodded towards the assistant that had turned the lever.

' Switch it on. Normal speed, perform personality matrix scan, check emotional balances for imperfections. If found, then filter those out. Check for glitches in the system. Adjust the chamber compression. Activate Stasis.'