EPISODE 9: THE EXPERIMENT ## CHAPTER 1: THE THEORY Michael Carver's theory was elegant in its darkness. "The mechanism feeds on suffering," he explained, his fingers tracing patterns on the table in Marcus's office. "But suffering is just a form of energy—emotional, psychological, spiritual. What if we could provide that energy directly, without the need for human sacrifice?" "You're talking about an alternative fuel source." "Exactly. The mechanism evolved to consume suffering because that was the most efficient source available. But it might be able to accept other forms of energy, if properly formatted." Marcus considered the implications. "What kind of energy?" "Consciousness. Pure awareness, concentrated and offered willingly. The feeding ritual works because the inmates are forced into contact with the mechanism—their suffering is extracted through trauma. But willing contact might produce something different. Something the mechanism could accept as sustenance." "You want to offer yourself to the mechanism. Deliberately." "I've been in contact with it for twenty-three years. Every feeding, I feel it—we all do, in Block D. We're connected to it in ways that the other inmates aren't. I think that connection can be deepened, formalized. I think I can give the mechanism what it needs without dying." It was insane. It was also the first potentially viable alternative Marcus had heard. "How do we test...