[ WP ] Aliens have abducted you in a random sampling of men , women and children . Analyzing your cell , and the artificial gravity in the ship , you conclude that your captors hail from a planet with a only fraction of Earth 's gravity - and they have seriously underestimated our strength .

I open my eyes slowly. The room is dark. My eyes adjust quickly. I see three walls and metal bars on the fourth side… I ’ m in a prison. Weak, coarse voices are heard all around. The sound of coughing echoes through the room and into the large metal hallway just a few feet away from the metal bars of the prison cell. The ground, the walls, and the bars all seem to be made of the same material. A cold draft comes in from the hallway when I realize that I am naked. I look around, and I realize that the other dozen humans in my prison cell are also naked. A sudden chill runs down my spine at the thought of that, and I curl up in a sitting, fetal position. I can feel the other prisoners ’ fear, anxiety... despair. I can see the other prisoners are huddled up side by side, and back to back in groups of around 4, with some loners scattered about, myself included. 
 
 A loner woman around the same age as myself looks tough. She has short dirty blond hair, but I can ’ t really tell from the lack of lighting. 
 
 Another loner; a man that ’ s well fed, but probably has never seen the inside of a gym, is laying on his side in the fetal position, and almost looks like he ’ s sucking his thumb… or maybe biting his fingernails? What a big baby. Although his body heat would probably be able to keep several people warm. 
 
 I see another outlier. A woman. Long hair, a brunette. She is staring back at me with determined eyes. I look away to break the eye contact. 
 
 Another lone man is actually standing up. He is at the metal bars that trap us in this cage. He examines the metal. He strokes it with a single finger, his ears next to the contact. It almost looks as though he is listening to the sound the metal makes. Very odd. He does something even stranger, he licks the metal bars. Is this guy some kind of crime scene investigator? 
 
 Curiosity beats my better judgement and I get up, cupping my sensitive area. I walk over to the man. He looks middle aged, has short black hair, and is very muscular. He must have been some sort of cop, or athlete, or martial artist. He has got to be one of the three, I mean what kind of man could maintain a body like that these days? It ’ s perfect if we ’ re going to bust out of here. I just hope he ’ s not an actor, especially one that doesn ’ t even do his own action stunts. 
 
 “ Hi there, ” I greet the man, he is still focused on the metal bars. “ My name is Kirran. I can ’ t help but notice what you were doing over here. What was your job before being captured? ” My voice cracks, and I clear my throat. 
 
 The man examines me, his eyes quickly glancing up and down my pale scrawny body. “ Nice to meet you Kirran. My name is Erwin. I ’ m an acoustic technician. I studied at the United Lunar Government ’ s Academy # 1. ” 
 
 “ Amazing. That Academy is at Dome # 1, right? I ’ ve always read about Luna, and the colonists there. But I ’ ve never had the chance to take a trip out there. Actually I ’ ll never be able to. You see I ’ m a citizen of the Free Cities. ” 
 
 A moment of silence, then Erwin says, “ I specialize in acoustics in zero gravity and vacuums. This here metal and this place we ’ re in, it ’ s not unlike anything the Human InterPlanetary Expansion Regime manufactures. By the looks, sound, and taste of this metal bar, it ’ s most likely an alloy of a derivative of lunar regolith, mixed with raw ferrous. ” 
 
 “ Ahh, ” I gasp, “ is that true? Are you saying HIPER, your people are responsible for this abduction? ” I ask in shock. 
 
 “ Like I said this here cage is not unlike anything HIPER manufactures, but the composition of this metal is something HIPER would never create. The materials are too weak. And have you noticed something else about yourself? ” 
 
 “ About myself? ” I ask curiously, cupping my sensitive area with two hands now. 
 
 “ Yeah. Don ’ t you feel lighter? Well you probably can ’ t tell. It looks like there ’ s less than a hundred pounds on you… ” 
 
 I look at him expressionless. 
 
 “ No offence, ” Erwin adds. 
 
 “ Hey you, big guy! ” Erwin calls out to the bigger man that is still laying on his side in a fetal position. 
 The big man looks around and points to himself. “ Me? ” 
 
 “ Yeah you! You ’ re the only big guy in here. Can you please stand up for a moment and jump for all of us? ” 
 
 The big man stares at Erwin. Erwin stares back with a determined look. 
 
