Following Dr. Samuels' abrupt departure, several technicians in white coats entered quickly.
Some looked like doctors and nurses, moving from student to student, taking measurements and making notations on their electronic tablets.
The remainder waited until a few students had been "processed", then began to distribute the latest Apple IWatch, to the eager class.
When the processing and distribution was complete, a semi-familiar face stood at the front of the class and began to speak...
"My name is Dr. Susan Owen," she began, "those watches are all yours to keep. However, officially, during the course of this study, they are the property of FemTech, so you are NOT permitted to sell, give away or lose them for the duration."
Glancing around the room, she received a nod from one of the technicians, then went on to say, "In order to assure that you are not able to lose or dispose of them," at this she paused and touched her tablet, there was a series of chimes heard from around the room as each watch received the command, "your watches are now locked to your wrists. The bands and cases are of a new high tech alloy which, should you try to test it, will be found to be impervious to cutting, tearing, heat cold, pretty much anything. In short, you would have to lose your hand to remove them," she concluded, smiling.
"Further points of interest for you all, particularly you boys in the back, I can practically see your little brains grinding away, wondering how to get them off just to prove you can. You should know, that these watches are how we will monitor you all during the study. We will know in real time where you are, who you are with, what you are wearing, even what you had for breakfast, should we choose to check."
"Also, as those watches are somewhat expensive, they come with a host of security and protective features built in. As a result, should you or someone else try to remove, hack or damage them in any way... Well, let's just say that you will definitely wish you hadn't. Do I make myself clear?" She asked, looking directly at Biff & Moose as she did so.
Both boys nodded, switching their worried gaze between the watches and Dr. Owen.
"Now that the necessary unpleasantness is over, we move onto the first phase of our study."
The techs and medics all returned in force, each carrying a large box. We were asked to sit in our usual seats, then they began to distribute the boxes, scanning our watch as they did so.
"The boxes placed before you contain your new school uniforms for this next week, starting now and concluding on Friday afternoon. In a moment, you will split into girls and boys, then get changed. There will be assistance provided should you require it."
True to her word, the girls were all quickly ushered out of the room & into another down the hall, each carrying their personal box. Once they had all gone and the door closed and locked, a male, one of the medics, instructed us to open our boxes. None of us could have expected what we saw.
Amid the mumbles of "there must be some mistake" echoing around the room, he stated loudly for everyone to hear, "there has been no mistake, you will wear these clothes for the next 5 days and you will do so immediately. Should you choose to defy that directive, I will point out that you and your families will be in breach of contract. This in turn will allow us to exercise our rights to not only force the issue, in a less than pleasant manner, but also to utilize the penalties clauses in the contract. These penalties range from fines to incarceration to... Let's just call it medical testing."
"Personally I hope you all rebel, I could use a dozen new lab rats."
The evil grin he produced at that final remark left none of us in any doubt that he was sincere.
Without a word, all of us began the task of removing our clothes, down to the skin, and donning the very unfamiliar apparel.
