About the Project
Arisa Fischer has hit rock bottom. She’s depressed, thousands of dollars in debt from a degree she doesn’t even use, and one sick day away from being fired at her temp job. She’s contemplating giving up until one day, life throws her a bone.
Her psychiatrist tells her about a huge experiment to be conducted by the IIES (Institute for Introvert and Extrovert Studies). Qualifying participants will be paid generous sums of money to move to an undisclosed location and allow themselves to be studied. Seeing this chance as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Arisa agrees.
Phase One of the experiment is like a dream – Arisa lives in a massive, state-of-the-art smart home completely by herself. Her socially awkward heart is overjoyed to find that the “town” constructed for the experiment is fully automated – in other words, she’s the only person in the entire place.
But as days turn into weeks, Arisa feels that something isn’t right. For starters, the smart home’s robot assistant “Tristan” is cryptic and unnerving. On top of that, she discovers that the house keeps her locked in except for designated times. Then, on her weekly grocery run, she sees someone for the first time in months.
Questions threaten to overwhelm her: What is the point of this experiment? When will Phase Two occur and what will it entail? And most importantly, who was that guy she just saw and why did he look so scared?
quotes
We will give these people the lives they’ve always dreamed of. Then, when they’ve completely let their guards down, we’ll rip it all away and watch them implode.
Imagery
Lost and Confused
Trapped
“Tristan”
The Smart House
Paradise?
The Empty Town
Arisa
Ken
How it Relates to Japan
- The love interest, Ken (Kentaro Higashi) is Japanese
- Ken only speaks Japanese and Arisa only speaks English, so they are forced to communicate with a mix of the two languages