A day later, 36 returned to them. They had been waiting in their dorm, none of them saying a word. Several times 99 tried to catch 28's eyes but 28 would quickly glance away. He could always feel 99's meaningful gaze on him. They had been delivered their meals but Rinzlo had not called them down for training or punishment. They had just waited. And then, at long last, the door had hissed open to admit 36. He was dressed in a fresh set of clothes and he stared ahead blankly. Where once there had been life now his eyes were devoid of emotion and light, they were empty. The boy had sulked towards his cot and sat. Not uttering a sound. 78 tried to talk to him, to elicit any kind of response. None came.
The next day when the security officers came for them, they were not led to the gym for training. Instead they were taken down a different path, the subjects exchanged uneasy glances as they walked. Eventually they came to a stop at a new chamber labeled "COGNITIVE ANALYSIS". Inside was a small hall with a series of smaller chambers, each labeled with a different number. An old woman sat at a desk before the hall, dressed in a white coat and with rectangular spectacles perched high on her long nose she cast a shrewd look over them all.
"Subject: 28 will proceed to room one, Subject: 36 to room two, Subject: 78 to room three, Subject: 82 to room four and Subject: 99 to room five. Please do so in a quick and orderly fashion."
Her voice was bored and she never once looked up from the terminal at her desk while she addressed them, having lost interest. The subjects shuffled forward, searching for their assigned rooms. The doors to these rooms were different from the others, they did not slide or hiss as you approached but rather had to be opened by turning a round knob that protruded from it. 28 hesitated, catching 78's eyes and giving her a nod before turning the knob and entering his room.
Inside sat another woman. She was younger than the one outside, her brown hair pulled back into a bun and her matching eyes watching him intently behind the lenses of her glasses. She was sitting at a white desk, a terminal off to one side and a stack of papers to the other. Before the desk was set another chair, assumedly ment for him, and the room was otherwise barren save for a small bookshelf in the corner. She gestured for 28 to sit and he did as he was bade. After watching him for a moment more she began gathering papers.
"Today I will be assessing your cognitive abilities and mental prowess. From here on out we will have regular meetings so that I can continue to assess your cognitive growth and mental health. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I-I think so,"
"Good,"
She smiled warmly, her voice was comforting and kind. She passed a stack of papers his way and explained to him how to fill them out. And she waited, typing away on her computer and occasionally glancing his way as he made his way through the stack of papers. It took him a while, and many of the questions confused him. By the time he was done his hand ached and his fingers were stiff.
"Good job, I'll have these analyzed before our next meeting. You may go now."
28 stood and made for the door, before leaving he turned and looked at her once more.
"What's your name?"
"You can call me Amy. Goodbye Twenty-eight."
The others were waiting out in the reception area. 78 made eye contact with him, there was concern there and he did his best to offer a reassuring smile. As they made their way back to the dorm in silence 28 wondered what sort of results would come back from those tests. But it did not do to ponder it for too long and he shut it out of his mind before falling asleep in his cot.
Meetings with Amy became a part of his daily schedule. They would wake up, eat, train with Rinzlo, eat again, and visit the cognitive analysis chamber. She asked him all sorts of questions like "do you feel particularly close to any of your fellow subjects" and "have you at any time felt the urge to leave". 28 didn't know how to answer these questions, he feared that he may get in trouble for being close to another subject so he answered negatively and escape had never crossed his mind until now. To him the outside world was an unknown quantity, and he'd much rather take his chances with the known.