They made their way down the column of stairs, the darkness completely enveloping their presence. No one dared to breathe. Not even their leader; the Dean. She trailed behind Dr. Johnson, the extensive train of midnight-blue satin fabric trailing behind her. Within every step she took, the end of her long, thin cloak fell a small step behind her.

"We're here," announced Dr. Johnson, his hand already shaped around the knob of the hidden door.

Slowly, he turned the knob and heaved open the iron entrance; a large amount of vivid light flooding the stairwell blinded the visitors. The features of the Dean's attractive figure became much more visible, as did the scientist's.

"Welcome to the Experimentation Center Ms. Graham," Dr. Johnson noted politely.

The Dean prolongably made her way into the laboratory, admiring the gadgets displayed. The scientist, recognizing the fact that everyone in the Center seemed to pause in their work to stare at their leader, frowned. "As you were!"

The workers quickly resumed their business, as the Dean curiously explored the extraordinary laboratory; as she had heard rumors of such a place, but never quite really set foot into one. Dr Johnson degradedly traced her footsteps, following.

"So," she spoke for the first time. "How are the plans coming along?"

A few workers glanced up to look at whom the voice belonged to, but soon found themselves quickly shying away in their priorities once again. The Dean softly chuckled to herself at their response.

Dr. Johnson led her into a room nearby and furtively locked the door.

"Things are going splendidly well, Allison," he replied gracefully, as he showed her to a lumpy experimentation table, covered with a flimsy white cloth. Numerous monitors and screens were set up around the table, as well as a superfluous amount of multi-colored buttons.

Unexpectedly, Ms. Graham tore off the white cloth, revealing what seemed to be a naked human body.

"Good." She smirked. She subtly traced her long, black-coated nails over the patient's face. She pressed the blue button lying beside the table, causing the human's eyes to open mechanically.

"I am number 67400," it said automatically.

The Dean smiled deviously.

"Perfect," she breathed. "Then it's time to turn it up a notch."