"You deserve this." "You do." "You've earned it." "I can do all things." "All things." "Come on." "Come on." "Come on." "I am the Invigilator." "Listen carefully to every word I say." "There will be no repetition." "I won't apologize for the hardships you've endured reaching this room." "The pressures and the pains were necessary." "Resilience is a key attribute in these dark times, and if you can't survive our selection process, you won't survive in the job." "Many highly qualified candidates have tried to reach this point and failed." "You have succeeded, and now the final stage lies before you." "One last hurdle separates you from your goal, which is to join our esteemed ranks." "The test is simple in comparison, yet it will determine who leaves this room with a contract of employment and who leaves with the bus fare home." "Through these trials, you've gained some idea of the power of this organization, so believe me when I tell you that there is no law in this room but our law." "And the only rules in here are our rules." "There is one question before you, and one answer is required." "If you try to communicate with myself or the guard, you will be disqualified." "If you spoil your paper, intentionally or accidentally, you will be disqualified." "If you choose to leave this room for any reason, you will be disqualified." "Any questions?" "Best of luck, ladies and gentlemen." "We're giving the eight of you 80 minutes... 80 minutes for you to convince us you have what it takes to join us," "80 minutes to determine the next 80 years of your lives." "Begin." "I'm not finished." "No." "Please." "You can't!" "This isn't a proper test!" "Please, I'll start over." "Just give me a chance." "Hey." "Listen, listen, listen." "Listen." "It's not about what he said, you know." "It's what he didn't say." ""If you attempt," all right, "to communicate"..." "With myself or the guard..." ""You will be disqualified."" "He didn't say" "We can't speak to each other." "Now you're talking." "Is this the ultimate mind-fuck or what?" "So has anyone figured out the answer yet?" "No." "Because it's not about the answer." "It's about the question." "What is the question?" "We've got 74 minutes left to figure that out." "Assuming the answer takes 1 minute to write down." "If it takes 73 minutes to write, we have 1 minute to guess the question." "We're short on writing space." "I'm betting it's the former." "We've got to help each other." "Why?" "We're in competition." "Why should I help you to beat me?" "Well, all right." "We may be in competition to answer the question, but to establish the question, we have to work together." "We have to cooperate." "They expect us to cooperate, don't they?" "I mean, what did you expect?" "That you were gonna win this job, with and all the rewards that come with it, a job you'd fucking kill for, by giving them a little simple written answer?" "Facts and opinions?" "Compare and contrast?" "No, no." "They're not looking for that." "A job like this, right, it needs initiative, observation, interplay." "Teamwork." "He's right." "We're in a stress scenario, a confusing, time-critical situation designed to test our intelligence and resilience." "To bring out the worst in us, you mean." "Or the best." "We help each other until the playing field is open." "And then it's each man for themselves." "No offense, girls." "Are we agreed?" "Yes." "Agreed." "Let's go, Gandhi." "My name is not Gandhi, friend." "It's" "Uh-uh." "No names in here." "Well, not real ones anyway." "I mean, it's not written on this." "So there's got to be a reason for that, hasn't there?" "We'll use nicknames then." "Yeah, all right." "Let's make this easy." "We already have numbers." "Yeah, and visual." "You're Black." "I'm White." "You're Brown." "We got Blonde here," "Brunette there." "Dark, I suppose." "And then last as well as least, we got Deaf." "Tough last round." "Yeah, whatever." "Any objections?" "Apart from your grossly insensitive sexual and racial stereotyping?" "Well, if you're the sensitive type, you shouldn't be here, love." "I'll take Brown over Gandhi, if it gets us talking about something that matters." "All right, I'll take that as a yes." "So what else hasn't he forbidden?" "He hasn't forbidden us to stand, has he?" "Well, I guess moving about is okay too." "What's that going to achieve?" "I don't know, Brown, but sitting wasn't getting us anywhere exciting, was it?" "What if the question is written down, and we just can't see it?" " Ah, see, that's what I'm talking about." "Thank you." "You mean like invisible ink?" "Or a watermark." "It's possible." "It's probable, I'd say." "Where else could it be hidden?" "We'd need something to reveal it, like light." "Right." "Those are halogen." "Those aren't." "They won't bite, you know?" "Yeah, they're not gonna make it