[ WP ] Pain is discovered to be the most efficient form of energy . It is ruled illegal , but secret human pain factories have already begun . You are the owner of one of these factories .

“ Production progresses according to schedule. The most efficient use of the, ah, *batteries*, is becoming more clear every day. In short, I am confident we will soon find the perfect range of operation. If you ’ ll follow me I ’ d be happy to show you everything we ’ ve been doing. Such an unexpected, ah, *honour* to have you here, of course ”. The small, thin man walking briskly along at my side explained nervously, the words spilling from his mouth rapidly as though they ’ d just been set free from a pileup at back of his throat. Matthews, he was called, I recalled from our earlier meetings, though his first name escaped me. A coward, but a useful one. No one else I ’ d come across had been able to not only prove such proficiency for the work at hand, but also the desire to complete it. His enthusiasm was a tad nauseating, truth be told, but no need to let that show. He did his work and did it well; as long as that continued he was welcome to whatever pleasure came from it. I ’ d toyed with the idea of having him removed once the initial phase of the work was over, but decided against it. His mind was invaluable, maybe even irreplaceable should any problems occur. 
 
 
 We walked up a long, wide corridor, lit by fluorescent tubes at regular intervals along the ceiling. The walls were brick painted white, the floor, and untouched concrete. At its end stood a steel door, flanked by two men. Hired muscle. More dense than your average dog, but just as loyal and they knew their way around a gun. Loyal provided the money kept flowing anyway. Which it would, if this new venture proved to be as profitable as I hoped. It had taken some time to set up, even more to clear it with my superiors. The morality of the situation never came into question, but the logistics of carrying out such an operation without being caught border lined on nightmarish. *The things I do to succeed* I thought with a grimace. Still, it would all be worth it. Today ’ s trip would be the proof of that. 
 
 
 “ After you sir, and of course, welcome to my, I mean, *your* factory ” Matthews stammered, smiling weakly. He really was an odious little man. I walked through the door to enter the main floor, my companion following close on my heels. What met my eyes looked like a mad scientist ’ s dream. Wires ran in lines across the walls, off into separate rooms. The generators. Disappearing underneath the concrete flooring, they re-emerged into separate cubicles, each constructed of corrugated steel with a large rectangular window in one side. The factory floor was completely covered in them, forming a grid a thousand feet in either direction. There was no sound except for a slight humming. 
 
 
 “ As you can see, all the infrastructure is in place. If you would follow me I will show you some of… ” I left Matthews stumbling in my wake, pacing off and selecting one at random, peering through the window. Inside, a man was seated in a steel chair, shaped with bumps and ridges to make sitting comfortably impossible. His feet were bound to the floor by chains set into the concrete, his arms fastened to the chair with leather straps. A helmet without a visor sat on his head, obscuring it completely. Inside, my fortune was being made. 
 
 
 The man was writhing in pain, his muscles straining against the restraints. There was no obvious reason for it; the room was bare, yet he appeared to be in agony. “ How are you creating this effect ”? I asked, part curiosity, part to get the little man to stop shuffling from foot to foot, as he had been doing since the moment he caught up. 
 “ The helmet, you see? We have one for everyone in here. Original use was to cut out the, ah, noises they make. It proved to be rather loud, loud enough to perhaps cause unwanted attention. Rather than sound proof the building, it was cheaper to do it individually through the helmets. Well, when we were, ah *experimenting* on the best methods, loud noise was one brought up. It is one of the more efficient methods, as it does not require any people to conduct the operation. Just a set of headphones, installed inside the helmet. ” Matthews explained. His voice was more confident now he was talking about his creation. He wasn ’ t even looking at me, just staring at the man in the chair, a look of what could have been satisfaction on his face. 
 
 
 “ And the level of production this method gives? ” 
 
 
 “ It is on a par with the other remaining contenders. Though it does not provide such large bursts of electricity generation as some other methods, it can keep up production for more hours in a row, without need for time to let the unit, um, *recharge*, as it were. We are still continuing testing to see how long before it renders the unit useless, and in need of replacement. ” 
 
 
 I took one last look at the man, and then turned away to walk to the next one. Some small part of me wondered if I should have sympathy for the man, but it was only a very small part. Not one of the people in this building had any value to anyone. Drug addicts, the homeless. That and numerous petty criminals, the ones too weak or too stupid to be anything other than a dangerous liability. Not just to me, but to the average person on the street. It was almost a public service to bring them here instead, where they could be of use. 
 
 
 In the next one, the cause of pain was more obvious. This time a young woman, again with the soundproof helmet, tied down to a table. Unlike the previous cubicle, this one was occupied by another person, wearing a white lab coat and looking over his implements. He glanced up at our approach and upon seeing me snapped to attention, giving a salute. How amusing. Ex-army, I mused, giving him a curt nod. His arm snapped back to his side, then he returned to his implements. 
 
 
 “ This is one of our more promising ventures. Though it can render the unit useless fairly quickly due to nerve damage, the amount of power it produces is truly remarkable. As long as we can secure a steady stream of new power supplies, I am confident in saying this will be our staple method. ” Matthews announced, then with a snap of his fingers indicated the man to proceed. 
 
 
 The implements he hovered over, I now saw, were thin, sharp looking rods of metal. As I watched he picked one up in a gloved hand, and dipped it in a beaker of clear liquid standing beside the rods on the table. Then, he calmly took hold of one of the woman ’ s arms, and slid it into her flesh, the metal clearly as it pushed the skin upwards in a ridge. She spasmed violently, back arching upwards, wrists and ankles that were already bleeding cutting into their restraints, letting forth a fresh trickle of blood. 
 
 
 “ The liquid is an agent we have specifically developed to trigger nerve receptors, creating huge waves of pain. However, it also has the unfortunate side effect of destroying the nerve endings after a few uses. There are many places on the unit it can be applied, but even so, they are used up after a week or two. ” 
 I nodded, my face an emotionless mask. *Just a useless wretch who can now be put to use*, that was my thought. Underneath it, something about the scene was deeply unsettling. I ’ d seen people tortured before; it was part of the life. But this felt different somehow. More cold, clinical. *Better* I told myself, and continued to the next cubicle. On with the inspection. 
 
 
 The next man was much the same as the first. 
 
 
 “ Sound again ”? I queried 
 
 
 “ Indeed, most of the people in here are on one of the two methods you have witnessed. Only one remains, an outlying contender for the throne, you might say ”.
