recording initiated.

this is researcher jery. log entry three. site 7 underground wing.

the interaction test happened.

they opened the barriers between chambers. all four subjects in one space for the first time. dr. jinx was watching from the upper observation deck with two people i've never seen before. suits. no lab coats. no badges.

S1, S2, and S3 moved toward S4 immediately. not aggressive. more like... reverent. they circled it. S2 started drawing again. this time on the floor. not circles. not triangles. symbols. patterns i don't recognize. S1 began tapping again but in a different rhythm. faster. S3 just stood there. watching S4. and for the first time since it arrived, S4 moved.

it made a sound. low. almost like a hum. the other three stopped everything. completely frozen. then they all turned. not toward S4. toward the observation window. toward me.

i felt something. in my head. like pressure behind my eyes. like a thought that wasn't mine trying to push through. it only lasted a second. then dr. jinx called the test off over the intercom. barriers went back up. subjects returned to their chambers like nothing happened.

i asked dr. jinx about the sound S4 made. he said there was no sound. said the audio logs confirmed silence the entire test, i know what i heard.

tomorrow they're increasing S4's nutrient intake. doubling it and no one will tell me why.

[LOG.END//01.19.26//S7UW//JERY//LVL4]

...recording initiated.

this is researcher jery. log entry two. site 7 underground wing.

they introduced a fourth subject. S4. they didn't tell us where it came from. just wheeled it in on a sealed transport cart and dropped it in chamber four as if it was a part of routine. it's smaller than the others. almost fragile looking. but something about it feels off. the air in the wing changed the moment it arrived. heavier. like static before a storm.

the strange part is how the other subjects reacted. S1 stopped tapping. completely still for the first time in days. S2 wiped its drawings off the glass. S3 finally moved. turned its back to the observation window. facing S4's chamber instead.

dr. jinx says this is normal territorial behavior. says we're making progress. i asked him what the goal of phase two actually was. he smiled and said i'd find out soon enough. i don't like the way he said it.

i tried to access S4's intake file. classified. level six clearance. i'm level four.

the fluorescent lights flickered twice during lunch. maintenance says the electrical grid is fine.

i'm not so sure anymore.

tomorrow they're running the first interaction test between S4 and the others. i don't know what to expect.

[LOG.END//01.18.26//S7UW//JERY//LVL4]

...recording initiated.

this is researcher jery. log entry one. site 7 underground wing. i probably shouldn't be doing this. personal recordings are against protocol. but something is wrong here and i need a record that isn't going through official channels.

we have three subjects in containment. S1, S2, S3. standard procedure says feed them the nutrient paste twice daily and log behavioral changes. simple. clinical. but nobody told us they could learn.

S1 started mimicking the feeding schedule. tapping the glass exactly twelve hours apart. before we even arrive. S2 has been drawing shapes in the condensation on its chamber walls. circles mostly. sometimes triangles. today it drew a door. S3 just stares. never blinks. never moves. but every time i look away i swear it's closer to the glass than before.

i reported the mimicking behavior to dr. jinx. he told me to stop anthropomorphizing the subjects. said it was contaminating my observations. maybe he's right. maybe i'm just tired. we've been down here for nine days straight. the fluorescent lights are starting to feel like they're humming inside my skull.

tomorrow we begin phase two testing. nobody will tell me what that involves.