Prophecy. An ARKANE thriller. (Book 2) by J.F. Penn Read Free Book Online Page A

the door, she turned the lights off, checking the room for any ambient light and then left. The subject was left in pitch darkness, snug in his relaxing chair. Some days Maria just wanted to sink into the chair herself and soothe away her stress. She had a lot of work ahead but the research was worth every second.  
    Her assistant, Simone Moreau, clicked on the introductory soundtrack as soon as Maria closed the door behind her. They were experimenting with different conditions for the auditory feed while leaving the magnetic field the same. Some would hear just the rainfall and thunderstorms in the distance, a relaxing soundtrack of nature. Others were fed binaural beat technology that included a behavior for them to physically perform after the experience. It was a simple task but not something they would perform without some kind of direction. Neither of the researchers knew which condition the computer would assign this subject to. It was all randomized by the program.  
    “Do you want to classify some of the other records while we wait for this one?” Simone asked. “I know you want the report to be ready as soon as possible.”
    It took around an hour for the program to complete and then they had to debrief the subject, which involved a recorded interview. They were trying to classify the experiences so that the results could be analyzed further. Maria nodded and sat down at the desk.
    “Sure, let’s do a couple. What have you got?”
    Simone read from a printout.  
    “This one experienced a sudden wave of darkness and saw a distant point of light, then felt a presence standing behind, watching over them. Oh wait, they described it as ‘The’ Presence, not just ‘a’ presence.”
    “Ok, how did the presence feel?”
    Simone skimmed the page.  
    “It wasn’t threatening, but it wasn’t kind either. It was just there.”
    “Tag that one with tunnel because it sounds similar to the near death experiences, and also tag with ambivalent presence. Did they hear anything?”
    “Nothing noted.”
    Maria tutted.  
    “Sometimes I don’t think we’re asking the right questions. But it’s so hard to try and put an experience into language. What else?”  
    “This one ticked the box indicating that the experience didn’t come from their own mind, so I’ll tag with external locus.”
    The metronomic needle on the brainwave readout swished as it changed the depths of the peaks and troughs.  
    “Looks like our man just had his first experience,” Maria noted.  
    Simone shuffled through the papers. “Interesting. This woman saw flames and said she actually felt heat although it didn’t burn her. She saw faces distorted by the heat and said she actually counted the individual presences as if they had been standing there next to her.”
    “That could be disturbing,” Maria noted. “Imagine if you had that type of vision in a church or by yourself in your room at night. It’s certainly the basis for nightmares.”
    “Or even a belief in demons and hell,” Simone replied. “I know we’re not meant to use religious terminology but seriously, flames? I’d be worried.”
    Of course they had both been in the helmet themselves but neither of them talked about their experiences. They didn’t want to bring a bias to the experiment in terms of acknowledging their own belief, or lack of it. Maria knew that everyone experienced different things, which made it all the harder to classify. Those who had some form of religious belief often had visions that fitted their idea of God. Some people experienced nothing at all. They were often disappointed, as if there was something deficient in them that prevented a higher level of consciousness.  
    “What about the drug arm at the clinics? I’m keen to know how that went,” Maria asked.  
    “They’re wrapping up next week, although they used the modified headsets for a more portable environment. Have you tried them?”
    Maria thought about the nights she had