The Test(13)

To prove her point, Dr. Fayed experimented with the female hostage in K3. Perhaps ironically, her findings are now part of the BVA manual.

Section 5.2 - Kill 4 - Hostage 2 - Female hostage physical parameters.

Deviation from these standards in hostage modelling results in a decrease in the success rate. Weight, as usual, is the most determinant factor.



Ideal measure Tolerance Impact on survival

Height: 5'4" +/-2" -8% if H2 is taller than subject -16% above 5'10"

Weight: 115 lbs +/-4 lbs -1.06% per pound above tolerance

Skin: white n/a n/a

Hair length: mid-back n/a -2% at shoulder length, -9% above neck

Clothing: casual dress n/a -1.5% w. trousers, -13% w. business attire, -73% w. hijab

Deep wishes he had worked in the early days of the BVA, when experimenting was the norm. He has always admired Dr. Fayed’s work, her idealism, but he also believes she was wrong, that the flaw in her reasoning came from a misunderstanding of the BVA itself. The goal of the values assessment, as far as Deep is concerned, is not the selection of model human beings, but of model citizens. This means the test should favour homogeneity, not atypical attitudes, no matter how commendable they may be. Subjects are more likely to successfully integrate into society if they share its core set of beliefs than if they perceive the most widespread attitudes to be stupid or reprehensible. If the point of the whole thing were to let people join a society that thought the Earth was flat, so be it. Newcomers would feel more at home if they also thought we lived on a plate. Deep realizes that is also why no one in the BVA ever looks like him. He might reconsider his position in other circumstances, but here, right now, the thought makes him feel good about his prospects as a BVA operator. He understands the mission better than most, feels he shares the same vision as the BVA brass. Someday, with luck, he could move up the echelons, maybe even become a test designer. One thing at a time. First, he has to get through his evaluation.

His first solo kill will be the hardest one. If he has to worry about anything, it’s K3. Nicknamed the bear trap among trainees, K3 gives the operator more freedom than any other kill. It also costs more operators their job than all the other kills combined. It is part of BVA Section Four: Selflessness. As the name implies, it is designed to measure the subject’s capacity for unselfish or self-sacrificing acts. The concept is artfully simple. After two more hostages are selected by the terrorists, the subject is presented with a new option. Choose who dies as in the previous kills, or let both hostages live. To save both lives, the subject must volunteer to be one of the two candidates the next time around, and let someone else decide who lives and who dies. Subjects earn points for agreeing to put their lives on the line, but for logistical reasons, the terrorists revoke the offer in the end regardless of the subject’s answer. One person dies as usual, but in order to give the operator more freedom in hostage design, whom the subject chooses as the victim isn’t scored.

Operators need the added freedom. It is surprisingly difficult to get someone to sacrifice themselves in a hostage situation. Some people volunteer right away. They usually have military training, or at least some experience at being around death. The vast majority of subjects would rather watch the terrorists kill everyone in the building than to leave their fate in the hands of someone they’ve never met. Deep has always wondered if it is the fear of death stopping them, or the loss of control. Subjects are at the mercy of the terrorists; they are robbed of every power, every freedom, except for that one thing. They choose who lives and who dies. To let go of that might scare people more than the prospect of death. Whatever the reason, the fail rate is surprisingly high. Deep has studied every aspect of the kill, read all the papers it was based on, but he doesn’t understand how most people miss what is so obvious to him. The subjects aren’t asked to die for another human being, they are asked to take a chance in order to save a life. That chance has to be a very small one, at least for the next few kills. If someone volunteers to have a gun put to their head and saves two people in front of everyone, what are the odds the next person will pick them as the victim?

Deep is well aware that the art of K3 is in the hostage selection, all in the hands of the operator. His hands. There are very few guidelines on the hostage profiles: the data on the kill is too inconsistent. He can pick anyone, even people who look like him. He won’t dare, not today, but he likes knowing that he can. He thinks about Idir. Each subject responds to different cues, different triggers. It may very well be that what makes a subject choose self-sacrifice is entirely in their nature, that the end result would be identical no matter who was facing execution. Operators, for a variety of reasons they wouldn’t feel comfortable discussing, choose to see it differently. They believe—Deep does, all of them do—that context plays a part in the subject’s decision-making. How large a part? Each operator has their own opinion. But all share the notion that they are much more than simple observers, that their actions, the choices they make in the control room, help determine the outcome. In the few studies on retired BVA employees, K3 was cited as the most rewarding, but also the most significant contributor to work fatigue and depression.

Laura looks at her watch and turns to Deep. It’s time.

—Are you nervous?

—A little.

—Don’t worry about it. Just remember your training. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.