He awoke to a white haze. His eyes tried to readjust, but the fluorescent light bulbs proved difficult to overcome. Slowly, he regained his vision until his eyes focused on the camera staring directly at him two yards away. Above it was a black monitor. As more of his senses came rushing back to him, he felt discomfort around his wrists and ankles. He looked down and saw metal clamps holding him to the chair he was seated in. With a quick attempt to readjust his position in the chair, he realized that not only was it impossible to get his arms and legs out of the clamps but also his seat was bolted to the floor. He tried to turn his head to survey the room, but the restraints around his head left no space to rotate. He was immobilized.

His first thought was to get as much information from this situation as possible. From his field of vision, all he could see was the camera and the monitor. The monitor looked standard, but the camera seemed top-of-the-line. He looked in the reflection of the black monitor screen to see if he could identify anything behind him. The screen was too high off the ground to see if there was anything on the floor, but he could make out a security camera in the back-right corner. Other than that, the room appeared to be empty. As for the room itself, nothing, in particular, stood out. The floor, ceiling, and walls were white. The fluorescent lighting made the room feel even colder. The entire room had the modern, dull vibe of corporate America. After a few more minutes of thinking, he started to wonder when his captors would make their existence known, as that would be his best bet to learning what kind of circumstances he was facing.

As if on cue, an indicator light on the camera started to blink and the monitor displayed four words.

"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?"

The boy stared at the screen for a moment, then answered, "Jeremy Strauss".

A quick jolt of electricity shot through his body. The boy thought for a moment before speaking again.

"Simon Keyser".

Another surge of electricity emitted from the chair, only this time it lasted 5 seconds straight. His entire body seized up. If it were not for the restraints, he would have fallen off his chair. He was left gasping for air when it stopped. Confused, he sat and stared at the screen, the original question still staring back at him. After a minute of silent contemplation, he tried again.

"Jeremy Strauss".

The same brief jolt as the first time.

"Colin Brewer".

Another jolt.

"Damien Wayne".

Another jolt.

"Gabe Horn".

Another jolt.

He sat in silence for a few minutes, trying to piece together the clues he was just given. The monitor still remained the same. After psyching himself up, he took a deep breath and spoke again.

"Simon Keyser".

Even when he knew what was coming, the surge of electricity still caused an intense amount of pain. He tried to count down the time until it was over but to no avail. The electrical current consumed his mind.

Finally, it was finished. He was 80% sure that was going to be the outcome, but he still had to be certain. With that last piece of information, the boy figured out the first rule of this test: he could not tell the truth.