Placing the apple down, Brian got off his bench and went over to inspect his captives.
"Hmm." He said, not looking too pleased, "They seem to be in good physical condition, but I can't say much for their choice of clothing. This one looks like he's wearing a tablecloth." Brian said, pointing at Micky. "Still, they took the first dose rather easily, so I suppose they'll do alright."
"What will you do to them now?" Julie asked, looking at Micky's sleeping face.
"I have to break down their will." Brian said with a smug smile. "They have to undergo more conditioning to make them my slaves before the final test."
"What test?" Julie asked again.
"All in good time, my dear. All in good time."
Brian strode back over to his Electro-Thought machine and sat down once again. He started to play more weird chords on his machine and the Monkees' tubes were bathed in a blue light. After several seconds, the lights faded and the four captives were dressed like cavemen! Slowly, the Monkees woke up as the tubes were raised once again.
"Yes, in order to break their will I must make them think they are in humanity's deep past, where there was no sense of order or structure?all the better to take my commands."
The four Monkees bent over and slowly began to move around, their bare feet slapping on the floor. They looked at the room, not seeming to know where they were or why they were there. After several seconds, however, Micky locked eyes with Julie. She gave him a little smile.
"Let's see what they can do." Brian said. He started to play a fast song on his Electro-Thought machine again. Micky straightened up a little, and sang:
I go ape every time I see you smile.
I'm a ding-dong gorilla and I carry on cave man style.
oompha oompha oompha! Mike, Peter and Davy sang.
I'm gonna bop you on the head and love you all the while. Micky sang, looking at Julie the whole time.
oompha, oompha, oompha Went the other three Monkees.
I'm a Monkey's cousin to a Chimpanzee on a Saturday night.
I'm a reeling and a rocking from a coconut tree.
Suddenly, the Monkees got out of control. They stopped singing began running around the laboratory, knocking over equipment. Clive, Gary and John had a hard time trying to rein them in. Brian's music did little to stop them. Julie laughed to herself as the Monkees charged around the area. Suddenly, they began to walk menacingly toward Brian. Brian stopped playing and pulled another switch. A large net fell from the ceiling, trapping the Monkees. They fell to the ground.
"No no, too wild!" Brian shouted, "They can't take orders if they are too primitive to understand!"
Julie took advantage of Brian's distraction and picked up one of the apples, hiding it in the wide sleeve of her gown.
While Brian and his assistants cleaned up the area, Julie crept over to the Monkees and handed Micky the apple. Micky got the idea and took a bite, then handed the apple to the other Monkees. They found that they could think more clearly. When the place was cleaned up again, Brian directed his assistants to put the Monkees back in their tubes.
Quickly, his command was obeyed and the Monkees began to bang on the tubes once again, demanding to be released. Brian, however, ignored them and thought about the next part of their conditioning.
"If they cannot respond as wild animals, perhaps they can act more like machines?" He worked the stops on his Electro-Thought Machine once again and a red light shone on the tubes. The Monkees were now dressed in black slacks, boots and bright yellow shirts. The scientist ordered the tubes rose once again and the Monkees began to sing:
I'm a wind up man
Programmed to be entertaining
Turn the key I'm a fully automatic
Wind up man
Invented by the teeny-bopper
Turn me on
And I will sing a song
About a wind up man
The Monkees walked stiff-legged around the laboratory, faces void of expression, but their eyes were wide. They were aware of what they were doing, but powerless to stop it.
I'm a wind up man
Programmed to be entertaining
Turn me on
And I will sing a song
About a wind up world Of people watching television Wind up man,
Can you here me laughing at you, wind up man? ha, ha!
Brian banged a chord on his Electro-Thought machine. The Monkees stopped singing, and froze in place.
"No, no! Far too mechanical!" He shouted. "Rhythmically wrong! I'll teach them to sing another song, a song I have written!" He began to play more, but Julie stopped him.
"Perhaps they need a rest." She said softly, placing her hand on his. "This may be too much for them all at once." Brian looked at the stiff and silent Monkees for a moment and nodded his head.
"Hmm, you might be right, Julie." He said, "This will be a good time to do something important."
"What are going to do?" Julie asked.
"I need to get the last part of my experiment ready." Brian said, getting up from his machine. "I'll need a place to try out my Monkee test subjects on the world."
He told his men to put the Monkees back in their tubes. When they had done so, Brian and his men left the laboratory, leaving Julie to wonder what was going on. A few minutes later, Brian and Clive came back in. Both men had changed their clothes. Now, they were dressed in suits and had slicked-back hair, like what was worn in the nineteen fifties.
"See you later, Julie." Brian said, putting on a fedora, as he and Clive walked into the black box. A few seconds later, to Julie's astonishment, the black box shimmered and then disappeared.