that easy, are they?" "We're on the clock." "How hard can they afford to make it?" "What if the pencil isn't just for writing the answer?" "What if it reveals the question too, by shading the page, like tracing paper?" "Try it, Blonde." "No." "Remember what he said." "If you spoil your paper, intentionally or accidentally..." "You'll be disqualified." "Now, is anyone certain they know what his definition of spoiling is?" "Look, come on, let's crack this, all right?" "Throw out some ideas." "What if the questions are hidden in the paper but each one is different, so each of us has to write a different answer?" "He said..." "There is one question before you, and one answer is required." "That doesn't mean it's the same question for each of us." "There could be eight different questions and answers." "Yeah, all right, let's cross that bridge later." "If we find one question, we can find them all." "Not necessarily, not if our eight individual questions can only be revealed using eight different methods." "Perhaps we're not meant to cooperate at all." "Oh, I like that idea." "Or there could be only one question printed on only one of our sheets." "Then we'd need to cooperate at the highest level." "Time-out for some testing." "Everyone up to the light." "Look, I told you." "They're not gonna make it that easy, are they?" "Unless you want to make a list of our brain waves, White," "I suggest we cross off a few as we go." "Fine." "Allow me." "Thank you." "Yeah, join in any time, Deaf." "You're not one for small talk, are you?" "Come on." "Yeah, all right, relax." "You'll get it back." "All right, like I said," "I think we can strike light off the list." "Light is a spectrum." "There's light we can see, but there's also light we can't see, like ultraviolet, infrared, x-rays." "Mate, look, if we can't see it, how are we supposed to find it?" "The source must be visible, even if the light isn't." "Right?" "Find the light switches." "There aren't any." "Not in here anyway, and..." "If you choose to leave this room for any reason..." "We'll be disqualified." "There must be some way to trigger these." "This is emergency lighting." "So let's create an emergency." "That would be very risky." "Well, it's less risky than doing nothing, isn't it?" "He is right." "If we try this and fail, we can't go back." "Blackout." "We vote." "Those too." "Nice." "Very nice." "Touch of blue what you wanted?" "This is black light, the kind credit card firms use to reveal their security symbols." "Yeah, well, it's a shame we didn't apply to work for Visa." "Our gamble might have paid off." "It did pay off, just not in the way you wanted." "You acted, and the room reacted." "We've entered a dialogue now." "We should keep going." "Yeah, maybe." "Maybe not." "Sorry, it was invisible light you said you wanted, yeah?" "Because this looks pretty fucking visible to me." "The scientific term for it is "near-ultraviolet."" "It didn't work, but it was worth trying." "Well, if nothing else, we should come out of here with great tans." "We've got to knock these out too." "The top halves of these strips aren't lit." "Look." "Infrared, the other option." "That exposes something too?" "It's less common than UV, but yes." "Art historians use it to make reflectograms of sketch outlines beneath paintings." "If there's a hidden layer in our papers..." "Carefully." "Let me guess." "Near-infrareds?" "All right, everyone." "Try again." "Anyone?" "Anything?" "No." "No." "Shit!" "Okay, now can we please get off the lighting?" "If you can provide a better alternative." "Any alternative." "We've burned a quarter of our time already." " Perhaps the company's Japanese-owned, and this is an origami exam." "Be our guest." "That sheet is yours to spoil." "Yes, it is." "But only your sheet." "It's a piece of paper." "No, this is more than that now, isn't it?" "This is experimental material." "If you spoil..." "Your paper." "You will be disqualified." "This isn't mine." "This is hers." ""Oh, it's not fair!"" "And she's gone." "So..." "Tracing." "Tracing." "Well, congratulations, Blonde." "Your idea sucks too." "This could all be a distraction, you know?" "We could be missing something obvious." "Yeah, yeah, yeah." "All right, all right." "Okay, light does not work." "Lead does not work." "Liquid." "Oh, yeah." "All right." "Lick it." "Spit on it." "Get it wet, all right?" "If the question's watermarked, maybe we need some kind of liquid to bring it out." "What are you going to do with yours?" "You don't want to know, mate." "Actually, we do." "Well, you can come and watch." "You can hold it for me, if you like, although I'd prefer if Blonde did." "That's disgusting." "By any means necessary, right, brother?" "If we can do it, I say we should." "That's not gonna burn the question out, you know?" "Urine's sterile." "You can