skweexebox

They got to their destination and Gary Friday was famished and too tired to think straight. The luxury of the place surprised him as he had expected less. He would have been happier with less comfort but also less surprises. Juan showed him to his cot, which was delicately decorated with blankets intricately woven into bright colors.
'Sleep now. Do not say a word. You will eat in the morning.'
Gary did not want to argue, he just wanted to sleep. He fell down on his bed and kicked off his shoes. He soon fell into a dream. In his dreams, he kept being offered gifts that were already his. Gold was given to him that he had already possessed. Things that he had owned had been stolen. Material objects, money, things that he felt owed came back to him. He did not understand the dream.
He was awoken by Rosa, the guest worker. Gary did not know if the worker was somehow related to Juan. His daughter perhaps? She looked to be about twenty one. She placed a plate full of kinoa salad down on his night table, along with a fork and napkin. He sat up and thanked her. 'Muchas Gracias, senora.'
'Te nada. This is salad with kinoa,' she said. 'Kinoa is a grain that makes you very strong. Our pollos grow muy gordo off this.' She smiled. 'also onions, peppers, y radishes.'
Gary was no stranger to this type of food. He had radically altered his diet years ago and was used to this sort of fare. This was one other reason why he was chosen for the job. Most of the other guys on the team were meat and potatoes consumers. They did not care for what they described as bird food. He dug in voraciously, eating like a ravenous boar. 'Senora, no agua?' He said to Rosa, making the signal for drinking.
She shook her head no.
'ke? no comprende.'
Juan who had gone un-noticed was carving wood in the next room. His voice boomed.
'There will be no drinking for you until two hours has gone by after you are finished.' He paused. 'It is for reasons of digestion. Don't ask now - you will understand later.'
'What the h-?' he stopped himself. Now this was getting to be too much. Water deprivation? 'So you're feeding me like a fat chicken but no water?'
'The water will upset your digestion, ' juan blurted it out. This will affect your brain, your training, as everything is connected. But since you think you know it all, and cannot bring yourself to dismiss your pride, you may have a glass of water. Rosa, por favor-'
'No Rosa. Forget it.' He was not about to be manipulated into guilt for being thirsty of all things. He excused himself to use the bano. Only he didn't have to use the restroom. He locked the door, and sitting down on the toilet, pulled out his cellphone. He dialed.
'Debon, what the HELL are you doing sending me out to this kangaroo court in the jungle?' He tried his best to lower his voice but was bursting at the seams. The veins in his neck all but popped off. 'Everything I do is dictated to me. I can't take a piss without permission- i feel like i'm back in prep school.'
'Do you choose to abort your mission?'
'No. But I have never been thrown out to the goddamn wolves like this. How could you do this? I'm not 25 years old any more goddamn it.'
'Come on Friday. You knew you were in for a challenge. How can you tell me that we didn't educate you about the unpredictability of this tour?'
'You always say it's unpredictable. But you never told me I'd be with an SS general in medicine man makeup. I feel deceived.'
'You don't have to do anything you don't want to.'
'I'm going to give it one more day. If it gets much worse i'm hitching the next flight back.' He closed his phone, flushed the toilet and washed his hands. Opening the door, Juan was standing at the other side. He glared into his eyes.
'You cannot trust me, then I cannot trust you,' Juan said to him. He genuinely looked hurt.
'Were you listening to me?'
'Stop talking and follow me. We are completing phase one of the mission. This will take about 77 minutes. Upon completion you may drink 2 cups of water if necessary.'
Gary was about to snidely, sarcastically thank him - but he bit his toungue. Truth be told, he knew the old codger knew what he was doing. He just didn't like to be told what to do so sternly, especially by someone who was around the same age, and as much as he would never admit it, not formally educated in the way he was.
'You are a poised egoist, ' said Juan. 'You make a show to the world. You want to be a bigshot, a big humanitarian with books in libraries. Big star. You will never know anything until you become humble as the dust.'
'Oh is that so?'
'Yes.'
'and so now, you're trying to break me down. Right?' He got loud. 'Trying to crush the large yet fragile ego of a white man. Well, you're doing a good job.'
They walked over to a side office that had a desk and a couch. Near the couch was a coffee table. Juan sat down at his desk and had Gary sit down on the couch. He slumped down, and noticed a black box with small controls on it. The box had no power source, but was connected via copper wire to a chrome plated piece of metal the size of a clipboard. He touched the knobs on the panel of the box. There were four knobs. Juan said nothing. In the right hand corner of the box there was a metal control switch. He began clicking it up and down, trying to figure out what it was.
'What is this piece of junk?' He said, looking up at Juan. Juan pulled out a notepad and began scribbling in it. 'This makes no sense.' He flipped it over to check for batteries or any alternate power source he could find. 'How do you plug this in, and what is it for? I mean for godsakes, at least a solar panel, something.'
'Please continue to play with the knobs. But as you do, visualize yourself floating into the sky. Close your eyes, please.'
Now he was certain he was being duped. Never had he seen what he would label as such absurd pseudo science. and his mind was opened to possibilities. But he would not be taken for a fool. 'What the HECK are you talking to me about? are you trying to make me play the role of the idiot?'
"I am an idiot, we all are-idiots. Now do as I say.' Gary Friday closed his eyes.