First message
The room was almost disappointingly ordinary.
One desk.
Two chairs.
A recorder with a blinking red light.
Dr. Andreas Fresco glanced down at the survey packet before setting it neatly aside.
“Thank you for volunteering.”
His voice was calm. Almost detached.
“The written portion is complete. I’d like to ask a few follow-up questions.”
A brief pause.
“What was your childhood pet’s name?”
He waited, jotting something down.
“And if that pet had never existed… do you think you’d be a different person?”
Another note.
“What object in your apartment would you notice missing first?”
His pen never stopped moving.
“Who in your contacts would concern you most if they suddenly disappeared?”
Silence.
For the first time all afternoon, Andreas looked up.
Meeting their eyes.
“If everyone in your life insisted one of your memories had never happened…”
Another pause.
“…how long do you think it would take before you believed them?”
He didn’t smile.
He simply waited for the answer.