drink it." "Wish you would." "Oh, great." "Pissing contest." "Anything?" "I can't tell yet." "It's all yellow." "Hold it up and let us see." "Well, if you lend me a glove, I'll oblige." "Well, I'm running out of ideas." "Giving up so easily, Black, with 57 minutes on the clock?" "You should be ashamed of your" "You know what" "Will you two shut up?" "Some of us are trying to think." "At last, he speaks." "He's French." "Vous voyez la?" "Can anyone speak French?" "Vous voyez la?" ""Can you see?"" "Vous voyez?" "Regardez bien." ""Can you see it in there?"" "See what in there?" "See what?" "What?" "Pretty colors?" "Vous-meme." ""Yourself."" "Vous vous voyez." ""It shows you yourself."" "And then there were six." "Leave him alone." "He's done nothing to you." "Well, he's done nothing for me either, has he?" "Or any of us for that matter." "Nutter." "C'est vous..." "Toujours y voir clairement est primordial." ""To see clearly is all."" "All right, all right." "That's enough out of you, Sartre, all right?" "Fucking philosophers." "Thank God that this world belongs to the doers and not the thinkers." "Since we're proposing grand theories now, let me advance one of my own." "This is not an exam, not in the conventional sense anyway." "Look around." "You couldn't ask for a more representative group to qualify for the final stage." "Four men and four women entered this room, all from differing cultures and ethnic backgrounds, possessing a healthy mixture of skill sets." "How convenient that is." "How staged." "What are you saying?" "That they rigged the tests to bring us all together?" "Some kind of experiment in group dynamics." "What are you talking about?" "I'm saying this is a game." "And they're betting on us." "Right, and who's they?" "The board." "I'd guess they're watching us right now." "They'll be ex-VCs mostly, probably left the incubator when they realized their little start-up had struck the mother lode." "Wouldn't get any sweeter than this, I'm sure, so they joined the board, secured some big fat stock options, and bought themselves the right to have a little fun... with us." "You don't think they have better things to do with their time?" "Like what?" "At their level, money ceases to be the prime motivator." "It's risk they live for." "They're type As, like us, and just as they were trained by their investment companies, they're still betting on ideas today:" "ours." "Who'll decipher the question?" "Who'll come up empty and fold?" "And who'll crack under the pressure?" "Could be wrong." "Could just be the Invigilator behind there." "Wanna bet?" "I wouldn't if I were you." "Brown talks like a gambler because he is one." "A professional, aren't you?" "And you, Dark, are a shrink." "Psychologist or psychiatrist?" "I forget the difference." "Psychiatrists dispense drugs to control mood." "I'm a qualified student of human behavior." "Then you should know what I'm talking about." "The point of having power is to exercise it in all of its forms." "We're pawns of the gods in here." "Oh, look, so what?" "This changes nothing." "Yeah." "Games are played to be won, as a team." "Yeah, or as individuals." "Not if the only way for them to win is for us to lose, all of us." "Have you thought about that?" "You're wrong." "There is no them watching us." "The CEO is hands-on." "He micromanages anything of importance to his company, and this is no ordinary selection process." "We're special." "If anyone's back there besides the Invigilator, it's him." "Everyone else is a secretary in his structure, even board members." "That's how he likes it." "How do you know all this?" "We're wasting time here." "There's 50 minutes left on the clock, and we're no closer to finding the question." "Somehow I suspect my question relates to the question." "So answer me." "How did you learn that information?" "Same way you learned about the board, I expect." "I don't know anything about the board." "I made an educated guess, but you, you know who the CEO is and what he's like." "How come?" "How come you don't?" "Well, how could we?" "We were headhunted, weren't we?" "Why?" "Weren't you?" "Of course not." "I heard there was a vacancy and applied." "I thought we all did." "Are you saying you want to work for this company and jumped through every hoop to get here, but you don't know who they are?" " Well, look, they listed salary and benefits, okay?" "The job description detailed," ""A high level of responsibility in a Fortune 500 company" ""manufacturing state-of-the-art technology in a core service industry."" "That's it, all right?" "You didn't want to know any more than that?" "The deal was no questions asked." "Yeah, anyway, we trust our agents." "Anyone would have done the same in our position, anyone with balls." "You all applied?" "Yeah." "If this job is so prestigious, why the need to