The Russian Sleep Experiment

 It was in the 1940's when the Bold Soviet Union was marching with their troops in the Cold War under the leadership of Stalin to defeat the Germans. Russia was in a dire state, and with no sign of concession from the other side, they were forced to think of new ways through which they could win the war.

Soviet researchers finally came up with a solution through which they could keep their armies for a longer period of time and make them fight for hours during the war. An experimatal gas-based stimulant is created, making Russians feel pretty good about themselves as vioctory will be theirs. Before subjecting millions of their troops to this gas, the scientists had to try it on human subjects for effective results. Five prisoners of war were selected for this exact purpose, where they were enclosed in a sealed chamber in which oxygen and gas stimulants would be released in the necessary amounts. With dry food, bedding, water, and books provided to the inmates, they were certainly living in better conditions inside this chamber than their jail cells. The test area was under constant surveillance, with cameras on either side of the room, and big porthole mirrors were provided to see the outside world. and thus, the experiment began.

day 1-3
The experiment had been going flawlessly as the subjects were reacting to the gas with no side effects visible yet to the scientists. Going without sleep for three days had done no damage to the men, and the experiment was extended to go on for a month, promising freedom to the prisoners at the end of it all.

day 4
The environment in the room had shhifted to a slightly eerie and pessimistic note as the subjects started discussing details about the war and horrors they had witnessed. This doesn't seem like your day-to-day friend conversation as the traumas of their lives come out in the open.

day 5
Things seem to go in a downward spiral as the men start experiencing psychosis and paranoia. They show signs of hallucinations and delusions, talk incoherently, and seem extremely agitated in their chamber. This is the textbook definition of what sleep deprivation for five days looks like.

day 6-9
A loud scream is heard from the chamber as one subject runs from the end of the room to another, screaming and howling like Hyena till he tears his vocal cords.

day 10-15
silence. No signs of any living being could be seen from the portholes by the scientists, but the only indication of the subject being alive came from the oxygen meter, showcasing that oxygen was indeed being consumed. At this point, the intervention of the scientists had become the need of the hour as they entered the chamber and witnessed a real-life image of hell in front of their eyes. The subjects had self-inflicted serious injuries on their bodies and had ripped open their rib cages to reveal their inner organs. They had been eating themselves, as some of the body parts could be found missing, whereas others looked like they had large chunks of skin and flesh missing from them. Among the various body organs laid out on the floor, there was a dead man, and the pandemonium was increased when subjects were found in this macabre horror movie scene smiling and lagging like devils because of the gas.

Soon after, the subjects died one by one due to the damage they had caused to themselves. The frightening fact was that, even on their deathbed, they were crying to get a sniff of the gas and were suffering from crazy withdrawal symptoms. The last subject before being shot by the scientist was asked, "Who are you?" and his reply was, "We are you." The rest was history. The experiment revealed the truth of the madness within us, which we put aside when we sleep so that its actions and horrors do not see the light of day. Not only was the experiment a total failure, but it also left a message for mankind to kindly not interfere with natural human processes.