As I enter the room, the first thing I notice is a black chair placed in the center. It feels as if everything else is stationed around this chair, giving it the spotlight.

In front of the black chair stand three white chairs, neatly lined in a row. On each of the chairs sits a black-haired woman with navy eyes.

Their haircuts, faces, even their clothes - all look identical. It’s as if the three of them are precise clones of the same person.

A businesslike woman approaches me to collect the papers I signed on. She also demands my bag and phone.

Though all these countermeasures feel a little extreme, they remind me of the exams in the university. It builds up the same tense atmosphere, whispering into my consciousness: “You are going to be tested~ T-e-s-t-e-d~ Boooo~ ”.

I obediently follow the instructions and proceed to the black chair. Stares dagger me from every corner.

There are about ten men and woman in the room, all wearing elegant business suits. Each of them holds a notebook and a pen, probably to write down their impressions; some have already started writing before I even sat down.

When I sit on top of the black chair, the three clones focus their attention on me. All of them look beautiful and refined, easily passing for a model or an actress.

Three gorgeous women looking at me.

A dozen of guys in business suits looking at me.

Y-yeah, t-this isn’t going to be too comfortable...

To calm myself down, I take a few deep breathes and close my eyes. Nobody approaches me right now, might as well use the time to collect my thoughts.

As I open my eyes again, the three clones continue to look at me. They all wear the exact same expression as they scan me from three different angles.

I awkwardly avert my eyes and check out my surroundings. Some of the guys write down notes, others mess with their smartphones.

Among the crowd, I spot one familiar face: it’s the elderly guy who sat in the middle of my previous interview, I think his name was Charles.

He busily writes something in his notebook. Then, he flips the page and walks toward me with a serious expression.

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“I’ll now explain you the exam.”

“Yes.”

I nod as I direct my whole attention to his instructions.

“Among the three women sitting in front of you, only one is a human. The other two are robots developed by our company.”

Charles points toward the three women sitting in a row and I follow his pointing hand in disbelief.

All three of them look incredibly human to me, not to mention the fact they look thoroughly identical to each other. Are there really any robots in there...?

“You are given twenty minutes for this exam. During the time, you may speak with the three of them to your heart’s content. However, you aren’t allowed to leave your seat.”

I respond with an attentive nod.

“To pass the exam, you must figure out which of the three women is the human before time runs out. Naturally, you’ll also need to be able to explain how you reached your conclusion; random guessing doesn’t count.”

“I understand.”

In truth, there’s a lot I don’t understand.  Mainly: where the heck did this strange test come from? What QA aspects are being tested here?

“Any questions?”

“Am I immediately rejected if I fail this test?”

“No. Neither success nor failure guarantee anything. This exam is only used to give us a better understanding of your personality, methodology and so forth.”

It’s somewhat of a relief, since I have zero confidence about discerning the real woman from the androids. They look exactly the same, so much that it’s a little disturbing.

“I understand. I don’t have any other questions.”

Failure doesn’t mean immediate rejection, success doesn’t guarantee acceptance. Basically, this is a “Bonus Stage”.

“Very well. You have twenty minutes starting from.......... now.”