advertise?" "They didn't." "We have our sources." "All right, looks like we're a little bit outnumbered here." "Well, I wouldn't cry about it." "You've got the edge over us now." "Oh, really?" "How'd you work that one out?" "Well, you're wanted, aren't you?" "They invited you to apply." "See, I'd say we're disadvantaged because you showed the initiative to apply." "We're behind the curve now." "So tell us what you know, starting with a complete job description." "We don't have that information." "Oh, right, and you expect us to believe that?" "We don't know any more about the job than you do." "We just know about the company, and believe me, the worst job with them beats the best anyone else can offer." "He's right." "Who they are, who the CEO is and what he's achieved, that's all you need to know." "All right, then, so tell us about him." "I'll give you a clue." "Ten years ago, a lot of healthy young people around the world got sick and started dying." "You may have read about that." "Then a medical researcher patented a virus suppressant." "The mortality rate halved in six months, and now his company is the biggest player in the global health industry with a turnover of $20 billion and a market capitalization of $60 billion." "If it was a nation-state, it would rank as the world's eighth largest economy." "Next year, that rises to sixth." "You may have read about that too." "Bi-Org?" "80 minutes..." "To determine the next 80 years of your lives." "Remember?" "Longevity is what they do." "Antisense drugs, gene therapy, microsurgical applications." "Bullshit." "They announced a hiring freeze last year." "Everyone knows that." "Publicly, that's true." "Privately, they're expanding again, gearing up for a big push of some kind." "They've found a cure." "They must have." "Manufacturing and marketing would triple in size for the rollout." "There'd be jobs for all of us." "We don't know that." "But it's possible, isn't it?" "How long would FDA approval take if it's true?" "Do you know?" "That's not my field." "Whoa, hold on." "Why are you so interested?" "Is there something you want to tell us?" "If you're asking am I infected, White, the answer is no." "I'm clean." "Oh, right." "But someone you know isn't, right?" "We all know somebody with the virus." "That's why they call it a pandemic." "Nice evasive maneuver, but we're actually talking about you and the real reason you're here." "Yeah." "So what relative is it?" "Is it your mum?" "Your dad?" "Little sister" "It's my partner, okay?" "He can't afford the suppressants, but they're discounted to employees." "Are you happy now?" "So who else is a charity case here?" "Hmm?" "Yeah, you wouldn't speak up if you were, would you?" "You wouldn't want to commit career suicide on camera like she just has." "With a little help from you." "What?" "Hold on." "I didn't create her situation." "I've just exposed it." "Doesn't matter." "If she gets the answer right, she's still hired, like the rest of us." "Oh, really?" "What?" "Says who?" "What?" "What?" "Them?" "If memory serves me correct..." "The only rules in here are our rules." "They can disqualify everyone, okay?" "They can do whatever they like, and we can't do a thing about it." "So congratulations." "You have just disqualified yourself without breaking any rules." "Now, he won't kick you out, but you are dead in the water, honey." "Dead in the water." "Don't listen to him." "We'll get through this together, all right?" "Thanks, but I don't need your help, because my situation isn't a weakness." "It's a strength." "I'm sure they're smart enough to realize that." "And if I could talk to the CEO," "I would assure him that the treatment my partner needs will only deepen my commitment to his organization for years to come." "You really think he's behind there?" "He's lived behind walls for years." "No one outside his inner circle has even seen him since the IPO." "If he wanted to hire an assistant, this is the way he'd do it." "What are you doing?" "Proving my worth." "You may have run out of ideas, but I haven't." "Don't even try talking to him." "I'm not gonna talk to him." "Is there anything in there, or is he just happy to see you?" "What have we here?" "Is that all?" "Heat may have an effect if the papers have been chemically treated." "If we warmed them from beneath" "It's not heat and chemicals, Black." "It's just chemicals." "What are you talking about?" "H20?" "We've already tried H20." "It's in all our bodily fluids." "We don't know what these pipes are connected to." "You could pump any liquid through them." "Come on, Einstein." "Good Lord." "You're right." "These aren't infrared at all." "These are safelights, common standard-issue safelights." "We're in a darkroom." "This room is a great, big darkroom." "And this must be photographic paper." "Meaning we can