Chapter 40
"What do you think is going to happen?" Yang asked as she and her team walked down the hall after taking their respective showers.
"From what he described…or rather, what he says he is unable to describe, it sounds like it will be profound." Blake stated.
"I'm kind of scared…but at the same time, I'm curious about it." Ruby added.
"I believe I'm inclined to agree." Weiss said.
"That doesn't answer my question." Yang said jokingly.
"I don't think you'll find an answer until we actually give it a try." Blake stated. As they emerged from the hallway, into the living room that they had previously eaten in, Lionel wasted no time to begin. He slowly paced up to the girls and held his hand in front of them; on his palm laid a single syringe, about the size of an insulin syringe with the exception of the incredibly long needle.
"Are you sure about this?" Lionel asked with his hand extended for them to see.
"What is there to be sure of? You didn't exactly give us a lot to go on." Weiss said.
"Valid point. Though I trust you four are fully aware of what you're doing?" Lionel assured.
"You said that we would be taking this stuff and that it's going to suck until we learn to use it?" Yang asked.
"It might suck…the best way that I can put it is that it will be completely different from anything you can currently comprehend." Lionel stated.
"When you say that it alters our perception…do you mean it will do so completely?" Blake asked.
"Everyone reacts differently, but that is more-or-less correct. The best I can do is give you a simplistic run-down of my experiences." Lionel stated.
"Why are you just know suggesting this? Anything, I'm sure, would be helpful." Ruby said.
"Because what you will experience is so foreign that words cannot do it justice. What I'm about to ay will likely be almost entirely unhelpful." Lionel countered.
"Let's at least hear it, I guess." Yang said as she took a seat on the arm of the couch.
Lionel leaned against the window seal as he contemplated his thoughts. "Since, at this stage, it acts like a psychoactive drug I will use the same terminology that a drug would have. It will be administered intramuscularly, so the onset will be faster, though, due to the chemistry of Omni-dust, it will still take up to thirty minutes to feel any effects. The basic signs of onset are, generally, slightly increased heart rate, increased sensitivity in various parts of the body, and a very quiet, wondering mind." Lionel began.
"How do you mean increased sensitivity?" Weiss asked.
"Well, for me, it was most noticeable in my teeth. During the onset, I find that any cold temperatures or pressures placed against my teeth are much more noticeable." Lionel explained.
"From what you said earlier, I was thinking that my mind would be going crazy. But it starts off calm?" Yang asked.
"That's correct. You may find yourself not talking, or even not paying attention to the conversation at all. There were many instances when myself, and the group I was experimenting with, would be speaking as we waited for it to begin. On more than one occasion, we would be talking with one another and someone would just zone out. We would only notice when we explicitly spoke to that person to get their attention." Lionel stated in a half joking tone.
"You had a team?" Ruby asked.
"Not a team, per se…but we were friends." Lionel said quietly. "However, I digress…after the onset will be the come-up. During this time the actual psychoactive effects will begin to take effect and get progressively stronger for about two hours. The come-up might be slightly uncomfortable; as your perceptions are altered, your body will react accordingly. Your body will feel very heavy, which is usually accompanied by a very pleasant sense euphoria and relaxation…enjoy it while you can. Your body will not be able to regulate the feeling of temperature so becoming uncomfortably hot or cold is also common." Lionel explained.
"How much can our temperature regulate?" Blake asked.
"I said 'the feeling of temperature'. Your core body temperature doesn't actually fluctuate, but you may still feel incredibly cold or hot. I need you four to understand that everything I have said or will say about this subject is subjective. It is altogether possible for you to have a very pleasant or miserable time during the come-up." Lionel stated.
"You said that some people actually enjoy what happens to them, is that correct? But you also said that the 'best' way to get through this is to face your insecurities or personal problems. How do you mean?" Weiss asked.
"It's not that some people necessarily enjoy it…it's just that some are better capable of dealing with their inner demons than others. Or, perhaps, some people just have worse things about themselves that they have to deal with. Regardless of how you personally feel about the experience, make no mistake that it will be difficult and very time-consuming." Lionel stated.
"What happens after we get those body feelings? Does the intense stuff start spontaneously, or will it work its way up?" Ruby asked.
