I had been in prison so long I'd forgotten why I was there in the first place. I guess that’s what life without parole will do to you. Well, that and the concussion.

 

Ellis had to tell me what happened. Apparently, my first roommate and I didn’t get along. The attack resulted in amnesia, so I don’t even know if I won the fight. Ellis only heard the tussle, since each pair of roommates remained isolated from the rest of the inmates.

 

Now I only ever saw Ellis and Guard 147. Luckily, Ellis and I made agreeable roommates. But we lived together and apart on alternating days. Enough for our landlord to make you half crazy while still technically following the rules. Prolonged solitary confinement was illegal, but the warden pushed right up against that line.

 

147 was our chaperone. Meals, work assignments, exercise yard. He refused to tell me his name, so I gave up on getting to know him pretty quickly.

 

So, really it was just Ellis and me. Like most inmates, he talked about his life outside. He was rich, and knew that his best chance of getting out of here was bribing the right judge. But since we weren’t allowed to communicate with external people, he had to wait for his next appeal like everyone else.

 

I felt bad because I couldn’t add much to these conversations. I knew I'd had a life, I just didn’t know what it was. Instead, I talked about my hair-brained escape plans. I knew it was a cliche, but I was convinced that I could actually do it.

 

Ellis was kind enough to listen, but he always looked like a parent humoring their child’s fantasy. Interested. Supportive even. But ultimately pragmatic enough to know better.

 

The idea of escape gnawed at my brain. As we walked the endless maze of concrete walls and metal partitions, I took mental notes. Items, locations, schedules. Everything. The vast majority were dead ends, but I only needed one viable path.

 

Ironically, the solution was the wall.

 

Every day, I was given fifteen minutes of fresh air. I used it to study the wall. The twenty-foot high metallic grid gleamed in the sunshine. Once a week, I got to see it in action.

 

147 would activate one or two androids a few feet away. As soon as they touched it, all of the panels would fly open. Robotic arms would quickly extend and subdue. Sometimes the robots would run, jump, or even climb a foot or two, but the result was always the same.

 

Ellis claimed the demonstrations were conducted to improve the wall’s neural network. But I knew better. They did them to show off its power. I figured their hubris would be the weakness that I needed. It took a long time to solve the puzzle, but I did it eventually.

 

* * *

 

“The wall?” Ellis said. “You’re kidding. It’s impenetrable.”

 

“They think it’s impenetrable,” I replied. “But it’s not.”

 

“Alright. Explain…”

 

“Upon impact, the panels open immediately. But the arms are delayed. The timing depends on where it’s touched. My guess is that it was too expensive to put arms in every section, so they’re stationed evenly inside the wall.”

 

“So they move?” he asked.

 

“Exactly. On a track. When the sensors detect the impact, the wall commands the nearest arm assembly to move to that spot.”

 

“The further away, the longer it takes.” Ellis paused. “You found the midpoint.”

 

“No, they found it for me,” I said with a grin. “I’ve been timing the responses during their demonstrations.”

 

“That’s it? Can you climb the wall that fast?”

 

“Not quite. But there’s one more thing. One day, two androids hit the wall at the exact same time. The response was especially slow. I think the algorithm stalled momentarily while it sent commands to two assemblies simultaneously.”

 

“So, you need my help.”

 

“If you do this, I’ll use your money to bribe your judge,” I said.

 

“Wait, what if the whole thing is electrified?”

 

“That’s why I took these from work,” I said, handing him a pair of rubber gloves.

 

“Looks like you thought of everything.”

 

“We’ll see.”

 

* * *

 

We were in our spots. I waited for 147 to turn his back on us. I took my first step and Ellis was right in sync. We pulled our gloves on while we walked. I took a deep breath as I approached the wall.

 

The next few seconds were a blur.

 

Touched the wall. Panels opened. Started climb. 147 yelled. Arms extended. Reached the top. Foot pulled down. Kicked it free. Over the edge. Fell…

 

As I swiped helplessly for a handhold, I realized that I had no plan for this part. I had focused so much on getting over the wall, that I didn’t know what to do now.

 

A few protrusions slowed me down slightly, but I still hit the ground quite hard.

 

I lay in a ragged heap. I squinted toward freedom and saw a blurry figure walking toward me.

 

Caught.

 

“You did it!” Ellis said as he helped me up.

 

“What?”

 

“You escaped.”

 

“And you did too? That wasn’t…”

 

“Oh, right. This was just your test, not mine.”

 

I stared at him blankly.

 

“You were rich and bored,” Ellis continued. “Business magnate. Chess grandmaster. You had done it all. So you upped the ante. Your doctor gave you temporary memory blockers. And…”

 

“But why prison?”

 

“You really don’t remember, do you? Some of us thought you might be playing along.”

Another empty look.

 

“You designed the wall. No one could find a weakness including you, but you were convinced there was one. You decided that you needed a different perspective to see it. And you were right. As usual.”

 

As the waiting helicopter took off, I looked down. I hadn’t been living in a real prison, just a serpentine sliver of one.

 

I shook my head…

 

What if there had been no weakness? Or what if I had never figured it out?