develop it?" "You hope." "Developing photos isn't a one-stage process." "It takes chemical baths, fixing agents." "For color photography." "To pull black letters from a white background, all you need is developing fluid, nothing more." "Let's do this." "I'm in." "Even if she's right, am I the only one who thinks a chemical shower is a bad idea?" "It'll be diluted." "I doubt they want to hire damaged goods." "But covering your eyes, nose, and mouth may be wise." "They're not the only things worth covering." "Oh, that's it." "Join in at last." "You're deaf but not dumb, eh?" "No worries, love." "Let me." "Let's go." "Well?" "It could take a few moments." "Where's my paper?" "Has anyone seen my paper?" "No." "You bastard!" "Bastard!" "How could you?" "How could you?" "Bastard!" "What did you just do?" "What I had to." "I should punch your lights out." "Black, what did you do?" "It's not what he did." "It's what he said." "What?" ""Lights out."" "So..." "Lights up." "That's better." "Lights out." "Lights up." "Voice-activated." "They're playing with us." "Great, isn't it?" "Okay, from now on, everybody, watch what you say." "And do." "Up one minute, down the next." "Can't write on this anymore, can you?" "Go on, try it." "All right, don't then." "Are you hungry, mate?" "Oi, are you hungry?" "I am." "I'm really hungry." "There's no snack machines in here, though, are there?" "Go on, rip it up." "Oi, rip it up." "Hey." "What did I tell you before?" "She said leave him alone, White." "That's it, hold it." "Hold it." "That's it, hold it." "Tear it up." "Rip it up." "White, will you stop?" "Tear it." "Go on, like that." "Tear it." "That's it." "There, there, there, there." "I won't tell you again, White!" "That's it." "That's a good boy." "Go on." "Go on." "Go on, more, more, more." "Put it in your mouth." "S'il vous plait." "S'il..." "S'il vous plait." "And then there were five." ""Bastard" doesn't do you justice." "You said we should cooperate until we discovered the question." "Ah, so I lied." "All right, I lied." "So what?" "Lying is not against the rules, is it?" "Anyway, you don't have to listen to me, let alone agree or obey." "You should thank me." "All of you should thank me, okay?" "I've just narrowed down the field, so your odds improve." "Odds mean nothing without the question in front of us." "And you can forget about any more help from us in finding it." "No, no, no." "I don't need your help." "I think you'll find it's you who needs my help." "You know why?" "'Cause I've figured it out." "Oh, really?" "The question?" "What is it, then?" "Tell us." "Why should I?" "Because if you don't," "I'll beat it out of you." "You're full of shit, White." "You have been from the start." "You don't know anything." "He wouldn't tell us if he did because he's a narcissist." "He despises us." "Sticks and stones, love." "Yeah, I bet you say that to all the boys, don't you?" "Only the ones with narcissistic personality disorder." "There are nine character traits to look for, arrogance, grandiosity, a belief in one's uniqueness, a preoccupation with power and success, an excessive need to be admired, a sense of entitlement, lack of empathy," "and the twin tendencies to envy and exploit others." "For clinical diagnosis, a patient must exhibit five of these." "You tick enough boxes." "Well, you can add a tenth to that list, the tendency to see through all the bullshit that surrounds you and rise above it." "I'll tick that box myself." "Let me tick it for you." "That was smart." "That was necessary." "We may need him." "He's a resource, if nothing else." "You don't like someone?" "Outwit them." "He's an enemy of the group and a distraction." "You gonna give me a hand?" "One, two..." "What are you doing?" "Ensuring that he can't cause any more trouble when he wakes up." "And taking him out of the game." "That hardly seems fair." "He sacrificed his right to fair treatment." "Forward a bit." "See?" "I put him down, and suddenly we're cooperating again." "He's a talker." "We could go further than this." "She's right." "We could carry him to the door and slide him out." "He ejected two of us." "Why shouldn't we eject him?" "Call it justice, or karma if you prefer." "You don't believe in forgiveness?" "I'll be happy to forgive him afterwards." "And your gospel of cooperation?" "I will tolerate anyone, except the intolerant." "Those in favor... 