The Subject: Protocol Zero

The Subject: Protocol Zero is a monitored experiment in which you complete four stages testing your self-control. You are Subject Zero, the first participant in the final phase of the Null Institute Protocol Zero trials, after signing a contract with a foundation known for neurological research. Voice instructions and data snippets reveal more about the study as the trials progress, while the events before and after your participation remain unknown.

The four stages

The experiment uses a webcam and microphone to monitor you in real time. It tracks blinking, lip and silhouette movements, and hand trajectories; breaking a stage’s rules ends the session immediately.

• Stage 1: Avoid blinking for a set period while the camera monitors your eyelids. Even a tear rolling down your cheek counts as a violation.
• Stage 2: Stay completely still and silent. Software compares your silhouette with its starting position, while the microphone detects sounds above the background level, including breathing and other incidental noises.
• Stage 3: Reproduce a briefly displayed sequence of gestures in the correct order and within a limited time. Computer vision compares your hand’s trajectory and position with a reference; a mismatch causes a crash.
• Stage 4: Move or freeze in response to green and red signals. The camera monitors you during the red-light phase, and a wrong response or movement when movement is prohibited counts as failure.