Dystopian Dreams: Unveiling the Horrors in the Russian Sleep Experiment Story

In a Russian laboratory, a researcher cautiously enters a room, anticipating to find his human subjects in a state of well-being. To his horror, he is greeted by an atmosphere of utter chaos. The anguished cries of the tormented fill the air, and before him lies a mutilated and disemboweled body, as though the very embodiment of malevolence had traversed the room. Even the survivors bear wounds, with chunks of flesh torn from their limbs. Exposed bone peeks through the ends of their fingers, and their faces are stripped of skin. The researcher, bewildered and horrified, grapples with the nightmarish scene before him. "What kind of madness is this inferno?" he wonders. "This certainly wasn't the intended outcome of the experiment," he muses. "Sure, the food could have been better, and perhaps we could have improved the comfort of those beds. But resorting to tearing each other apart over a mere loss of sleep? Come on, comrades, that's hardly befitting of our ideals."

Let's rewind to the beginning of the narrative and share what our team of world-class investigators has uncovered about the truth behind this harrowing experiment. In the late 1940s, Soviet-era researchers developed a stimulant they believed could keep a person awake for extended periods—an invaluable asset during wartime. During World War II, the Germans had their own potent methamphetamine, Pervitin, while the Americans and the British utilized the amphetamine Benzedrine, a variation of conventional speed. The Soviet researchers sought to surpass these efforts, aiming for a drug that wouldn't result in total physical collapse after a three-day binge. They concocted something unique but needed to conduct human trials first. Test subjects were readily available, as prisoners of war were abundant in the 1940s, and when it came to prisoners, ethical considerations were often overlooked

Establish a testing environment for the accommodation of five subjects.This sealed enclosure allows researchers to administer the stimulant in gas form, ensuring the oxygen levels are within acceptable parameters. The subjects are equipped with dried food, a bed devoid of bedding, access to running water, and a toilet. Monitoring is facilitated through microphones for auditory surveillance, and cameras provide visual oversight. The only external viewports consist of five-inch thick glass windows, offering minimal visibility, barely allowing the perception of shadows. As the experiment unfolds, the five men exhibit positive spirits in the initial three days, indicating the successful impact of the gas as researchers observe and approve of its efficacy..

One researcher tells another, “Nazi meth, what a joke, just wait until the world sees what we’ve cooked up. Comrade Stalin will be most pleased.”

The subjects have agreed to try and stay awake for 30 days, and have been falsely informed that if they can make the 30 days they will get their freedom.

Such a deal seems fair to them.

The atmosphere takes a somber turn around the fourth day as the subjects delve into discussions about war and the harrowing experiences they've endured. Their conversations reveal deep-seated traumas, recounting continuous nightmares and recounting other gruesome events they witnessed.

By the fifth day, a more ominous transformation occurs. The men exhibit signs of psychosis, engaging in conversations with unseen entities and exhibiting paranoid behaviors toward each other. Whispers into the microphones become a platform for weaving tales about their fellow subjects. The researchers, well-versed in the effects of sleep deprivation, acknowledge that after five days, the human mind can undergo distressing changes, blurring the lines between hallucinations and reality.

Doubts regarding the gas's impact solidify on day nine, marked by a disturbing incident. One of the subjects begins screaming uncontrollably, akin to a banshee, running frenetically within the confines of the room. The intensity of his screams appears to damage his vocal cords, eventually reducing his cries to a disconcerting squeak resembling a children's toy.

As additional days pass, an eerie silence envelops the scene. The men remain elusive to the cameras, but the oxygen levels affirm their continued existence. The unsettling quietude persists, shrouding the mystery of whether it is the sleep deprivation or the gas itself that has triggered these distressing developments.

But where were they?

Reluctantly, the researchers found themselves compelled to intervene in the study. Speaking through an intercom, they issued a stern directive: "We are opening the chamber to test the microphones; step away from the door and lie flat on the floor, or you will be shot. Compliance will earn one of you immediate freedom." A lone voice responded, stating, "We no longer want to be freed."

Perplexed by this unexpected response, the researchers speculated whether the subjects had developed a dependence on the gas. Acknowledging their limited options, they resolved to open the door. Venting fresh air into the chamber, they aimed to displace the lingering effects of the stimulant.

To their astonishment, the researchers were met with renewed screams and pleas for more of the potent gas. "What the heck," thought one of the Russians, realizing the men seemed severely addicted. On Day 15, when the doors were finally opened, they were met with a gruesome sight: one man lay lifeless, a scene previously described in the introduction. However, what followed the discovery of the half-eaten man and the surviving wounded was not initially revealed.

Upon closer examination, the researchers noted severe self-inflicted wounds on the men. The skin and muscles of their own chests had been torn apart, exposing the horrific sight of their lungs. Each man appeared to have performed this macabre surgery on himself, removing functioning blood vessels and laying out other internal organs on the floor as if arranging a grotesque piece of art. The men, in their disturbing state, were poised to consume these macabre morsels.

Engaging in a disturbing act of self-cannibalism, the subjects exhibited an unsettling enthusiasm. Faced with this horrifying scene, the researchers urgently called for backup, unwilling to approach the tormented individuals. As the cries of the men echoed, pleading for the return of the gas, the researchers sealed the door.

