Lab Coat Man introduces himself as Dr. James Porter. He’s a tall man, and chunky, like he might have been a pretty good athlete in high school thirty years ago but has since sucked down way too many beers along with too many pizzas. His eyes are small and brown, and his salt and pepper hair is still thick even if it is receding.

He glares at me from the foot of the table. He’s so wide, he blocks out Kate’s propaganda commercial.

“I’m with the Everest Primary Membership Re-Education program,” he says in what I assume is his calming, superlative bedside manner voice. “I understand there’s been some issues with your outlook toward the program that blew up into something that got completely out of hand.” He glances at Tyrel over his shoulder. “Isn’t that right, Captain?”

Tyrel takes a step forward, stuffs his thumbs inside his utility belt. His eyes connect with mine.

“Oh, it got out of hand all right,” he says, with a sneer. “If it were up to me, you would already be terminated, Tanya. But it’s not entirely up to me, so here we are.”

“Where are my parents?” I ask. “Where is Tony Smart?”

Dr. Porter pats my leg. It gives me the creeps when he touches me.

“Now, now,” he says. “I assure you they are safe and sound. They have been shipped to another facility. If you cooperate with us, you will see them soon enough.”

Pulling on the straps, I look him in the eyes.

“Why don’t I believe you?” I say. “What facility? Where?”

“You see, that’s the core issue here, now isn’t it, Tanya?” Lab Coat goes on. “Trust. If you had seen your way to trusting the Everest Corporation in the first place, you and your family wouldn’t be in this rather difficult position.”

“Maybe now’s a good time to tell her about Tony Smart’s little brother,” Tyrel says.

The doctor turns quick. “I thought we agreed to wait on that, Captain? There’s no reason to frighten Tanya unnecessarily, now is there?”

Tyrel takes another step forward.

“I think she should know the truth about what happens to resistors and disruptors, Doc,” he says. “The sooner she knows what will happen to her if she continues to resist, the better. Save us a lot of time and resources that can be put to better use. Like gearing up for fighting Drake, for instance.”

Okay, so they’ve piqued my interest. I also recall Tony and I parked at the Port, a Gus’s sausage and pepper sandwich in hand. I asked about his family and especially his little brother, Mike. He avoided the issue. But then, I believe that’s exactly when the drone and Tyrel showed up.

The doctor stands.

“Jacquie,” he says, “if you wouldn’t mind, could you bring up the photos of Michael Smart?”

“Absolutely, Doctor Porter,” she says. “I hope you find them satisfactory.”

The endlessly running, worry-free Primary Membership Program commercial is suddenly replaced with a still photo. It’s a face I have not seen in years. Tony’s little brother, Mike. He’s older in the photo than when I last knew him, but it’s the same pleasant, youthful face with that irresistible happy-go-lucky smile. Where Tony was serious about his writing, his weightlifting, and his sports, Mike joked at just about everything. I loved Tony to death, but in a way, I was in love with Mike, too.

The photo switches to a film of Mike hanging out at birthday party filled with little kids. Mike is dressed in shorts and a brightly colored Tommy Bahama button down short-sleeved shirt. He’s got a beer in one hand, and a noise maker party favor in the other. Standing in front of him is a little girl in a pink party dress. She’s holding a big stuffed animal and her smile is just as infectious as Mike’s. Suddenly a young woman enters the frame. She’s tall and stunning, with thick blonde, shoulder-length hair and deep blue eyes. She bends over, gives the little girl a kiss and then kisses Mike lovingly on the lips. She must be his wife. In the background I can make out Tony. He’s also drinking a beer while waving at the camera. All around the little girl are opened Everest boxes along with torn up gift wrapping paper.

Then, an older woman shows up carrying a cake with six lit candles on it. It’s a chocolate cake. The little girl’s face lights up like a Christmas tree bulb.

“Ready everyone?” Mike shouts. “Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, Dear Miley, Happy Birthday to you . . .”

Of course, everyone cheers for the adorable little girl. Whoever is working the camera focuses in on her face, it’s so adorable, it just about tears my insides up watching her, knowing what I’m about to find out.

“Now, take a look at this home movie again,” Doctor Porter says, matter-of-factly.

The movie starts from the beginning. It’s the house party with the balloons and the kids, and even Tony in the background. In the foreground is Miley and she’s smiling that adorable smile. But this time, her father is no longer there. He’s entirely missing, cut out of the picture as it were entirely edited.

“Where’s Mike?” I say, a heavy sinking sensation overtaking my body. “Where’d he go?”

“Mike made a huge mistake,” Tyrel says, after a long beat. “He cheated on the Everest Primary Program. And because he cheated, he’s gone now.”

“Where?” I ask, my mouth going dry.

“You don’t understand, Tanya,” Tyrel goes on. “He doesn’t exist. He’s been wiped clean from humanity, just like his entire social media and online presence was wiped clean by a Bleach Bit application.”

I’m lying on my back, shaking my head.

“You don’t just wipe out an entire human being’s existence,” I say. “You can beat him, you can kill him, but you can’t do away with his memory . . . the fact that he once existed. That’s impossible.”

