Translucent: A Divergent FanFiction (Book 1)

Chapter 4

I stepped into the room and the door clicked shut behind me, leaving me stranded in the small space.

        A woman sat on the opposite side of a large, oak desk. She was roughly middle aged with brown hair pulled back into a tight bun. She wore a white, sleeveless blouse and had a pair of dangly, black earings in. She gave me a warm smile and gesutred for me to sit down in the seat opposite her. It was a white, leather seat which was slightly reclined. To it's left stood a large, metal machine. A metal bar extended across the desk and ended in a screen, which the woman could watch. 7 small, metal disks hung off wires from the machine. and the dangled limply over the arm of the chair. Cautiously I sat down in the chair, perching on the very edge and leaning forward. A reflection from one of the mirrored walls caught my eye. I looked terrified: white, pale, thin lipped. The woman smiled warmly at me again when I looked back at her.

        "I'm Karen." She said "I will be in charge of administrating your apitude test today. I am the sole Candor represitive on the team of Aptitude Test Administrators. What is your name and Faction?"

"Uhhh...." My voice shook, slightly higher than usual. "I'm from Dauntless. My name is Kara. White. Kara White." I stuttered, and she smiled then found my name on a list she was holding.

        "Right then Kara, I'm going to place these electrobes on your head." She said, gesturing to the 7 metal disks. "This one will go on my head." She gestured to one that hung off the screen next to her, then held up a syringe which was filled with an amber liquid. "I will then inject this into your bloodstream, and within 30 seconds you will be in the simulation. Are you ready, or would you like me to answer some questions?"

        "What are the electrobes and liquid for?" I blurted out, like a Candor.

        "The liquid inside the syringe will take you into the simulation, which will be like a.... re-enactment." Karen said, the warm smile never leaving her face. "The electobes will moitor your brain patters, and transmit them into an image, which will show up on my screen."

        "Why do you need an electrobe on your head?" I asked quizzically, unable to stop myself.

        "I'm afraid I can't tell you that, Kara." She said, her smile dropping slightly. "But once you have gone through the simulation I will be happy to answer any questions you would like to ask if they have not already been answered in the simulation. Are you ready?"

        "Yes." I replied, stifling my questions.

        "Okay." She said, standing up and sidestepping the large desk. She placed a hand on my shoulder and gently pusdhed me back into the chair, so I lay down fully on it. Then, with swift fingers, she attatched the electrobes to my head and emtied the amber liquid from the syringe into the side of my neck. I began to feel drowsy, but watched as she sat back down and attatched an electrobe to her own head.

        "How long will I be in the simulation for?" I asked in the last few seconds of conciousness.

         "It depends...." She replied as the world slipped away.