Page 7 of The Life Experiment

Layla’s foot tapped against the leg of the chair she was sitting on. It was her second visit to the OPM Discoveries headquarters in two weeks, but this time, there were no fitness or medical tests to complete. This time, it all came down to one conversation with Saira.

The problem was, Saira was nowhere to be found. Layla had been alone in her office for fifteen minutes now and was starting to wonder if she’d been forgotten.

As far as places to be left waiting went, Saira’s office was a great one.

A serious, grown-up workspace, just being in it made Layla feel important.

Her desk was a chunky wooden thing of beauty, the walls behind it lined with framed qualifications and books on psychology, the human body and scientific theory.

At the back of the room, two cream sofas faced each other, inviting deep, meaningful conversation.

An added bonus was that the office smelled amazing.

A mix of spices and vanilla, the combination was surprisingly soothing.

Right now, Layla needed to be soothed. Her nerves were at an all-time high. This session was the last part of the application process. The occasion she needed to impress Saira the most.

It shocked Layla how much she wanted to be accepted onto the study. Applying had been a spur of the moment decision, but the more rounds she made it through, the more invested she became. The layers of secrecy surrounding the experiment were simply too alluring.

Besides, to get this far and not make it? The rejection would be crushing.

That’s why you can’t mess up now, Layla’s brain hissed. Then another thought sprang to her mind – what if leaving her alone was a test? What if Saira was watching to see how Layla reacted to things not running perfectly to schedule?

A quick scan of the room assured her there was no CCTV camera, but the idea that Saira could be watching made Layla sit straighter. She painted her face with a pleasant expression. When Saira eventually came back, that’s how she would find her – calm, composed, patient. The perfect candidate.

As if conjured by Layla’s thoughts, Saira breezed into the room. ‘I am so sorry for the delay! Another interview ran over. I got here as fast as I could, but clearly not fast enough.’

‘I completely understand,’ Layla replied, doing her best to showcase the smile her mother described as ‘winning’. Layla hoped Joanna wasn’t a victim of maternal blindness. ‘These things happen.’

‘Still,’ Saira said as she took a seat at her desk. ‘I’d like to apologise for keeping you waiting. Tardiness isn’t a true reflection of my character.’

‘Don’t worry, I can see how seriously you take your work.’

Appeased, Saira took a moment to log in to her computer, then settled her gaze on Layla. ‘Let’s get straight to it. How do you think everything is going so far?’

Layla was caught off guard. How was she meant to tailor her response when she didn’t know the aim of the study?

Thankfully, Layla’s job had given her plenty of practice at being put on the spot.

‘Obviously I’m not fully aware of what you’re looking for in a candidate, but from my perspective I would say it’s going well.

I’ve completed all tasks in a timely manner and in detail.

On top of that, I’m really enjoying the process. ’

‘I’m glad you’ve enjoyed the experience, tests and all,’ Saira joked. ‘What I propose we do next is run through your results so far. Does that sound good to you?’

Layla nodded, trying to display an appropriate level of eagerness. While she knew it wasn’t her most attractive trait, finding out test scores was one of Layla’s favourite things.

‘I’m pleased to report that you scored highly on the tasks you completed at home,’ Saira said. ‘Some of your results were the best we’ve seen, particularly with comprehension and memory. Signs of suitability so far are positive.’

Layla’s smile faded when she realised Saira wasn’t done.

‘There is one thing I’m concerned about, though,’ she said, turning her monitor to face Layla. A copy of the questionnaire Layla completed during her last in-person day filled the screen.

‘Is there something wrong with my answers?’ she asked.

‘There is no right or wrong answer to these questions, Layla, but your results are a little anomalous.’ Saira scrolled through the document and stopped at a self-rating section.

Layla remembered it well. She’d wanted to appear confident and well-rounded, aware and thoughtful.

She marked herself highly because high scores were highly regarded, right?

The expression on Saira’s face told Layla that, in this instance, she might have been wrong about that.

‘In the friendship section, you marked yourself as a nine out of ten in most aspects, yet in your preliminary application you mentioned you didn’t have time for friendship.’

