continued…

The experiment started as most do. The entire thing began with no publicity or even much administrative acknowledgment. It was simply one more scientist quietly at work on one more hypothesis, in one more laboratory, mostly unknown to the rest of the world.
The premise was to measure the operation of a brain for total energy output under various circumstances and stimuli.

The scientist in charge of the project was a Professor Lasdyknasd. He had quite a bit of tenure, stature, prestige, connections and pull at the university in which he worked. He was easily able to procure the latest in technological measuring devices and instrumentation for his experiment.

I was one of his laboratory assistants and had been for close to three years. He, of course, had many student assistants. However, they were only around for a semester or two, then, off to other classes, professors, labs, experiments. Even when they were available for long enough to be present throughout the full run of a project, they often lost enthusiasm or interest. Especially if the project was simply part of a pre-requisite class or something that had little or nothing to do with their chosen field of specialty. Therefore, the university paid a few people, like myself, to be full-time lab assistants that the professors could always count on being present.

The experiments started without any surprising or unpredicted results. The regular assortment of university students came and went, all very pleased about the procedure of this particular project. They were mostly students trying to earn a little extra money as they worked through school and quite happy with earning that money by simply sitting in a chair while little wires with electrodes attached unobtrusively to their heads monitored brain energy output.

They were shown videos, pictures, engaged in small talk as well as intellectual conversation. Some were given difficult problems in math or physics to work out while being monitored. A wide variety of activities were employed.