 “ Look, you ’ re not doing anything right now, are you? I mean besides sulking to yourself? Can you please do as I say? I want to demonstrate something to everyone. ” 
 
 All the other prisoners look to Erwin. The woman with the short dirty blond hair gets up. 
 
 “ Hey! I don ’ t like the tone of your voice. Just because you ’ re from the United Lunar Government, does not give you the right to boss anyone around! ” The woman is fired up, and has a very passionate expression in her voice. 
 
 The big man stands up and waves at the angry woman. He clears his throat and speaks aloud, “ Don ’ t worry about me! In fact, I ’ m from the United Martian Government! ” 
 
 The short haired woman angrily looks at the big man, “ What!? You ’ re just another HIPER dog too then! Oh stars… Who else in here is not a Free Citizen? ” 
 
 Nobody raises their hands. 
 
 “ Okay, ” the short haired woman glances at the big man and Erwin, “ you two keep it down and don ’ t bother anyone, your people has done enough as it is… ” she walks to the opposite corner of the room, and sits down in the fetal position. 
 
 Erwin and the big man innocently look at each other, and Erwin shrugs. 
 
 “ Alright, I ’ ll do it. Ready? ” the big man announces. Everyone in the room turns to the big man to see the spectacle. The big man jumps straight up, a sudden bout of momentum propels him upwards and he hits the ceiling 10 feet above the ground. The spot where he hit his head crumples from the impact, leaving a circular impression. 
 
 “ I knew it. The composition of the metal in this room is abysmal. ” Erwin retorts, as the big man is on the ground massaging his head. He is visibly blushing, the brunette woman with long hair is helping massage his injury. 
 
 I stare at Erwin. He is in deep thought, and I break the silence. “ Hey Erwin, what was that all about? Are you going to explain how this man was able to jump so high? And how that relates to your question about me? ” 
 
 Erwin initially ignored me, then he glances up, “ Well Kirran, can ’ t you see? Look at the impression in the ceiling above the big man. How was a heavy guy like that able to jump so high? ” 
 
 “ That ’ s exactly what I asked you! Don ’ t repeat the question! ” I frustratingly tell him. 
 
 “ Think man! Think! If such a heavy man like that was able to jump so high, then our location comes down to two possible alternatives. Either we are on a planet with a fraction of Terra ’ s gravity… Or we are in deep space on a ship, with artificial gravity tuned to a fraction of Terra ’ s gravity. ” 
 
 The big man speaks up, “ If that ’ s true, then we are definitely not on Mars. I know Martian gravity. The gravity in this place is significantly less than that of Mars. ” 
 
 “ Yes, very fascinating. If I were a betting man, I would wager it ’ s close to that of Luna, maybe even significantly less, although I haven ’ t been to Luna since I graduated many years back. I can ’ t quite tell anymore because I work at the HIPER Space Station, and they tune the centrifugal artificial gravity there to match Terra ’ s. In any case, do you know what that means Kirran? ” 
 
 I stare at Erwin again. He stares back with an odd look, and I quickly turn away to examine the metal bars. “ Erwin, are you saying that whoever built this facility lives on a planet with significantly less gravity than Terra? Than Luna? If that assumption is correct, are you saying that we Terrans could break through this metal with ease? ” I hesitate to say that last part. 
 
 Someone stands up in the direction of where the short haired woman went to sit down, and that person is angrily walking toward the metal bars. Without notice, in the periphery of my line of sight, I can see the short haired woman punch through one of the metal bars. 
 
 “ STOP! STOP! ” Erwin pleads, but nobody listens. 
 
 The other prisoners see the destruction and begin destroying the metal bars. Soon the cage is empty, except for myself, Erwin, the big man, the brunette woman, and the short haired woman. 
 
 “ We have to go find an escape pod. If we are on a spaceship or even an extraterrestrial planet, that riotous crowd could break the hull at any moment. ” As Erwin finishes his sentence, a blaring alarm and a blinking red light fills the air. 
 
 The five of us glances at one another, and we all quickly get up and run out into the hallway.
