"Who are you?" Charlie demanded. "What am I doing here?"
"Oh, Charlie," the strange man said calmly, with a small grin. "You were doing so well."
"What are you talking about?"
"Well, the experiment, of course."
"You mean all of that was fake?"
"Oh no. All of it is quite real."
"What's going on?"
The man grinned, then said "We have chosen you, Charlie. So far, you have been a splendid specimen."
"I'm no one's specimen."
"Oh, but you are. You are our specimen. The experiment has been going well. Trust me, I know. I've been watching your progress."
"My progress? You're acting like this is a game."
He smiled. "I suppose in a way, it is."
"Well, this isn't a game. You said those people are real. Who are you to mess with their lives like that?"
For the first time, the strange man looked confused. "We are more evolved. That gives us the right." Then a smile crept back into his face. "Do you like the indicators?"
"Indicators?"
"Yes, the colors. Oh, my favorite is the brown. But I am also partial to the red. The results are always so delicious."
"Brown? What does that do?"
"Oh, it gives you the attributes of animals. Quite interesting, actually."
Charlie had had it with this guy's laid-back attitude towards the people of that city. "Enough. Send me home. I don't want to be a part of this."
"Oh, but you were home. That was your world. And we will send you back, but not as you are. Charlie, the experiment must continue."
"No! I'm not playing your games!" Charlie shouted.
"You have no choice," the man said, as he approached him.
Charlie moved as far back as possible, but it was a small room. There wasn't much space to maneuver in. He was backed into a corner, and that's where the strange man touched him.
A cloud of blue dust spun around him and he was gone.
