IC-Chapter 2-Did You Ever Have a Dream?(Bill/Barney/Yeager)

[ImpInTraining]

"Hey Willie," Barney said stepping closer, "Do you happen to have a father in the police force?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Huh?" said Willie, looking confused. "My father's a professor. Why would you think he's a cop?"

This time Mary did look back at Barney. She shook her head ever so slightly from side to side.

OOC,[b]Barney[/b], please roll Psychology.

[ImpInTraining]

Psychology - success!,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4005742/]Psychology (50%) (1d100=49)[/url]

Barney narrowed his eyes when Mary shook her head. He looked back to Willie and said, "How about an uncle? You bear a striking resemblance to a bloke I know."

[Mr. Handy]

"Sorry, no," said Willie, returning his attention to Mary. She gave Barney a quick, angry glance before focusing on Willie. It was then that Barney realized what was going on with her. She didn't want him mentioning anything to do with the police, for fear it would lead to disclosing the fact that her ex-boyfriend Brian had recently been arrested if Willie was related to Bill. It was also apparent that she was attracted to Willie, and that it was mutual.

[ImpInTraining]

Barney shrugged with a casual, "My mistake." He looked away.

[Mr. Handy]

The door to the lab opened, and an attractive woman in her mid-thirties stood behind it, wearing a long green skirt and a white blouse with a plaid jacket over it. Barney remembered seeing her at Lenny's Bar two nights ago with the man in the wheelchair and the other academic type. "Good evening," she said. "I'm Assistant Professor Nancy Remington. I take it you're all here for the sleep experiment. Please, come inside." She stepped out of the way, revealing the interior. The windowless area beyond the door looked like a standard science lab, with various lab tables and cabinets, but it also had a Westinghouse refrigerator that was locked with a padlock, several cots in the back, and a television set. Also in the lab was a tall, confident man in his upper forties wearing a gray suit and maroon tie, his brown hair streaked with hints of gray. A full beard covered his chin, and he wore glasses.

[ImpInTraining]

Barney let the others take the lead and tried to seem as inconspicuous as possible. He looked at Nancy Remington for the first time, recalling what he had learned about her other studies not too long ago. Somehow, this was all tied together, and poor Willie was soon to be right in the middle of it.

When the opportunity seemed right, Barney introduced himself to the assistant, recalling the fake name he gave to Dr. Anderson earlier, "Barney Miller." He offered her a smile, then fell back in line with the others.

[Mr. Handy]

"I'm Harry Sawyer," said Harry, following Barney inside.

"Kathy Scott," said Kathleen, the next through the door.

"Maxine Grey," said the older woman, entering right behind her.

"Mary Walters," said Mary, stepping in when Willie moved aside and then followed her through.

"Willie Johns," said Willie.

"Excellent, you're all on time," said the man, approaching the group. Barney recognized him as Dr. Anderson. "I'm Dr. Gregory Anderson. Assistant Professor Remington will be assisting me in this experiment. Before we begin, are there any questions?"

[ImpInTraining]

Barney raised his hand slowly, "I ... uh... was a stand in, just in the event someone else didn't show. Am I in or out?"

[Mr. Handy]

"Oh, you're in, Mr. Miller," said Dr. Anderson. "There was a cancellation late in the afternoon, so that opened up a slot for you. Are there any other questions?"

[ImpInTraining]

Barney nodded with a smile to the fact that he was accepted into the studies. He wasn't sure if it was such a great idea considering all the bizarre facts surrounding Bill, but it would be an interesting trip at any rate.

[Mr. Handy]

Harry raised his hand. "Yes?" asked Anderson.

"What do we need to do?" asked Harry.

"For now, just relax. Hopefully you've brought something to do or something to read. You can do your coursework, or whatever you like. Talk to each other if you wish. There's a TV, plus we have snacks and soft drinks in the fridge and the cabinets that we can get for you if you ask. Professor Remington and I will observe you throughout the evening, occasionally interviewing one of you and asking questions."

"And why is the fridge locked?"

"That's also where we keep what we're testing for the dream study. At midnight you'll all be given something to drink. Half of you are part of the control group and will receive ordinary chocolate milk. The other half will receive what I like to call Morpheus. It will make you drowsy and possibly allow you to control your dream, which is called lucid dreaming. You will try to dream about what we tell you to dream about. When you awaken, we will interview you again and get the details of your dreams. It is best to get those while they are fresh, as dreams are often quickly forgotten. Breakfast will be served in the morning, and at eight o'clock you are free to go, returning again at eight in the evening the following two nights. On Monday morning, you will each receive your fifty dollars for participating in the study."

"Is this a double-blind study?" asked Mary.

"No. Professor Remington and I know which group each of you is in, though you won't know yourselves. We've assigned each of you a number from 1 to 6, and those numbers are on the labels of the flasks you'll be given to drink. In our notes and published results, we will refer to you each only by number, not by name."

OOC,[b]Barney[/b], please roll Psychology.

[ImpInTraining]

Psychology Failed,Man... Barney just doesn't want to know I guess.

Barney was nodding along as the conversation rolled on. He didn't know what a double-blind study was, figured someone would be putting blindfolds over their eyes if that were the case. He wasn't sure he liked that idea at all, going around blind when weird time-travelling was going about. But luckily, there would be no double-blind studies here. Whew.

Snacks were locked away... which would suck if someone had the munchies. Good thing Barney had been clean for a good long while.

As they discussed numbering everyone, Barney snapped his fingers, "I was hoping for number 9." He smiled a toothy grin, looking about seeing if anyone else grasped the Beetles reference.

[Mr. Handy]

Kathleen grinned back, obviously getting it, but nobody else seemed to react.

"Only if you flip it upside down," said Nancy. "You are number 6."

"Who is number 1?" asked Harry, cracking a smile.

"That would be telling." Nancy paused before continuing. "Well, this isn't The Prisoner, so I can tell you. Miss Walters is number 1, Mr. Johns is number 2, Miss Scott is number 3, Miss Grey is number 4, and Mr. Sawyer is number 5."

[ImpInTraining]

Barney smiled... a six would suffice. "I'll just have to stand on my head more often than not."

He asked Nancy, "So when we get tired, is there a special sleeping chamber we need to be in? Do you need to hook up wires to monitor our vitals? Is there a set bed time, or do we just let you know when we are getting sleepy?"

[Mr. Handy]

"You'll just sleep on that row of cots at the back there," said Nancy, pointing them out. "We will be hooking up an EEG to each of you - that's an electroencephalogram - to monitor your brainwaves as you sleep. As Dr. Anderson said, bedtime is midnight. At that point we'll turn off the TV and the lights, and you'll each get in bed and drink your flask. There are small chambers you can use to change into pajamas if you like, or you can just sleep in your clothes."

[ImpInTraining]

Barney wasn't sure what he felt about having a bunch of wires hooked up to him. Like he'd be part of the machine.

Barney asks, "If the control group is given regular chocolate milk, won't they figure it out when they don't get drowsy from it?"

[Mr. Handy]

"They might," said Nancy, "except for two things. First, we're waiting until midnight to serve it so that everyone should be tired by then. Second, and probably more importantly, we've added a small dose of a sleep aid to the chocolate milk. It's harmless, and it'll make you drowsy too."

[ImpInTraining]

Barney then asked, "What if there's some sort of emergency... like a building fire? Will we be shaken awake easily enough?"

[Mr. Handy]

"We haven't tried prematurely awakening someone who has taken Morpheus," said Nancy, "but animals did tend to stay asleep until it wore off. If there's a fire and we can't wake you, we will pick up your cots with you on them as if they were stretchers and carry you out of the building."