Experiment 91 (part 1)

Bzzzzzzt!

Sophie woke up at the sound of her intercom. Someone at her door, who could that be? Sleepily she looked at her clock. 10 am. Probably not important, she decided. She turned her head and tried to go back to sleep.

Bzzzzzzt!

They'll leave, Sophie thought.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt!

Sighing, Sophie sat up and got out of bed. Who could be so insistent to visit her this early? Since she had lost her job, Sophie slept late every morning, and her friends knew this. So who had decided to wake her up today? "Hello?" she asked the intercom in a tired voice. "Hi Sophie, it's me, Linda. Sorry if I woke you up. Can I come in?" "Sure," Sophie yawned, and pushed the button to open the door and let Linda into the building.

Two minutes later, Linda knocked at her door and Sophie opened. "Wow, you look disheveled," Linda exclaimed. "Yeah, what do you expect, when you call me out of bed so early. How come you are here? Don't you have to work today?" Linda was a researcher at a medical institute. So Sophie was quite surprised that Linda visited her when she was supposed to be at work.

"Yes, but that's why I'm here. It's about my work. I have something important to discuss with you." Sophie was intrigued. "Well come in then, take a seat."

When both girls were settled, Linda started explaining. "I'm currently doing research about the influence of clothes on the resistance of the human body against viruses and bacteria. There are several popular beliefs about this. For example, it is generally seen that people are more vulnerable to illness when they are exposed to cold or wet weather without proper protection. On the other hand, some also believe that being overprotected decreases the resistance of the body. Although these are commonly held beliefs, there has been suprisingly little actual scientific research in this area. So that's what I'm doing now."

"That's nice and all, Linda, and I'm sure it's an interesting subject, but did you wake me up just to talk about your project? What does it have to do with me?"

"I'm getting to that. For my research I need a test subject. This person would be dressed the same way for five months. Because it has to be scientifically correct, we cannot allow a single deviation from the prescribed clothing, even for one day. Every week we will then do a check-up to see how the body responds to that, and you'll have to fill in a short questionnaire. And as the test subject I thought of you, Sophie. Because you don't have a job, you are free to perform the experiment for us. Also, there's a nice financial aspect to this. At the end of the five months, you'll receive 1500€ for your troubles. And all you have to for that is wear what give you, follow our rules, and come to us for a weekly check-up. What do you think?"

"Well, I don't know. The money does sound nice. But how can I wear the same clothes for five months? Surely that's not hygienic? And what kind of clothes are they?"

"We will have two sets of clothing. So every week when you come for the check-up, you will change. We will make sure the other set is cleaned. So it's very easy for you, you don't have to worry about anything. As for what you will wear, we are still working out the details. But the core idea is that you will be well protected, since we want to study the effects of this on the human body. The experiment runs from November until March. If you accept, we'll make sure that you won't be cold this winter. Then there is one more thing: you'll have to be outside your home at least six hours each day. Going to shops and things like that count towards this, even going to the movies or visiting friends, so it shouldn't be that much effort. This rule exists because if you sit alone at home all the time, you are not exposed to other people and any bacteria they might carry. So that would make our experiment quite useless."

"I must say it doesn't sound bad. Not getting to choose what I wear isn't fun, but the money certainly makes up for that. And it really seems like easy money. All right, I'll do it."

"Great!" Almost instantly Linda pulled a set of papers from her bag. "This is the contract. I'll run it over with you. The first point establishes both parties of the contract; so that's the research center and you. The second point says that you agree to wear the clothes we give you every day from November 1st until March 31st. Every day you have half an hour of "free" time so you freshen up. The third point says that you will be in public areas or at social gatherings at least six hours per day. The fourth point says that you allow us to monitor you constantly to make sure that you actually do as stated in the second or third point. This means that your clothes will have certain electronics in them so we can be sure that you wear them, and a GPS to check whether you're at home or not. The fifth point states that you agree to visit the research center weekly for routine tests and a questionnaire. This will only take about two hours. Finally, the last point says that the research center will pay you 1500€ assuming you don't breach the contract. However, in case you breach the contract, you have to pay the research center 1500€ to make up for their costs. But of course it should never come to that, you just have to follow these simple rules and you get to walk away with the money."

And that's how Linda talked Sophie into signing the contract. Of course, the girl had no idea what she was in for.



-- on to part 2 --







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