Henzoid's Sandbox
rating: 0+x

Act 1, Scene 2


[Enter Dr. Bracket]
[Enter Dr. Ascher]

A small room full of complicated machinery, papers, and two computers. One wall is taken up almost entirely by a glass barrier, behind which is a containment cell holding a floating white orb.

Dr. Bracket
God damnit!


A woman in a white lab coat, slightly too long for her, pounds on a desk with her fists. She has just flipped a sizable lever in the hopes that it would do something, anything, to the orb. As signaled by her shriek of despair and agony, things are not going so well.

Dr. Bracket
Devon, I just don't see the point of this whole thing? I mean, the whisp isn't responding to any of our tests, and it doesn't even seem to follow the basic laws of physics. Why are we performing such stupid experiments on it if they never goddamn work?

Devon
Dr. Bracket, we must study the whisp in order to find anything we can about it. If this thing turns out to be what we think it is, it could mean huge advances in science as we know it!


A tanned, short, and scraggly bearded man sitting in a chair is the one responding to Dr. Sandra Bracket about the so called 'whisp'. He won't admit it, but he shares Dr. Bracket's skepticism towards the whole project. However, he knows there are security cameras in the room, and wouldn't want his boss seeing him give up in the face of a challenge.

Devon
And, on a side note, is it possible you could start addressing me by my title, Dr. Ascher? I give you the courtesy of professionalism and-

With tightly shut eyes, Dr. Bracket is pinching the bridge of her nose in what can only be described as pure and absolute anguish.

Devon
I… alright, maybe it’s not important right now. In any case, we should at least get back to procedural examination.

Dr. Bracket
Look, Devon, I would try to perform some more tests on the damn thing, but it fried our controls. We can’t even use the machines unless we want to tear down that wall.

Devon
When… when did that happen, if you don’t mind me asking? I don’t recall such a setback taking place, so I must have been on break or in the bathroom, perhaps.


Devon confidently walks over to the manual controls, which Dr. Bracket has foolishly forgotten to lock up. She attempts to shove him away from the panel, but, even in her inhibited state, realizes how stupid and pointless that would be. To no one’s surprise, the machinery in the room functions normally and with no delay. Dr. Bracket, thwarted in her attempt to do nothing, speaks through gritted teeth.

Dr. Bracket
Must have been remembering a different room.

Devon
That’s fine, Dr. Bracket. I appreciate the concern. Now that we’ve confirmed we have a functioning room, though, it might be a good idea to see what else we can find about this thing. At the very least, we should review evidence.

Dr. Bracket
Okay, you know what Devon? Fine. Fiiiiine. You wanna review some evidence? You wanna go through all those PAPERS, DEVON? FINE. LET’S REVIEW SOME EVIDENCE, SHALL WE?


She angrily grabs a stack of papers and begins flipping through them madly. They will not be easy to rearrange.

Dr. Bracket
Check for signs of consciousness… Not Recognized
Check for signs of intelligence… Not Recognized
Check for central nervous system… Not Recognized
It's not fucking ALIVE, DEVON!!!

Devon
I-

Dr. Bracket
LETS SEE WHAT ELSE!!! OH I KNOW, LET'S READ THE LIST WE MADE AFTER WE DISCOVERED THAT, GEE I DON’T KNOW, IT'S NOT ALIVE
Check for solid… Not Recognized
Check for liquid… Not Recognized
Check for gas… Not Recognized
Check for plasma… Not Recognized
Check for superfluid… Not Recognized
Check for Bose-Einstein Condensate… Not Recognized
Object Not Recognized
I MEAN JESUS CHRIST DEVON THIS THING ISN’T A THING!!!!!


During the course of Dr. Bracket's spiel, Devon has looked up at the camera on the ceiling and given a sorry look, as if to apologize for his partner’s behavior. In an attempt to calm down, Dr. Bracket recalls a simpler time when she didn’t have to deal with incompetent scientists, floaty space orbs, or worst of all, the hangover she has, which is amplifying how annoying everything is by three, maybe even four times.

Devon
Look, I don’t know what we’re going to do. We only have four hours before the conference and our asses are on the line. If we haven’t made some breakthrough discovery by then, I don’t think either of us will have a job tomorrow. Can you just work with me here?

Dr. Bracket
Ohh, oh big man, huh? ‘Work with me here, Dr. Bracket, work with me’ I have been for six days and what have we found? Jack shit! I mean, one of us might as well get in the room with the damn thing and touch it.


As Dr. Bracket vents about the futility of the situation speed walking circles around the small room the two are stuck in, Devon gets an intrigued look on his face. Though her statement was not intended to be more than skeptical nonsense, Devon’s grin says otherwise.

