Into the Unknown

Blackness. A void of nothingness surrounded Samuel. There seemed to be no beginning to the darkness, but there was an end.

A glimmer of light shone in front of him. He approached the light, slowly and cautiously, scared of what he was going to find. He came upon two doors. One was a vibrant, candy-apple red with an eggshell white frame. Adjacent to it stood a dull, oak brown door with trimming to match.

His senses had been numbed by the vacuum that encapsulated him, making Samuel feel somewhat disoriented. He peered up above the doors where a plaque gave him instructions to a game he no longer wanted to play.

Before you stand two doors. Each lead to a different life. Choose one to enter. You may never look back.

The vagueness of the message intimidated Samuel. He searched his brain but could not recall how he ended up in this room that wasn't really a room. There were no walls or stopping points except for the two doors before him. He pondered.

Is life all but one choice? Do I really even have a choice?

He stood there, as still as the pair of doors before him, and refused to participate in this cruel game. The emptiness and infinity of this space made it impossible to determine how much time had passed. His legs began to throb and ache, so Samuel decided to take a seat. This was where I began to have fun with him, excuse me for a second.

"The time has come. You must choose now Samuel. Door 1 or Door 2."

Did you hear how deep and scary I made my voice sound? I can barely contain my giddiness; it is so much fun to mess with humans. Oh, look he's about to respond!

"The plaque tells me nothing. I need more answers... more clarity before I decide." He pleaded and begged.

I decided to not respond, it's always more fun that way.

Samuel stood once more and slowly analyzed each door. He examined them both for any clues that would help him pick the better door in this wicked game. Nothing. Just two doors. One red, one brown. One vibrant, one dull. He paced the empty void; he was beginning to reach a conclusion.

Samuel inched closer to the red door, until he was within arm's reach. He glanced at the oak door once more, turned back to the more inviting door, twisted the golden doorknob and stepped through. As he stood on the other side of the door, still unsure of his decision, I slammed it shut behind him, and before he could even turn around to look, I dropped the floor from underneath him.

Oh, it was beautifully hilarious watching his limbs flail about. I turned on the light as he closed his eyes, and when Samuel was ready to open them, he would see the beginning of it all.

Samuel was not the first participant in my game, nor will he be the last. Some of you might be wondering, what is this game, and how did I create it? I'll let you in on the intricacies of my experiment, but just remember, this story is not about me, it's about Samuel, I'm just here to tell it.

This all started out of two things really, boredom and curiosity. Humans baffled me since the very beginning of time. The way you evolve and interact with your world astounded me. How you learn and adapt so quickly but destroy even quicker. I created this game to study and understand the human psyche. I found willing test subjects, brought them to my playground, and had them face the same doors, the same choice our boy Samuel did.

They never knew the two options before them, or which door held which option. Most picked the red door, for the same reasoning I suppose Sammy-boy did. A hope that a more inviting door meant a more inviting life. For some that turned out to be the case, for others it did not. Now, I can't give away more than that, let's go check up on Samuel, shall we?