An Alien's Point of View: The Gym

There is a writing exercise I often ran into growing up. Describe something like you were talking to an alien from outer space. What follows is a slight modification of that practice: a normal situation as described by an outer space alien. Today the alien goes to the gym.

I enter the rudimentary airlocks at the front of the structure. Inside lies a console with bipedal beings at the ready. To enter, you must present some type of identification device. If you have the proper credentials you are allowed passage into a long, tiled hallway. After ascending some steps, you reach a very peculiar room filled with pulleys, shaped metal tubes, and iron plates.

From what I can tell, the bipeds on the mechanisms are being tortured. All of the beings have a strange look on their faces, as if in pain. They also appear to be trying to escape the machines, but failing repeatedly. I fail to see how they possibly manage that considering they have full control over the resistance applied to their awkward bodies. After numerous tries, they do eventually escape their prisons and move on only to be trapped by others. Maybe the structure houses experiments that modify behavior. That would explain the airlocks and security. Their behavior simply cannot be normal.

One behavior I find especially striking. Several bipeds seem to voluntarily place themselves on circular tracks and flee from some unknown force. Even stranger, next to the fleeing bipeds are a type of step simulator. Maybe they are attempting to reach the top of the structure? Hm. They could be generating power. That would explain the repetitive behavior. Yes...

My final hypothesis is that this area is not a torture chamber or an experimental lab, but a generator. A subset of bipeds are chosen to come to this place every day and move around to generate energy. For what reason, I cannot say. Someone should tell them that the energy generated is not enough to make up for the food they must eat to complete the work.

All they are achieving is to waste time, energy, and increase the universes entropy. Silly bipeds.