“Stand, all of you,â€? the guard said in the same tone one would use to ask a child to put away his toys. “Disrobe and place all of your clothes in the white bags, your shoes in the cardboard boxes, and your jewelry and other possessions in the plastic tubs. Please.”

The guard looked at his watch and made a note on his clipboard. Seeing that all 13 of the men and women had followed his instructions, he once again consulted his watch before making another note.

“Please, follow me into the yellow room. Once inside, you will stand side by side, placing your toes on the blue line that bisects the room. You will be facing the table.” The guard turned and walked towards a door which opened automatically as he neared it, never turning back to see if they were obediently following. He didn’t need to, he knew they would.

*
The man seated at the center of the long table looked at the faces of the 13 standing before the committee. He spoke into the solitary microphone and addressed them.