Welcome to the lab.

Adlenton Street was known for its loneliness and dangerousness. If anyone wanted to have trouble, that was the place to start the search. Small, dark and cordoned off is the street than has seen closely the effervescence of crime in recent times and that even the incessant rain could not intimidate. The wrong place, out of his place, so you could describe the fact that Mark, who not only lives in the other corner of town, but always avoided that area, was there, in that gloomy place. Lucas made his way through the crowd, not thinking for a second that he might bother someone, leaving behind the wake of his white lab coat. With his fogged glasses, wet hair and the despair of someone who needs to see the facts with his own eyes, he went under the long yellow ribbon to approach Mark, his old friend. He was waiting for him sitting, with his back to a wall in poor conditions. Lucas reacted instantly, put his hand on his friend's cheek and called him by name, but there was no answer. A hug followed, which was interrupted by a policeman, who using force and in a difficult way took him away from him. The attentive gaze of the people present is strongly felt, and despair overwhelms him.

Lucas wakes up early as is his custom for several years now, memories do not allow him to sleep much, but he works all the time. His semi-empty room gives the pattern that he does not spend much time there and his hobbies are scarce. He has breakfast and immediately goes to the laboratory, that place that somehow comforts him, but at the same time disturbs him, is where the memories become strong, as strong as Lucas is not.

"Good morning 'tireless worker'! Lovely morning, don't you think?"

Tam's face was always so relaxed and elegant that Lucas always caught his attention, her enthusiasm is contagious and her appreciation for her companions, admirable.

"Good morning. A great day, it's true."

Lucas was never ver forthcoming, but finding Tam as soon as he enters the lab took him by surprise as she usually arrives minutes after him.

"Today a new student arrives, did they inform you?"

"I had no idea."

Lucas cannot avoid a new surprise as he always knows everything that happens in the place, but at no time was he informed that there was a new member since that day.

"Sebastian is the one who should have informed me..."

"Well, the news is from yesterday, and it was yesterday the date of Ana and Sebastian..."

"The task is the task, that he do what he should firs and that he go to all the dates he want after. There is an order of the things."

"Always so romantic, Lucas. That way you won't get a date," she expressed with a bit of derisive discouragement.

"The only date I want is with this computer. I have to go through a series of articles the president sent me for our research, I have to get to work right now."

Lucas' intransigence has always isolated him a little from the rest of society, but such a person in an investigation turns out to be a grat companion.

When the metal door of that lab opens fist thing in the afternoon, Tam gets up immediately, she couldn't be anyone but the new student. The first to enter is Marcus, a student who came to the lab the year before. His height and robustness made him look intimidating, but it is those people who treat them, show a great affection for everyone, a person of great sympathy. Behind him the new, small, short-haired, energetic girl, it was clear that she would get along great with Tam.

"Well, we're at the Sleep Research Laboratory, opened by direct order of the University President." Marcus began by introducing, with a big smile, showing his sympathy. "The long-haired girl is Tamerland, known as Tam, a graduate student in information Science, who leads the methodological aspects of our research."

"Nice to meet you, you're very welcome," said Tam.

"The pleasure is mine, I'm Mio Katzenbach, a graduate student in Biological Sciences," the student replied.

"The good thing that this laboratory was founded by the University President himself is that we do not have to worry about the funds, however, we must work full-time so that this research ends as soon as possible," said Lucas, who came out of the library.

"This is Lucas, he's also a graduate student, Cognitive Psychology, he's in charge of this lab," Marcus added.

Tam looked at Lucas seriously, to the point that he made him uncomfortable. So they were for a few seconds until Lucas saw fit to add a few words to his speech.

"A pleasure."

Tam immediately smiled.

"Well, I have to retire, we need to talk to the president about some things we need for these offices, will you come with me?" Tam consulted Lucas.

"In a moment," he replied.

Tam smiled again and left the scene, not before placing his hand on Mio's shoulder as a sign of friendship.

"See you Marcus."

"See you soon, Tam," smiley Marcus replied.

"Marcus, could you show to Mio the lab? Let her know the place," Lucas said as he returned to the library.

"Sure!"

Mio was surprised, even though she had just arrived at the place, they already called her by her name, it was not usual, and that made her happy.

"well, Mio, welcome, this is the Sleep Research Laboratory. It is composed of five rooms." Marcus began by introducing. "Where we are now is the computer room. Here each member has his own desk that can sort it any way you want. Later on we have the library, which has a collection of 19,513 books in both physical and digital that you can consult when you want. It's not just about the mind or biology, there's almost every subject you can imagine. On the left there is a break room for nights to stay to work. On the right we have the experiment hall. There come the people who will be studied and an EEG is placed on them, a set of electrodes that, when the person is asleep, will give us their patterns of brain functioning. It's a very comfortable room, but it's not for us," he said, smiling as Mio noticed the soft armchairs. She also smiled. "Adjoining there is a small room with servers and backup data, it is our responsibility to take good care of that data. Ad you know, our main topic of study is to know what happens to brain functions when you reach a deep sleep and its scope."

"As in the R.E.M. phase, isn't it?"

Them can immediately hear a great book being closed so tightly that it scares Mio. Looking behind her, she sees Lucas rushing out. Once he leaves the lab, Mio looks ar Marcus again a little embarrassed.

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Not at all," Marcus responds. "The R.E.M. phase is when sleep has become so deep that the person's eyes can involuntarily move. It is said that it is at this stage where dreams occur. The problem is that in this laboratory we prefer to avoid the use of that term since a serious incident occurred a few years ago and Lucas believes that everything is associated with the term 'R.E.M.', the same term reminds him of the incident."

"I am sorry," added Mio, very sorry.

"Don't apologize, it was hard for you to know." Marcus replied with sympathy, but inside he felt that discomfort of not knowing if Lucas' suspicions were well-founded and they had to find answers or it was only a regrettable fact and they should learn to live with it.