"The key to the door is lying on the floor, a meter and a half to your right," it instructed. The more it spoke, the more unnatural it seemed to Jolene, the more artificial. Synthesized.

Slowly she followed its directives, feeling along the stone-cold floor in the dark. "Be quick," it admonished her tonelessly.

Finally her fingers brushed it; her pounding, she seized the key and stumbled her way back to the door. She took a deep breath, forcing herself to be calm, and carefully inserted the key into the lock. To her relief, it turned, and the door moved forward.

Jolene squinted at the sudden change in light; the room that she entered was brightly lit and spacious. The mysterious speaker was nowhere to be seen, but what Jolene beheld through the wide windows was surprising enough to make her forget what was happening.