The memory of Layla’s early interactions with OPM Discoveries burned her cheeks.

She had been angry when the first questionnaire came through.

Working late, yet again, had made her bitter.

Resentful, even. Outing herself as a loser hadn’t seemed like a big deal, but Layla didn’t know how much she would want to be part of the study back then.

Saira scrolled to another question. ‘Here, when asked to score your sense of humour, you put eight out of ten, yet you left the name of your favourite comedy show blank. Now, I don’t believe television habits indicate personality, but most people can think of one show they laugh at.’

Layla flushed. ‘I mustn’t have seen the question.’

‘But someone who scores ten out of ten for detail orientation would.’

Layla hung her head. She had never been caught out like this, mostly because giving people answers she thought they wanted to hear had never been a bad thing before.

Reading her distress, Saira continued. ‘Layla, these answers are yours and yours alone. Only you can rate yourself, but when analysed they could be interpreted as disingenuous. As the person in charge of this study, that worries me. For our work to have the impact it needs to, we can’t have inaccuracies in our recording.

With that in mind, I need to ask if you would describe your responses as honest? ’

Layla bit her lip. ‘I suppose I could’ve been more open about my flaws. I was trying to impress you.’

Leaning forward, Saira pierced Layla with the intensity of her stare. ‘Layla, you are impressive exactly as you are. I hope you know that.’

Out of nowhere, a lump appeared in Layla’s throat. She tried to swallow it, but it wouldn’t budge.

While her parents simmered with pride over all she had achieved, no one else had ever called Layla impressive before, and definitely not impressive as she was.

She was, at her core, the definition of a work in progress.

Someone who had great potential if she dared to use it.

Someone who could break free of the poverty she had grown up in and soar, but only if she worked hard enough.

From school to university to Mayweather & Halliwell, Layla had pushed and pushed. There was always another assessment to complete, another task to tick off, another goal to chase. Never the opportunity to appreciate who she was at that moment.

Saira’s features softened. ‘You don’t see yourself for all the wonderful things you are, do you?’

‘Not really,’ Layla admitted, surprised at how emotional the confession made her. ‘At work, I’m the kid from Hull they let into the building. When I go home, I’m the girl who abandoned everyone to make something of herself. I guess I don’t fit anywhere.’

‘I see. What does fitting look like to you?’

Layla pondered the question for a moment before replying. ‘I suppose fitting means being at peace. Belonging in the place you are, and within yourself too.’

‘Have you reached a place of peace within yourself?’

Saira’s question earned a laugh from Layla. ‘Has anyone?’

‘Believe it or not, they have. There is always more for a person to do, more to learn, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be at peace with who you are along the way.’

‘I don’t know what peace looks like for me,’ Layla admitted, chewing her lip. ‘I know I don’t want to struggle like I did growing up, but I’m not sure what I’m doing now is what I want either. I guess… I guess I don’t know what I want.’

Saira leaned closer. ‘Shall I let you in on a secret, Layla? Not many people do.’

The first genuine smile of the day graced Layla’s lips.

‘I mean it when I say you are incredible. You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t,’ Saira continued, ‘but this study requires complete trust in participants. To have that, we need honesty. We need to know how participants are feeling and what they are thinking. There is no room for error. It could be the difference between life and death.’

Beneath her shirt, Layla’s heart began to thud. ‘What is the purpose of this study, exactly? And before you say it will be revealed to accepted candidates, I think after weeks of tests and time I deserve to know. Being honest works both ways.’

Saira paused, then nodded. ‘You’re right, it does. I haven’t practised my delivery of this yet, so forgive me if I’m a little blunt, but the truth is we believe we have found a way to determine when someone is going to die.’

Layla, usually never short for words, couldn’t find any.

The corners of Saira’s mouth flicked upwards. ‘It’s a lot to wrap your head around, I know, but it’s true. We believe we have found a way to determine when someone is going to die, and in some cases, how.’

Layla’s forehead creased. ‘I… How… Is this for real?’