"It will slowly get stronger. Just because this is called the 'come-up' doesn't mean that you have time to get ready. I said that it can take up to two hours for the effects to fully present themselves, though, long before the effects are at their peak, you will already be fighting inside your mind." Lionel stated.
"Okay, so the bodily sensations represent the beginning of this experience. What happens next?" Weiss asked.
"Those were simply the physical effects which generally subside after the effects have peaked. The real actual effects will be based upon the cognitive and perceptual alterations. First and foremost, you will notice visual distortions overlaying, and eventually, completely encompassing your entire visual field." Lionel stated clearly.
"I beg your pardon? What do you mean 'completely encompassing' and how are we supposed to get around if we can't see?" Weiss asked defensively.
"You won't be moving around. Omni-dust has a very sedating effect on the body at these doses. Deep relaxation will likely be one of the first things you feel. When you first feel it, you will simply not want to move…as the experiences progresses, it will change to a complete inability to move your body. Trust me when I say that this is for the best; you don't want to be moving around with what will be going on in your mind." Lionel answered.
"Am I the only one here getting strangely excited for this?" Yang asked half-sarcastically.
"I sensed a bit hesitation in there." Blake said.
"The more I think about it, it does sound scary, but also really…different." Yang said with a small grin.
"That sounds just like you." Ruby said with a giggle.
"Going into it with a happy mind certainly can't hurt, just make sure you don't try to impose your own thoughts onto the experience. You NEED to let the Omni-dust do what it needs to." Lionel warned.
"Noted. What happens after that?" Yang stated in a mocking stern tone.
"I'll start with the perceptual changes. Firstly, it is quite possible to experience synesthesia." Lionel said.
"Question." Ruby said as she raised her hand.
"Synesthesia means the mixing of the senses." Lionel said with a chuckle before Ruby lowered her hand. "Put simply, you might smell colors and see sounds, among other things." He stated.
"That sounds so cool." Ruby said in a half-whisper.
"Which senses get mixed up can change throughout the experience. That covers multi-sensory changes so I'll move onto visual changes next. I said earlier that the distortions can basically dissolve everything in your field of vision. It is basically an infinitely intricate set of geometric patterns that start by simply overlaying everything you look at. It will slowly get stronger until its overlaps everything you see and, eventually, they will be so strong that everything you see will dissolve into a sea of geometric patterns." Lionel explained.
"Geometry? Like squares and triangles?" Ruby said.
"There will probably be some of those, but the geometry is not limited to perfectly straight and even sides and corners. They will be infinitely intricate so there is no telling what you'll see. It might even look like there aren't any corners to the geometry and may appear fluid. Another thing that happens is pattern recognition will be greatly enhanced. You will eventually believe that the geometry is a landscape, ocean, or the sky and space at some point. Some of the geometry might even appear to take on the shape of a humanoid being. You may even begin speaking to it as well…" Lionel trailed off.
"We're going to be talking to...things...inside of our heads?" Weiss asked.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Blake asked.
"As I said before, there has not been a single case of someone having returned being mentally impaired. Not once." Lionel reassured them.
"Will these things be our inner demons? I need to know what to punch." Yang inquired.
"Like I said, don't impose your thoughts onto the experience. You won't have to fight anything; you'll simply have to deal with whatever is being shown. As to how you're supposed to deal with it…well, you know when you get there." Lionel stated cryptically.
"I would say that's not helpful at all…but I'm sure you know that already." Weiss said.
"I do. Moving on; there will be changes to your other senses, but they can be described as being purely hallucinated. Anything you feel, smell, taste, or hear inside there will be as a result of whatever is occurring in your mind." Lionel said.
"We can feel what happens to us?" Blake asked.
"Yes. Often times, these experiences are difficult not because of what you will be shown, but because of how you have to deal with it. For example, if someone physically hurt you in the past, then that person may very well appear during this experience. Finding a way to resolve your issues can be difficult when you can't fight or run away." Lionel said.
"I though fight and flight was the only two options? What do we do?" Yang asked.
"You'll know when the time comes." Lionel said with a dissatisfied look on his face. "I wish I could give you a better answer, but I can't." he finished.
"Anything else? If not, what are the cognitive effects?" Weiss asked, changing the subject.
