Public Experiment #1 has begun. A rumble and wobble of the carriage allowed me to fumble an awkward hand onto a stranger. You'd think in this day and age that we would've become closer as human's and that the New Age hippies from the turn of the century would have won out in the whole hug thy neighbor, plant a tree, oneness with the planet thing. But the current faux pas of touching has made even the most conservative and tight-assed religious no-no's seem tame. Handshakes, limited to close friends and business associates, can make the boldest of individuals recoil in disgust as if you've placed a soiled palm in their face. Needless to say the trips on the tube or public transport is entertaining. And so, here we casually inject our first human test. An experiment that is a long time coming.
I have loathed the times spent on that damn locomotive; piled in with so many others, all plugged into themselves rather than living in the world that surrounds them. But the search for the perfect individual necessitated the most banal of activities - the daily commute. And although I prefer the freedom of my own two feet to that iron centipede, I did enjoy studying the expressionless faces for clues of thoughts, emotions and signposts as to where they were in their lives. How happy are they really and what would they be doing differently right now if they knew what was ahead? But that is all romantic ideology. Anyone with a gun in their face is forced to re-evaluate their current life - or lack thereof - and if not, the bullet does the trick.
Preferring the ticking time-bomb to the lead capsule, we now can sit (on the train) and take notes, compare data, and analyze the changes that the test subject will go through in the next few weeks. After much debate and to-ing and fro-ing we settled on (amidst sexual prejudices) a female subject. Points raised included the obvious physical makeup that could be analyzed from a distance and the significance of the reproductive organs and their 'exposure'.
Although we are aware of the initial changes that will present themselves, this has never been tried before and so we can't (repeat) can't assume anything. That will only sway the experiment's results - and P00104 has made it clear that our intensions and focus on the desired results will only conspire to create those pre-desired results. Total physical meltdown may well be preferable, but how it is achieved is the key to phase one.
But in order to keep the data as extensive and precise as possible, I have made detailed notes on today's events. Here is a brief summary:
With the human dermasvirus#32 applied the evening before, I took a light shower (robustness of the virus needs to be fully tested, but let's not fuck around with a technical delay like accidentally rinsing it off on the day). Left my apartment at 07.28am and took a refreshing walk to the nearby tube station. Almost immediately I was engulfed in the stream of people heading down the mouth of the stairwell and into the humid stench of the turnstiles. So crowded yet not a push or shove in sight. Freaks.
As previously noted, and with exceptional efficiency, the train came to a near-silent stop at 07:40am. Personal spaces were cordoned off, sideways glances completed, and then into their respective zones we began our journey.
07.44am we slowed to a gentle stop at the subject's station (Station #S00205) and amidst the hoards, our subject emerged and planted herself on one of the few vacant seats on the side of the carriage. Subject's physical description: 32 years of age (ascertained after physical contact with her), unmarried, caucasian, dark brown (near black) wavy shoulder-length hair. Fair skin. Weighing 81.4 kgs and 1.58 metres in height (as above). Slightly rounded shoulders and stooped posture. As with most of the passengers she keeps to herself and doesn't make eye-contact with others. Fortunately the temperature in the carriage necessitates the removal of her gloves and the loosening of her brightly colored scarf. The dermasvirus needs to make contact with the skin to be effective (especially for this initial experiment). The thick coat and long pants that she wears in the current climate makes it all the more difficult to implement any close contact - but this was taken into account.
After a few minutes of observation from a few metres (approx. 4 metres), I proceeded to edge closer to the subject - making it appear as though I were ready for my destination stop. She was standing with her right shoulder facing me (but I was slightly behind her) and as the train made a rail switchover and the carriage rocked (as previously documented) I fell forward and proceeded to (heaven forbid) grab her hand. Although it appeared to be an instinctive reaction it took a few moments for her to acknowledge the cultural fuck up and rip her hand back and into her gloves. I apologised in the local language and proceeded to hide my face (seemingly embarrassed but more out of being inconspicuous). And so it was done.
P00104 has indicated that he will be on the afternoon tube to take any visual information of the subject - although it will be too soon to see anything.
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