Page 16 of Atlas
“Only seven?” I gaped at her. “That’s scary.”
I had helped Diane conduct the test on my first day here, and it was simple in design. Ten people were seated in a room and told to answer a questionnaire in an exam-like setting. While they worked in silence, a fire alarm went off in the building. Nine of the people in the room were in on the experiment and instructed to ignore the alarm. I had watched on a screen how all the test persons had looked around to read the others’ reactions and how most of the time, they chose to go back to the test when everyone else was ignoring the alarm. Then a few minutes later, smoke came under the door, and again the nine ignored it. Of the six test persons I had seen in the experiment on the first day, only one young woman had gotten out of her chair to go and investigate.
Diane shrugged. “We humans are programmed to read the behavior of the group and do what it takes to fit in. We’re an adaptable species.”
“I’ve told you from the beginning. People are fucking sheep and lemmings. It takes someone special to stick out like me.” Brian picked up a box in his hands and moved to the door.
“Here, let me.” Atlas got up to open the door and let Brian out.
Diane closed her laptop. “I have to set up my room too. Atlas, how long are you staying today? Can we talk between my first two rounds around ten?”
“Yes, if I’m not here, call me.”
“Will do.” She brought her coffee cup with her and gave me a soft smile before she left Atlas and me alone in the office.
“And what about you, Jolene? How are the interviews going?”
“It’s hard.” I scratched my shoulder.
“Which part? The traveling or listening to the stories of the survivors?”
“The last part. So many of the former members are traumatized for life, but as I was saying to the others before you came in, I’m beginning to see the pattern of the members. They were all sucked in by the feeling of connectedness, and once they were there, the leaders of the cult exploited their fears, desires, and desperation to fit in.”
Atlas looked thoughtful. “What else did you learn?”
“That former cult members go through what I would describe as an identity disorder. They were told to cut contact with their families back home, and often their names were changed. In some cults, a member's new identity included new haircuts, brandings, or tattoos. The Moon cult held mass weddings binding men and women from different parts of the world together.”
Atlas nodded. “People stayed because breaking away from the cult would mean losing your whole identity.”
“Yes.” I bit my lip, trying to read him. Over the last few weeks, I’d wondered about Atlas’ motive for wanting all this information. Why was Atlas so obsessed with knowing about mind control and cults? The gnawing feeling that it could be used to manipulate and exploit people made me draw in a deep sigh.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” Rubbing my forehead, I gave him a quick smile. “I’m just a little tired. I was on a red-eye from Utah this morning, so I didn’t get much sleep.”
“I’m sorry. How about you go home early today and catch up on your sleep?”
“Thank you.” I rolled my chair back to my computer. “Oh, by the way, do you know any good places to watch the Super Bowl this Sunday?”
“The Super Bowl. Eh, no, I’m not much of a football fan myself.”
“Ah, because you’re British.”
“Irish,” Atlas corrected me. “Now, if we’re talking rugby, it’s a different story. My brother Maximum is a semi-professional, and I love watching his games.”
I tilted my head. “What do you like about it? Is it the violence?”
Atlas frowned. “I wouldn’t say that.”
I wasn’t sure why, but it seemed my question about him liking violence made him tense up. I tried to smooth out the situation by joking, “Oh, come on. There’s a little caveman in all of us. Sport is our modern-day battleground. It’s nice to get an adrenaline kick out of a bit of aggression, don’t you think?”
He looked away. “I haven’t thought about it that way.”
My eyes went to my computer. “It’s okay. I’m sure every bar in town will be showing the Super Bowl.”
For a few minutes, we worked in silence, and then Atlas asked, “Have you ever been to a live Super Bowl game?”
I grinned. “You don’t know much about the NFL, do you? Super Bowl isn’t something normal people see live. We watch it on sports channels with friends at home or in a bar. It’s almost impossible to get tickets for a Super Bowl game, and even if you could, they’re so expensive that normal people would have to sell a kidney to afford them.”