Devon
Well… why not?


Dr. Bracket stops her pacing abruptly and turns to Devon with an incredulous look on her face.

Dr. Bracket
You can’t be serious. I was only joking and-

Devon
And we’re running out of time doct… Sandra. We need to take control of this situation and just go in there and make some up close and personal assessments!

Dr. Bracket
But what if it’s dangerous? We have literally no idea what the damn thing could do to us!

Devon
This is the real world, Sandra, not the make believe land you seem to still be recovering from. Nothing crazy or magical is going to happen! So an experiment went wrong and caused this weird white light to appear in the middle of a lab room! Okay, great! It’s not a portal to hell or anything. It’s not shape shifting or changing color. It’s just a white light! And honestly, if you won’t go in there, I am happy to.


That was a lie. He is frightened at the mere thought of entering that room. However, what seems to terrify him more at this moment is the room full of board members that will be meeting him and his partner in the conference room in under 200 minutes.

Dr. Bracket
Alright, go on then. Save our jobs or whatever.


Devon, donning a thick, white safety suit, enters the whisp’s room. He slowly approaches it, trying his best to hide the nervous shaking in his arms. He begins to hear a very faint sound emanating from the middle of the room, just where the whisp is.

Devon
Sandra, was this thing always making noises?

Dr. Bracket
I don't hear anything, what does it sound like?

Devon
Almost like… like whispering. It sounds like a lot of tiny voices whispering to me, but I can't make out what they're saying.

Dr. Bracket
Dude, you are losing it in there. Quit making up excuses and just go, I don’t know, experiment on the thing.


Devon reaches into his box and grabs a pair of tongs and a cotton ball. He holds the ball in the tongs just over the whisp. As he drops it in, he and Dr. Bracket prepare for the worst. However, to both of their surprise, the cotton ball falls through and remains unchanged.

Dr. Bracket
Man, who would have thought objects that don't physically exist can't interact with ones that do?


Despite feeling particularly proud of her mediocre burn, Dr. Bracket sees no reaction or response from Devon, who is staring at the whisp with an uneasy intensity.

Dr. Bracket
Yo, Devon… you good in there?


Devon turns towards Dr. Bracket. His pupils are white and his face is expressionless.

Dr. Bracket
Whoa, what the fuck? Devon? Devon are you okay?


Devon turns back towards the whisp. Slowly and mechanically, he begins removing his safety suit.

Dr. Bracket
Devon what the hell are you doing?


Dr. Bracket runs to the door and attempts to open it, but it doesn't budge. Devon approaches the whisp once more.

Dr. Bracket
Devon stop! Please! It could be dangerous!


Devon slowly reaches towards the whisp. Just as his hand enters the area it resides in, he hears the rustling of leaves, a soft and gentle breeze, and the word “come”. He immediately vanishes from the room.

Dr. Bracket
Holy shit, Devon? Oh god, oh god, Dr. Ascher?


Dr. Bracket frantically scrambles around the room, searching for anything that can help her figure out what to do, though she knows quite well that there is basically nothing she can do, considering that she has no new information other than the fact that the whisp apparently eats humans or something.

Voice from Outside the Room
Dr. Bracket, what on Earth are you doing?


[Enter Dr. Raymond]

A round man in a lab coat that's a bit too slim for him enters the room. His pointed beard and thick, round glasses are a sight to behold. Dr. Bracket stops throwing papers around and looks at him, confused.

Dr. Bracket
Oh! Dr. Raymond! I… I was looking for… umm… I need to save Dr… I mean, uhh, Devon!

Dr. Raymond
Who the hell is Devon?

Dr. Bracket
He's… my… intern? No, that's not right.

Dr. Raymond
Dr. Bracket, I can assure you, no one named Devon has ever worked here

Dr. Bracket
Of course not, I must have been day dreaming again

Dr. Raymond
Please try to be sensible, alright Doctor?

Dr. Bracket
Of course sir, I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.

Dr. Raymond
Oh and by the way, they cancelled the conference. You’re off the hook… for now.


Dr. Bracket sits down and tries to forget the fact that she got into a panic about nothing. Dr. Raymond shakes his head and leaves the room, knowing full well that he is correct about this whole Devon nonsense. And of course, he is. In fact, no one named Devon has ever even entered the facility. It's unclear as to why the name Devon has even been mentioned in this narration, as there are no characters named Devon and never were.

Dr. Bracket
I must be going crazy


Dr. Bracket begins to organize the many papers lying on the ground, and staples them together, so as to keep them from getting out of order. Satisfied with a day well spent, she turns off the lights, and with a final sigh, exits the room.
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License