50/50." "To each his own." "Okay, if you can't think selflessly about this, think selfishly." "The Invigilator said..." "If you choose to leave this room for any reason, you will be disqualified." "He's not choosing to leave, is he?" "You're choosing for him, which puts you at risk too." "Go on, White, spoil yourself." "It's your turn." "Go on." "Make your mark." "Look, we have less than half an hour left, and we still don't know the question." "He claims to know the question." "Shut up!" "I need medication." "It's in my pocket." "What kind of medication?" "What does it matter?" "Well..." "Look, it's a pill." "All right, it's a pill." "I need to take it every hour, on the hour, okay, and that's right now." "Every hour, on the hour?" "Only one condition is treated that way." "You're infected too, aren't you?" "Well, that's more than justice." "That's poetic justice." "Look, if you don't believe me, just untie my arms so I can fucking take the pill." "Go on!" "Nice try." "It's pathetic, actually." "All right, take it yourself." "Go on." "Get it for me yourself." "It's in my left pocket." "Come on, I'll do what you want." "Just do it." "Really?" "Tell us what the question is, then." "All right, I'll tell you." "Get the pill, and I'll tell you." "Come on, fucking do it!" "Go on." "It's in my left pocket." "Go on, try again." "It's in there." "Go on." "...The fuck is it?" "Fuck." "Has one of you taken it?" "One of you has fucking taken it!" "This isn't funny!" "You know what happens when you don't take suppressants." "Unconsciousness, convulsions, shock, coma, then death." "We know exactly what happens, and the process takes hours, not minutes." "Listen, listen, mate, listen." "I'll be out of it for good, all right?" "A taste of your own medicine." "Come on." "Don't do it." "Don't do it, mate." "Look on the bright side, brother." "If you start to convulse, we'll know you're telling the truth." "Then we'll gladly help you." "Looks like you got your wish." "For now." "He had to be dealt with, one way or another." "I wouldn't be surprised if he was a plant all along." "It's the kind of thing they'd do to stir up our internal dynamics, to set us against one another." "If so, we've seized back the initiative." "Or you have." "See, he's not smart enough to be a plant." "But you on the other hand..." "You think she's one of them?" "Don't be absurd." "I told you." "I'm a psychologist." "You claimed to be a qualified student of psychology, not a practitioner." "I've studied psychology too and reverse psychology." "What better way to hide your true role in this farce than to accuse another candidate of playing your part?" "I don't know what you're talking about." "Amateur psychology is a useful tool for gamblers, but a degree in the subject, well, that sounds like the perfect foundation for a career in, say, human resources." "You're on the wrong side of the glass, aren't you?" "He's the one who manipulated us." "Maybe you work as a team." "Yeah, he's got the mouth, yeah." "But you, you know an awful lot about Bi-Org Pharmaceuticals." " I told you." "I applied." "So did we." "And I do my research." "So did we." "Any one of us could be plants but not all of us." "At least one candidate has to be genuine for the test to be viable." "That would be me." "And me." "My point is, we can't prove anyone's guilt or innocence, so it's a waste of time to try." "If we can't maintain trust and cooperation, we're through." "Trust has to be earned, sister." "We never had cause to trust each other in the first place." "Trust is a choice." "We can choose to keep cooperating if necessary." "I think it's necessary." "We have no other option." "See, trust makes me nervous." "I prefer proof." "What the fuck are you doing?" "What are you doing?" "Get off me!" "Are you insane?" " Get off me!" "Brown, why are you doing this?" "Because I like winning." "Now tell us the truth, Dark." "Please." "You said we have to trust each other." "Now you're gonna stand there while he interrogates me?" "Looks like it." "They want to know too." "Further denials will only waste time." "Confess, and I'll release you," "I promise." "Okay, I work for them, but they didn't put me in here." "I heard about the job internally and applied like everyone else." "Not everyone." "Tell us what we want to know." "I can't tell you anything because I don't know anything." "HR doesn't cover the CEO's office." "He hires his staff personally." "I'm not lying." "I want to step up as badly as you do." "Like I said." "Trust is a devalued currency in here." "What proof can I possibly give you?" "You know, it's funny how something so simple and inoffensive as a piece of paper, when placed in the wrong hands, can become a deadly weapon, all from one slice of a tree." "What are you doing?" "What has to be done within the time remaining." "You're gonna torture me?" "Do something!" "Please!" "Brown, what are you doing?" "I know what I'm doing." "Meaning what?" "You've done this before?" "In the services, yeah." "I thought you were a gambler." "All soldiers are gamblers." "See, I find the flesh of the inner thigh especially sensitive." "Fuck you!" "Get off me!" "All right, stop this." "This can't be our only option." "No, it isn't." "It's mine." "What have we here?" "It seems you