"That's really what draws everything together. It's easy to think, now, that you won't really believe what happens when you experience it. Trust me, you will believe every second of what occurs. Believability is one of the major cognitive effects, the other is time distortion. It may feel like years, decades even when you come back, but it will probably have only been a few hours. Another major cognitive effect is conscious-dissociation. During the experience, you will not know who or what you are; you will not know where or when you are; you will not know why you are there." Lionel explained.
"It sounds like you want us to solve an equation without giving us the variables…or the metrics." Blake said.
"…or the equation." Weiss finished.
"I know, and I'm sorry. Is there anyone who wants to back out?" Lionel asked.
"I can't believe we're going into this basically blind. I haven't even been able to find any information about this whole experiment, even with my company's network." Weiss stated in annoyance.
"Is that a no?" Lionel asked.
"I'm game." Yang said.
"Me too." Ruby stated.
"I feel like they didn't quite understand everything you said, which is adding them in their decision making. But, I'll do it as well." Blake stated.
"Fine. But you own us." Weiss stated.
"If we beat the Alpha, I'm going to give you four literally anything you want." Lionel stated. "Are we ready?" he asked after a few seconds.
"Yes." Ruby said.
"Follow me." Lionel said as he began making his way through the manor to a set of stairs.
"What's down here?" Yang asked upon their arrival.
"The room you will be in during this experience." Lionel said.
"Any particular reason why there's a specific room for this?" Blake asked as they begin to go down the stairs.
"Screaming, both in the good and bad sense, are common, so I wanted a place where you won't bother anyone. It just evolved from there; I also wanted it to be perfectly safe. The room has a very accurate temperature sensor to keep it as comfortable as possible. There are no electrical outlets and all of the electronics have wires that go directly into the wall. The wall in very strong, insulated, and soundproof. There is a living area, a kitchen, a bathroom and a large bedroom with enough space for four people." Lionel explained after opening the door.
"It smells so good." Ruby said as she explored the room.
"I did everything I could to make it as comfortable as possible." Lionel said.
"I can see the poorly hidden cameras. What are they for?" Blake asked.
"I won't be in here for the sake of you mistaking me as an enemy and making your experience worse. I will be making sure you're okay with the cameras, though there isn't much concern…it's just a precaution." Lionel said as each of the ladies took a seat on the couch.
"For as long as your capable of remaining coherent, there's a TV and some video games in here. There's plenty of water in the mini fridge right here." Lionel said as he pointed to the mini-fridge that was built into the coffee table. "There are some snacks, but I would avoid food since nausea is a possibility. I will have some food ready for you when you come back." He finished.
"Speaking of which…" Ruby said as she pulled out a sheet of paper from her pocket. "Here's that list of food you wanted." She said.
"Thank you. I will have someone run to the store and I'll make sure you have some good food when I see you again." Lionel said as each of the girls grabbed a pillow and blanket with were neatly folded on the couch. "Those are to at least help with the temperature…if you need it." He stated.
"Thank you…any other advice before we go under?" Yang asked.
"Sorry. No." Lionel said as each of the girls looked to one another.
Ruby sighed. "Then I guess there's no time to waste." She said.
"Speaking for the team? Such a good leader." Yang joked.
"Are you all ready?" Lionel asked.
"As ready as we'll ever be." Weiss said.
"Get comfortable…" Lionel said as he pulled out four syringes. Yang took no time curling up as she faced the TV.
"Let's do this." She said as she pulled her arm out from under the blanket.
"Next." Lionel said.
"That was it?" Yang asked in a bland tone.
"The needle doesn't hurt…that would just be cruel." Lionel said as he stuck the needle into Blake's arm next. Blake took the time to sit next to Yang before taking part of her blanket and covering herself with it.
"We should do this more often." Yang joked as she turned on the TV before looking to Blake.
"No needles next time." Blake said as she continued facing the TV.
"Alright…all done." Lionel said as he pulled the needle from Ruby's arm.
"You already did Weiss? Wow, you're good at this…she hates needles." Yang said.
"Shut up, you brute." Weiss said as she and Ruby got into the same position as Blake and Yang on the other side of the couch.
"Okay…I'm heading out. If you need anything before the effects take place, just say it. I'll hear you." Lionel said as he pointed to the cameras.
"Will do." Ruby said.
"Good luck, ladies." Lionel said as he walked out of the room. He stopped after closing the door and waited for several minutes before continuing up the stairs. "You'll need it." He finished as he took his first step up the stairs.