When additional soldiers arrived to assist in extracting the subjects, the process proved far from pleasant. Tragically, five soldiers lost their lives during the operation, and some of the victims opted for self-inflicted deaths in the aftermath.

Once successfully removed, the subjects underwent sedation with an ample dose of morphine, equivalent to what could sedate a Canadian moose. Despite the medication, the men resisted with primal ferocity. One subject succumbed to bleeding out, his heart ceasing its beat, yet he continued to scream, relentlessly demanding, "Give me gas, I need gas."

Amidst that grim spectacle, a doctor suffered multiple broken bones. The remaining three individuals were eventually sedated, securely restrained, and relocated to a specialized facility. Amongst themselves, the researchers exchanged uneasy remarks, questioning, "That wasn't meant to happen, was it?"

Reluctantly, they pondered whether, perhaps, the Nazis, Brits, and Americans had made the right choice in merely supplying their troops with high-quality stimulants.

Surgeons embarked on the challenging task of reinserting missing organs and bits of viscera into one man, who vehemently strained against his restraints. Despite the physicians managing to administer anesthesia, the man's heart abruptly stopped, leading to his immediate demise.

The postmortem examination revealed that he had sustained nine broken bones, with his muscles torn across his entire body. When it came to tending to the next individual, after two fatalities, the decision was made to forgo the use of anesthesia. Despite the absence of pain relief, they meticulously repaired him, stitching up ruptured organs and applying skin grafts. The lead surgeon marveled at the miraculous survival of a man who, by all accounts, should not have lived through such trauma.

During the surgery, a nurse observed the patient's unsettling grin directed at her and mused on the persistence of male carnal instincts even in the face of extreme adversity. She briefly entertained the notion that perhaps, with death looming, there arises a primal urge to create anew. However, she swiftly shook off her contemplation.

Abruptly, the man emitted a wheezing sound, signaling a desire to communicate. The nurse, quick to understand, handed him a pen and positioned a pad beneath it. In stark and chilling brevity, the man wrote, "Keep cutting."

She couldn't help but think, "What a maniac," relieved that she hadn't returned his flirtatious smile. Meanwhile, the other individual, seemingly unhinged, chuckled like a hyena throughout the process of reconstructing his body. When asked about his demand for the potent gas, he simply claimed he needed it to stay awake.

Reflecting on their peculiar behavior, the surgeon contemplated the potential employment of these individuals as effective night shift custodians, cleaners, or even security personnel. However, he couldn't shake the awareness that trusting them with basic hygiene practices, like washing their hands, was out of the question.

Then, a former KGB agent proposed a brilliant idea, a notion that had surprisingly eluded everyone else's considerations: why not reintroduce these unfortunate individuals to that gas?

He remarked, "It appears the issues arise during withdrawal. While they're on a high, they're manageable, albeit a bit hyper and paranoid. We can deal with that." Returning them to the gas resolved the problems, restoring them to a state of well-being.

However, an unexpected turn occurred. The EEG monitor displayed erratic brain activity that abruptly ceased. One individual flatlined and eventually succumbed to the apparent effects of the last dose.

The remaining subject was returned to the study room, lying seemingly lifeless on the bed alongside three researchers. Suddenly, one of the researchers shot the commander and then turned the gun on the subject. In a burst of desperation, he exclaimed, "I won't be locked in here with these things! Not with you! WHAT ARE YOU? I must know!"

Surprisingly, the subject, though shot and seemingly lifeless, responded, "Have you forgotten so easily? We are you. We are the madness that lurks within you all, begging to be free at every moment in your deepest animal mind. We are what you hide from in your beds every night. We are what you sedate into silence and paralysis when you go to the nocturnal haven where we cannot tread."

Nearly concluding the macabre episode, the researcher added a final bullet to the man's chest, possibly compromising the Hippocratic Oath, but, as they say, harsh times call for harsh measures.

The Conclusion Many individuals believe that the events narrated in this tale are factual. However, a cursory examination reveals that this catastrophic flash fiction is the work of someone whose grammatical skills are in need of improvement.

Beyond the grammatical shortcomings, the narrative frequently lapses into inconsistency. Instances of characters dying and then inexplicably returning to life appear unintentional, suggesting that the storyteller may have overlooked or forgotten their own words. In one segment, the writer asserts that the researchers were certain of the subjects' vitality based on oxygen levels, only to later express uncertainty about whether they had all perished. The deficiencies extend beyond mere bad writing, further diminishing the story's credibility.

We say dreamlike, because even if they don’t sleep, they will have micro-sleeps. Plus, no one with this disease has ever started eating themselves.

Sure, While a noxious agent might be lethal, the idea of it turning people into gas-addicted zombies lacks scientific support. Fatal Familial Insomnia, a genetic condition causing sleep loss, doesn't induce self-harm.

The story lacks real-world alignment, and if such phenomena existed, they would likely be documented in medical journals before becoming internet memes. The Russian Sleep Experiment, while not bad, could have been more plausible. Sleep deprivation, a recognized torture method, induces half-craziness.

Still, in this story when you add the addictive gas and the organ rug and the reanimation it just isn’t believable.