got there before me." "What?" "Undervalued at work and at home?" "Daddy didn't love you." "Hmm?" "So you studied psychology to find out why." "Tell me I'm wrong." "No, actually on second thoughts, don't answer that." "Answer this." "What is the question?" "I don't know!" "You're lying!" "I don't know!" "I swear!" "What is the question?" "What is the purpose of this exam?" "Do you think I'd volunteer if the only way for you to solve this was to beat it out of me?" "How fucked up are you?" "With 20 minutes left, this fucked up." "Okay, enough." "That's enough." "Don't interfere." "For God's sake, she's a woman." "Equal opportunities, Black." "HR wouldn't expect anything less, would they?" "Oh, by all means, ask him for help." "It's nothing personal." "I just need to know what you know." "Brown, don't do this." "There must be another way." "We need certainty, the kind only unbearable pain can give." "I've told you everything I know!" "Please, stop!" "Or the threat of it." "She's telling the truth." "Sorry." "Here." "Thank you." "You wanted convulsions." "Now you've got them." "You think he's faking it?" "It's genuine." "How do you know?" "My wife, she died from it." "I'm a carrier." "He's not faking." "Even liars tell the truth occasionally." "He really needs that pill, doesn't he?" "Fast." "If anyone took it, own up now." "All right, if we can't trust each other, we'll have to search each other." "Nothing." "Got any gum?" "Sorry." "I'm all out." "Really?" "All soldiers are gamblers, and all gamblers are cheats, I've found, given the opportunity." "I took a calculated risk." "You're as bad as he is." "No, he's worse." "There was never any pretense about White." "Let's think about this selfishly again, huh?" "While he's dying?" "That's not selfishness." "That's murder." "Coma comes before death, right?" "I mean, people recover from comas, yeah?" "Not this kind." "Sink too deep, and it's irreversible, but that pill mimics an adrenaline shot to the heart." "If you're gonna do it, do it now." "Have you forgotten what you said about him?" "We're not releasing him." "We're saving his life." "Let her go!" "Afraid I can't do that." "I can see it, but I can't reach." "Let me try." "Obviously the gods agree with my risk assessment." "Is he unconscious?" "He's lapsing." "We have to carry him out for treatment." "Bi-Org will understand." "Trust me." "Are you gonna help me?" "Fine." "You can live with his death on your consciences." "I can't." "He's bleeding." "What does that mean?" "I don't know." "I haven't seen this before, but it can't be good." "Do something, Black!" " Like what?" "I'm not a doctor." "Help him, please!" "Can't you see he's dying?" "No!" "I work for you!" "I work here!" "You weren't wrong about that pill." "Hey." "If you can hear me, nod your" "Fuckers." "I have it too, brother." "Yeah, well, don't expect me to thank you." "You have her to thank, not me." "Well, I would've preferred a kiss of life." "Bet you're good at that, aren't you?" "Well..." "Four down and four to go, and only ten minutes on the clock." "It's exciting." "I felt you take it, you know?" "Is the room not big enough for both of us?" "That's the spirit, Brown." "If you remember me taking it, you'll remember the promise you made us." "Blonde gave you the pill as requested." "Now give us what we asked for in return." "The question?" "What is it?" "Where is it?" "You still don't get it, do you?" "Let me spell this out for you." "There is no question." "All right?" "There never was one." "Well, not the kind you're looking for anyway." "That's what you've been holding back?" "That's your big secret?" "Mm-hmm." "You heard the Invigilator." "There is one question before you, and one answer is required." "There is one question!" "You're calling him a liar?" "When you've eliminated the impossible, whatever is left has to be the truth, doesn't it?" "No matter how crazy it seems." "This test is the question." "And the answer is us." "We're the answers." "Answers?" "Plural?" "If I recall..." "One answer is required." "Singular." "That's right." "Just one of us." "You wouldn't dare." "Whoa!" "Whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa!" "Everybody calm down, yeah?" "Seconded." "Crikey." "All right, all right, all right." "You're not gonna shoot me." "I didn't take it to shoot you." "I took it to stop you from using it on us." "Let me tell you what I think." "I think we're the answers too, all of us together, as a team." "I think we'd all passed when we walked in here, and all each of us can do today is lose what we've already won through selfishness, stupidity, and impatience." "Deaf was right." "We see what we want to see in here." "You're a fighter, so all you can think about is being the last man standing, but they never said there was only one position available." "Yeah, yeah, yeah, all