Tales of the Admins

[Garrett Jax]

Garrett Jax finally arrived at the Room of Horrors, located in a sound proof room at the Temple of the Damned. Of course, it wasn't officially called the Room of Horrors. That was just the nickname given to it by the Admins that served there. The real name was something far more innocuous--Admin Quality Control and Quality Assurance Room.

Garrett's hand trembled as he opened the heavy steel door, revealing a cramped white room, with padded walls. Along the back side of the room, sat a chair bolted to the floor, with mechanical constraints on the arms and legs. A shiver ran down his spine as he observed long thick wires with self adhesive pads, winding out from the floor in the center of the room and lying in a tangle in front of the chair. They reminded him of coiled snakes, patiently waiting for their prey to approach, eager to strike with a bitter bite.

On the wall opposite the chair, stood a black monitor stretching from floor to ceiling. The monitor displayed the face of an artificial construct, it's appearance resembling a human female. Upon entering, the eyes of the artificial intelligence opened and followed Garrett as he walked forward.

It spoke to him a warm tone, uncharacteristic of an artificial intelligence. *Welcome to the Admin Quality Control and Quality Assurance Room, Garrett Jax. It has been...two days...since your last visit. I am surprised to see you here so soon.*

Garrett sighed. "If feels like I just left this room a couple hours ago."

The female construct's face displayed a look of concern. *Are you medically cleared to undergo this process so soon after your last visit?*

"Yes," lied Garrett. Normally an Admin had to wait a week or so before reentering the Room of Horrors, but the Admins had finished the voting early and the announcement had to be made.

A small tray emerged from the side of the display. *Please insert the disc into the tray located at the side of the monitor and sit down on the chair, Garrett Jax.*

Garrett's hands shook as he placed the small silver disc into the tray. The tray quickly closed and he could hear the information on the disc being read from inside the monitor. With another heavy sigh, he turned, almost tripping over the wires. Fortunately, he managed to stumble his way past the wires and landed safely into the solid oak chair.

The artificial construct smiled, seemingly unaware of his clumsiness. *Garrett Jax, this is your...thirty-seventh...appearance to the Admin Quality Control and Quality Assurance Room. Would you like to bypass the instruction phase?*

"Yes, please."

*Very well, then. Please place the electric diodes on the appropriate places of your body and we shall begin.*

Garrett hesitated, trying to muster up the courage needed for this stage of the process. He looked at the coiled mass of wires and willed himself to pick each one up and place the self-adhesive pads on various parts of his body. He placed one each on his face, chest, stomach, arms and legs. He took the last one and hid it under his leg.

He looked up at the female construct and said, "I am ready."

The face on the monitor frowned. *Garrett Jax, we cannot proceed with this process until ALL the diodes have been properly placed.*

A tear formed in the corner of Garrett's eye as he grabbed the hidden diode and placed it on his groin area.

With a whimper he said, "I am ready."

*Excellent. Prepare to be restrained.*

Within seconds, the mechanical constraints locked Garrett's arms and legs onto the chair, keeping him immobilized. Garrett took a deep breath, bracing himself for what was about to occur.

The female construct continued. *We shall submit the announcement to the Community. Please be patient and wait for the Community's response.*

Garrett waited for what felt like an eternity for the first responses. The Community was like a wild beast, skittish, difficult to befriend and ready to pounce on anyone at the slightest provocation. Finally, the first response arrived.

*First response...neutral* The female voice stated calmly.

*Second response...positive*

Garrett breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe this would be one of those rare, pleasant visits to the Room of Horrors.

*Third response...negative*

Garrett read the comment and winced. Immediately, the electic diode emitted an electronic impulse that simulated a punch, this time to his arm. Not too bad, he thought. Of course, the more negative the comment, the stronger the 'punch'. There were always negative comments to even the most positive of decisions, but those punches were relatively light and shortlived. Garrett had a strong feeling that the announcement to change the House Lawful IDs was not going to be one of those experiences.

The next three responses were negative. Three separate punches occurred to his chest, leg and stomach. Garrett absorbed the punches courageously. He tried to breathe regularly in between hits, so as to manage the pain better.

The next several responses ranged from positive to lightly negative. But it quickly changed, and not for the better. The Community launched scathing responses stating that they would ignore this Admin decision.

Punch to the groin.

They said the Admins were driving this place to the ground.

Punch to the face.

They asked who thought this was a good idea?

Punch to the stomach.

"A terrible decision."

Bruising punch.

They even accused him of rushing out this rule change, without thought, to alleviate Congress of RP consequences, demanding proof that Garrett wasn't lying when he denied those accusations.

Debilitating punch to the nuts.

169 responses later, Garrett lay slumped unconscious in the chair. The female construct called out to him calmly, repeating his name over and over. Finally, he awoke, every inch of his face and body bruised and bloodied beyond recognition.

*Garrett Jax, it appears that the Admin Quality Control and Quality Assurance process is completed. I will now release your restraints.*

Upon their release, Garrett fell to the floor, sharp pain flaring up on several areas of his body. The steel door opened and a couple Mods, carrying a gurney, approached. They carefully picked up his body and carried him to medical.

He overheard one Moderator asking the other a question.

"They do this every week?" one of the newer Mods asked.

The older Mod nodded. "Yes they do."

"Why would they even submit themselves to this?"

The older Mod looked down at Garrett, pity in his eyes and said, "For the love of the game."

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