‘It might sound like a fantasy, but I promise it’s not. You’ve completed the tasks so far, Layla. You’re a smart woman. Would we collate so much information if we didn’t need to?’

‘But… But how can you tell when I’ll die from that?’

‘Science,’ Saira replied with a knowing smile. ‘We’ve made the most incredible advances in recent years. More advances than the average person would dare to believe.’

‘But finding out when someone will die? Surely not.’

Saira gestured to her surroundings. ‘Would we be here right now if it weren’t true?

Would The Life Experiment be wrapped in so many layers of confidentiality if it wasn’t researching something so huge?

’ Seeing Layla’s shock, Saira smiled with understanding.

‘I realise it’s a lot to take in. Trust me, we’ve been working on it for a long time and still can’t believe what we’ve discovered.

You’re more than welcome to research OPM Discoveries’ credentials for yourself, although I imagine someone as studious as yourself has already done that.

’ When a blushing Layla gave a sheepish nod, Saira laughed.

‘Don’t worry, I’d have done the same. But after researching us, you’ll know we’re legitimate. ’

‘I do. I just… I… I can’t believe this is possible.’

‘I have an information pack that might help your understanding, if you’d like to read it?’ When Layla nodded, Saira reached into a drawer of her desk and removed a brochure. ‘If you have any questions, let me know.’

Turning her attention to the information in front of her, Layla began to read. Cutting-edge procedures and cellular testing, state-of-the-art technology, a high success rate when trialled on multiple species of animals… Maybe OPM Discoveries really could calculate when a person would die.

When she reached the end of the document, Layla’s lips parted. ‘This is crazy.’

‘It’s a lot to process, but as you read, our clinical trials showed a 98 per cent success rate in estimating a biological date of death in animals.

Now it’s time to test humans. People of all ages, races and backgrounds.

People like… well, people like you, Layla.

Our work here has incredible implications.

Think how this knowledge could help people living with health anxiety or the terminally ill.

Even people simply wanting to plan their lives better.

Layla, this research could change everything. ’

As the weight of those words hit Layla in the chest, she nodded. There was no denying the possible ramifications of this experiment, both good and bad. Something like this could quite literally change the world.

‘Is it… Is it ethical?’ she asked. ‘To tell people when they’ll die, I mean.’

‘Only those who want to know will find out their result. If this trial is successful, people would have the choice to access the service. They would also be able to leave the process at any point before results are handed over. Counselling is mandatory too. We take our duty of care seriously. Nobody wants to tell someone this news unless it is absolutely what they want to hear. That’s why we give participants a week between participation offers and their decision.

We’re not immune to the gravity of this knowledge, Layla.

Whatever result we pass on, we cannot take back. ’

The more Saira spoke, the deeper Layla was pulled into intrigue. Sure, there was a dangerous element to the study, a ‘playing god’ complex she was sure her mum would hate, but to know the map of your future… Who wouldn’t be curious about that?

‘With the highly sensitive nature of this study, I’m sure you can understand why we need complete transparency from our participants,’ Saira continued. ‘With that in mind, can you understand why your responses concerned me?’

Sheepishly, Layla nodded. ‘I’m sorry I messed up.’

‘You haven’t messed up. If anything, you’ve made me more determined to have you in this study.’

Layla smiled at the compliment, but a wobble of insecurity wiped her smile away. ‘Can you… Can you really tell me when I’m going to die?’

‘We can’t factor in accidents or natural disasters, but we can pinpoint your biological death date from your current health, lifestyle and DNA makeup. If you want us to, that is.’

As Layla closed her eyes, her life passed before her. The run of late nights and ready meals, her aching joints and ever-growing mental load. Before this conversation, she would have said it was worth it, but now someone was saying they could actually tell Layla if it was.

Desire flickered in the pit of Layla’s stomach. She wanted – no, she needed – to know. Every early alarm, every skipped meal, every cancelled plan… Would the sacrifice one day outweigh the cost?

Leaning forward, Layla levelled her gaze at Saira. ‘If I redo my questionnaire, will you reconsider me?’

Grinning, Saira pulled an iPad from her desk. ‘I was hoping you’d say that.’