right." "I see what I want to see, Black." "And you hear what you want to hear, all right?" "But answer me this, brother." "What corporation doesn't know how many positions it's got available?" "What CEO can't decide whether he wants one assistant or eight?" "There's only one job going in his office, you know that?" "And the rest is fantasy." "White, stay back." "This ain't worth killing for." "You seem to think it is." "Is it?" "Worth dying for?" "Put the gun down, Black." "You started this." "Now it's in play." "We can't just put it back in the holster." "Throw it out the door then." "That won't break any rules." "Go on." "Shoot me." "Go on." "Shoot me in the head." "Go on." "Yeah, see?" "You can't fight who you are, can you?" "Don't!" "Fucking" "Fingerprint ID." "No!" "That's okay." "That's okay." "Okay, okay." "Just tell us what you want." "I want to be alone!" "You want us to spoil our papers?" "Disqualify ourselves?" "Okay." "We'll take those odds over the alternative." "You win." "Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah." "I can't let my partner escort you out." "We just became friends." "How about you walk out instead?" "Each of you." "One by one." "Starting with you." "Come on, we ain't got all day." "Let's go." "They deserve you." "Now you." "Come on." "Don't be stupid, Black." "You won't shoot." "I'll be missed." "You're sick, like me." "Your death will be explained away, okay?" "No one outside this room even cares." "They got problems of their own, like avoiding the infection themselves." "Your conscience will haunt you." "You're assuming I got one." "I'll go." "I'm through with this." "Ready?" "Don't cry, darling." "You were a passenger in here anyway." "You fucked your way to the top." "Then I saved your life." "Well, anyone can make a mistake." "Lights out!" "Lights on!" "Toujours y voir clairement est primordial." ""To see clearly is all."" "Well?" "You said there's one answer, and you're looking at him!" "I've done everything!" "I've made everything happen in here, and she's done nothing!" "It's me!" "I'm the one you want!" "I'm the one you want!" "If you try to communicate with myself or the guard, you will be disqualified." "Oh, that's it." "Join in at last." "Deaf but not dumb, eh?" "There is one question before you, and one answer is required." "Ready?" "Answers?" "That's what you've been holding back?" "That's your big secret?" "You still don't get it, do you?" "What is it?" "Where is it?" "The question?" "What is the purpose of this exam?" "The question?" "What is it, then?" "Tell us." "What does it matter?" "You really think he's behind there?" "He's lived behind walls for years." "How do you know all this?" "What are you saying?" "That they rigged the test to bring us all together?" "Is there something you want to tell us?" "It's a piece of paper." "No, this is more than that now, isn't it?" "If we can't see it, how are we supposed to find it?" "What if the question is written down?" "We just can't see it." "What if it reveals the question too?" "They're not gonna make it that easy, are they?" "How hard can they afford to make it?" "So has anyone figured out the answer yet?" "It's not about the answer." "It's about the question." "What is the question?" "What is the question?" "Any questions?" "No." "That's the answer you wanted to the first question asked of us." "The only question asked of you." "I almost missed it too." "Almost." "As it is, we're happy to be hiring someone today." "I haven't accepted yet." "You wouldn't have participated if you didn't want the job." "That was before, before all this." "Now it's over." "I have questions." "Questions?" "More than one." "Ask." "You don't look like him." "Any suit can play the CEO for shareholders and the media." "Our founder isn't a businessman." "He has no interest in fame." "It's too bad." "That was some performance." "What makes you think it was a performance?" "Our founder is a scientist, an innovator." "He's very particular about those he invites to work with him, especially when it comes to the most important hiring decision he's ever had to make." "Important enough to kill for?" "What makes you think he's dead?" "While searching for the cure, we stumbled upon something far more powerful." "Rapid cell regeneration... in a pill." "It eradicates the virus and other stubborn mutations." "Magic bullet." "Gift of life for millions." "Such a breakthrough creates unanticipated dilemmas, too great for any one man to bear." "People are going to need this product." "We can only produce so much at a time." "Tough decisions are gonna have to be made by a wise administrator, someone who combines a listening disposition with attention to detail and a compassion for her fellow man." "If you are still interested." "Ll est revenu." "He is... risen." "Let's get started."