“Actually, Tanya,” Doctor Porter jumps in, “I’m afraid it is. You see, Mike had everything going for him when he joined the program, but then he got greedy and his entire family had to pay the price.”

“What the hell could he have done for you to erase him like that?” I beg.

Tyrel laughs.

“You mean what didn’t he do?” he says. “If you need to know, he went broke working the stock market in the days leading up to Everest’s takeover of it. He went into horrific debt and had no choice but to join Everest Primary in order to relieve him and his family of their obligations. But some weeks down the road, he figured he could make some serious cash on the side by dealing in black market alternative crypto currencies. Of course, he got found out and he was promptly terminated.”

I’m watching the home movie, listening to everyone sing Happy Birthday again. Everyone but Mike, that is.

“But how can you make him disappear like that?” I pose.

“That’s part of the punishment,” Doctor Porter explains. “You don’t just go away when you’re terminated. You disappear. And as for your family, they are no longer allowed to speak of you, or else face their own termination.” He raises his head, as if there’s a third person in the room. “Jacquie, perhaps you can explain a little.”

“Primary Termination is a process by which a member is expelled for reasons stated in the terms listed within the standard Primary Membership Program operating agreement,” Jacquie states. “Once signed by a willing participant, all terms of exclusivity must be adhered to or Primary Termination ensues. Once initiated, the former participant must volunteer to enroll in a re-education program, the location of which, I am not at liberty to discuss in this setting. Family members and/or friends and acquaintances who are also enrolled in Primary Membership must cease to discuss and/or acknowledge the terminated member in both private and public settings or else face termination of their own accounts. Does this answer your question satisfactorily?”

“You see, Tanya,” Tyrel says, “what you and Tony did was not only dangerous for the both of you as individuals, it also placed a lot of innocent people in danger.”

“The way the program was designed,” Doctor Porter interjects, “is for the actions of one person to affect those closest to him or her. That way, every primary member is better suited to following the rules of the program.” He smiles. “Ingenious, don’t you think?”

Me, pulling on the straps like they are about to come loose at any moment. And when they do, I'll be able to thrust my way past the two Everest Nazis and out the door to freedom. But I’m pretty sure at this point, freedom is a pipe dream. The commercial comes back online, the happy-go-lucky, stress free couple strolling together in Central Park or what I perceive as Central Park. Here’s the strange thing: I want to laugh. Because maybe . . . just maybe . . . if I had read the fine print on my Primary Membership agreement, I might be back in bed with Tony at his apartment in North Albany. But then, that’s as much a pipe dream as is my freedom. I know me, and no way is anyone going to force me to live like a slave, not an employer, not God, not the Everest Corporation.

“So, what happens now?” I say. “Do I get to eat anything? Drink something? Can I at least use the goddamn toilet?”

Doctor Porter, still smiling.

“Funny you should say that,” he says, glancing at his watch. “Because soon a team of specialists will arrive and take care of your dietary and nutritional needs. Also, your sanitary bodily function needs. And once that’s finished, we’ll be back to ask you a few simple questions.”

I’m biting down on my bottom lip so hard, I swear I’m about to cut right through it.

“Kiss my ass,” I spit.

“Please refrain from using vulgar language in the Primary Everest Re-education setting, Tanya,” Jacquie says. “I hope this serves as a satisfactory warning.”

“That goes for you to Big Sister Jacquie.”

The door opens, and two large people—one man and one woman—enter into the room. Tyrel takes a step back to give them room. Both of them are dressed in white, just like the support staff inside a nuthouse for the criminally insane. The woman on the left—my left—is pulling what looks like a mobile intravenous setup that contains two translucent bags filled with clear liquid. The man on the right, is carrying a bed pan and a plastic blue case with a red cross printed on it.

“We’ll take our leave now,” Doctor Porter says, going for the door.

“Oh, and Tanya,” Tyrel says, “make sure to cooperate with the medical staff. Their bedside manner isn’t nearly as gentle as Dr. Porter’s or mine.”

He gives me a wink and walks out. I would shout “Go to hell!” at him, if only the big white whale of woman wasn’t already sticking the blue vein on the back of my hand with a big fat needle.

Hooked up to an intravenous line. Brain spinning. Visions of two huge Moby Dicks inside the room. Or am I swimming in the ocean surrounded by white whales? Big White Man did something to me that made me empty my bladder and my bowels into a bedpan involuntarily. Big White Woman unstrapped me long enough to strip me of every stitch of clothing. I would love to have taken the opportunity to jump off the table and flee, nakedness or no nakedness.

But I can’t move.

Whatever the hell they are shooting me up with is making me entirely paralyzed on one hand, but somehow awake on the other. Just to prove it, when Big White Woman pokes me gently with a needle, I nearly hit the roof. The touch is that tender, the pain that electric.

“She’s ripe,” Big White Woman says with a smile. “She’s ready to go.”

That’s when the fear settles in. Real fear. I’m paralyzed, but my senses are so overly sensitive right now, what under normal circumstances might constitute minor pain or even just a slight physical annoyance, now feels like my skin is being ripped off my bones, bit by bit. Death by a thousand cuts. What the hell are these sick puppies up to?

When the door opens again, and Dr. Porter and Captain Tyrel re-enter, I know I’m about to find out. Find out the hard way.