Young Levant rubs Ergo’s back as he moves from the unhygienic kitchen into the untidy living area. It’s a small, tactile gesture to say that he loves his dog. And that he’s sorry. Ergo continues to crunch on his nutritious meat pellets. His owner ate earlier in the morning: one piece of paper and four words.

13

EXPERIMENT

Cats become hypersexual through sleep deprivation; this is then followed by hallucinations and, ultimately, death. There was an experiment to test this that involved sitting an unsuspecting feline on a small plant pot surrounded by water; every time the cat fell asleep, its face would drop into the water and wake it up.

Seems pointless. Cruel, even. It may not be applicable to humans. Men certainly veer towards limp-dicked dysfunction without adequate rest.

But you have to try things.

You have to probe and assess.

Get things wrong before you get things right.

Even failure moves us forwards.

You win or you learn.

Take Milgram. Take someone off the street and tell them they can electrocute somebody else if the question they are asked is answered incorrectly. Watch as that person screams in agony. Tell the test subject that they will not be held responsible for any pain inflicted. See how they hate pressing the button. Now wait. Because they keep pressing it. They inflict more pain.

Take the Stanford Prison experiment. Or Bystander Behaviour. Think about self-interest and compassion with the Good Samaritan Test.

Call them unethical. Call them immoral. But don’t call them worthless.

You don’t get to Chelsea Bridge without some hiccups along the way. You can’t make nine people do your bidding until you know how to control one.

Take this study performed on mice. There is a light box connected to a dark box. The mouse is placed in the light box but will always be attracted to the darker area. When they enter the darker box, once all four limbs have passed the doorway, they are given an electric shock. They are taken out of the dark box and the experiment is repeated ten minutes later. It tests how quickly they learn from an adverse stimulus.

The People of Choice always return to the dark box.

They never learn.

14

225–233

And we withdraw our gaze from the trains entering and exiting Victoria Station over Grosvenor Bridge. It is almost time. Nearly our cue.

Nine new members.

The bearded camera amateur at the southern end of the bridge remains oblivious, wasting his time, offering nothing of interest. It is his fault that the authorities will have to wade through thirty-two differing, hyperbolised testimonies. Some based on drama, others riddled with shock.

Now standing, we take a length of the heavy rope that caused us to perspire on our journey here. And we place it down carefully on the spot where we have been sitting.

And we breathe.

In through the nose. One, two, three.

Hold. One, two, three.

Exhale through the mouth.