Cognitive Deviance

29. Empathy Test

May 22, 2045 - 5:00 AM

The mattress was cool against Jack's body. A dim silver glow bounced off the metal panels of the wall and floor, ridding the room of darkness. If it weren't for the fact he was in an advanced cell in the psych ward, he could've mistaken it for a fancy hotel room.

He groaned in annoyance once his alarm went off.

He turned himself over on his side to face the wall. The time 5:00 AM hovered above him in green holographic numbers before vanishing, and a row of white lights lit up along the ceiling at the edge of the room.

"Good morning, Jack," said the room's AI in a soothing voice. "Did you sleep well?"

Jack didn't respond. He sat up from his bed and hung his legs over the edge of the bed, scratching his eyes.

"You have two hours before we run an Empathy Test, so take the time to get ready."

"Run by an Empath or AI?"

"AI. I'll be responsible for your test. You're still restricted from making physical contact with your colleagues."

"And if I have so much time, why the fuck did you wake me up so early?"

"We've been calculating the amount of time it takes for you to exercise, shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast. On average, it takes you 103 minutes to complete your morning routine, with a significant amount of your time spent in the shower. Possibly due to your unhealthy habit of zoning out."

"See, this is why people are creeped out by you guys."

"What goes on in your mind, Jack?"

"I'll answer that question during the test. Just let me get ready."

"Of course. You've now got one hour and fifty-nine minutes left before the Empathy Test."

Jack rose from his bed and waited as it disappeared into a large slot in the wall, immediately sealed up by the panels. As he stood in the middle of his cell, the panels moved across the walls and beneath his feet like swarms of insects, and the room grew large enough to fit forty people in it. Despite the commotion around him, he remained perfectly still and unmoved.

He heard a beep at the edge of the room. "Cell expansion complete," the AI declared. "Your wardrobe, exercise equipment, and lavatory are now accessible. Would you like some music?"

"No thanks," he replied bluntly. "Turn on the TV."

"You have access to six channels. Which one would you like to watch?"

"Display all of them at once."

A portable, triangular projector like the kind that projected his holographic likeness wherever Psychwatch needed him emerged from another small slot in the ceiling. It hovered several feet above him and aimed at the wall. Following another beep, a screen appeared at the far-left corner of the wall.

"Following Saturday's rogue blizzard phenomenon," a beautiful weathergirl announced on the screen, "today's forecast will be mostly cloudy for the entire day and significantly warmer, with a high of seventy-three and—"

Another screen appeared beside it.

"Now armed with increasing resentment due to Psychwatch's recent discovery of a neo-speakeasy hosting Sentient prostitutes along with a skirmish between officers and protesters at City Hall, MindLock and many other anti-Psychwatch groups have begun opposing the organization's participation in Friday's upcoming—"

The rest of the screens rippled across the wall, filling his cell with the sounds of a crowd.

"Y'know, I've noticed they haven't been portraying gun violence in movies and TV shows as much as they used to anymore. And when they do nowadays, they make it more graphic and disturbingly realistic. But removing and discouraging guns isn't gonna do anything to keep people from killing each other, you sillies! There's a reason people get stabbed a lot in the UK—"