Computist 3: Before... and After (hypno)
by irrcapt
Part 1
Brett skated along the back alleys, working his board and trying some tricks. It was a hot lazy Sunday afternoon, and he finally had time to get away from work and have some time to practice. Brett had a dream to become a famous skater. When he could escape from his burger flipping job, he took every opportunity to do street tricks and grinds. He kept himself lean, his weight low, and he hoped that some day he could get good enough to go pro and dump his crappy job.
As he skated along, he slipped his headphones over his ears. He had heard that some skaters used self-affirmation MP3s to give them the edge they needed to pull their best tricks. He'd found this one online, which promised to calm fears and nervousness. He flipped his player on, and some dull, ethereal sounding music started playing.
Well, I guess it's calming, although I would have thought that words or something would have been better. I mean this... sort of music... just makes me... sleepy.
Brett continued to skate, but a distracted look came across his face, as the music seem to make him zone out, unable to really think about anything.The track ended, and Brett blinked.
That was really weird. It felt like he'd been hollowed out inside his head. But, as he thought back, he'd realized he'd done some of the best tricks ever. He reviewed his performance as he skated to a car, and then more as he drove.
I guess I must have been overthinking. What, where am I? Whose car is this? He'd be so focused on reviewing his performance that he hadn't noticed where he was.
He hadn't realized it, but Brett hadn't left his total focus state since the track ended. It was as if his subconscious mind seemed to be distracting him with other things so that it could control his movements. Even now as he stopped in front of a nondescript warehouse, he was so focused on trying to figure out where he was that he didn't notice himself getting out of the car and going into the warehouse while taking all his stuff with him.
As he entered, Brett started to regain his own focus. Who cares where I am; what the else am I doing? He stopped dead in the entryway to the warehouse, finally exerting his full control. But it was far too late, because as he did, the white walls of the room blossomed into whirling spirals, and the same music from the MP3 he downloaded began playing from the speakers. Brett got distracted for but a second, and his subconscious jumped at the chance, directing all his attention to the spiral spinning in front of him. Brett's conscious mind, bombarded by the music and the spiral, focused totally on both of them and emptied.
After 30 minutes of programming, the spirals switched off, and a voice came over the PA system, speaking over the entrancing system.
"You have been chosen, my boy, to be my new muscle slave. Now, I know that you wanted to be a skater boi, but frankly, those are boring. And besides, what you want isn't really important anymore, is it?"
"Not important."
"And what is important?"
"That I must listen and obey."
"Perfect. Trust me, in a few weeks, you won't care about what you used to want. Now, in the next room, you'll find some food, a pill, and some water. Eat those, and then I'll instruct you on your workout."
"I understand."
Brett walked through that door, his mind so totally focused on the music that he was unable to resist.
Part 2
It had been some months, not that Brett had noticed them. His mind had been too addled to really be up for any kind of thought. His days and nights were filled with the focusing music and the spirals and the instructions and none of them left time for him to put two thoughts together. Workout, eat, workout more, sleep--his routine was mechanical.
However, one day he had been ordered into a small room in the warehouse he hadn't been in before. The door closed, the lock clicked, and suddenly, the spirals and the music all turned off. Brett sat there for 5 minutes or so, his mind pulling itself back together after being in trance for so long. When it did, he looked aroudn groggily. When he saw his arm, he jumped and swore. "I'm huge! What the hell? Where am I?"
A voice sounded over the PA system. "Hello, and welcome to your Final Orientation."
None of this was making any sense to Brett. "My what?!"
"Your Final Orientation, my boy." Brett could feel a smile creeping into the voice's tone over the PA. "I've been working with you for the past few months to get you bulked up. You had this skater boi look that just wasn't what me or my clients wanted. So you've been robotically working out for 6 months or so, taking supplements, and here we are."
"But... but how..."
"How did I influence you? Simplicity itself. After you listened to my MP3 that reshaped your psyche, you were put into a deep trance. I just had to maintain it." Without Brett noticing, the music played softly in the background again. "Here, you look thirsty, my boy. How about a drink?" A panel slid open containing a sport bottle with a purple liquid.
Before he could think, Brett grabbed the bottle and drank half right off. He shook himself then. "What was in that drink?!"
"Just your supplements, my boy. It's what made you the many you are today. Here, let me show you." The far wall of the chamber seemed to turn into a mirror. "See, look for yourslef. You're a full-blown muscle man now. Just watch those muscles tighten and loosen with every movement of those massive arms of yours."
Brett's eyes involuntarily went to his arms, becoming fascinated by their motion. "But... I didn't want this. I wanted to be a skater," he said distractedly.
"But how could that compare to this, my boy? The pattern of those rippling muscles feels so good, doesn't it? That tension is good to hold in some places and relax in others. You may grow a little tired while you hold that tension, but then the relaxation after you release is so good."
"Yeah." Brett's mind was already beginning to whirl as he fell under the influence of the induction.
"In fact, you're starting to get tired of the tension, aren't you? The relaxation after it is so much better than it just seems to flow over everything, taking that delicious feeling to every corner of your body."
Brett's body melted, his head lolling.
"That's right, just let it all relax and soften and go deeper. Don't you want to?"
"Yesh," Brett said with what little control he had left. His mind was mush, putty in the hands of the voice.
"Good, just relax and listen and watch and believe."
In his control room, the master flipped a switch, turning the room into a sea of spirals and started piping the brainwashing material in there. He'd always had to wake his subjects before the final brainwashing. THey had to notice the changes to get their psyche in the right state to accept they were a new person. New body, new mind, new life. Pretty soon Brett's personality would be that of a totally obedient muscle slave, working out to keep that figure and obeying his master at all other times. He looed ath Brett over the monitor.
"You're just too cute to let go, my boy. Guess my stable's just going to have to increase by one..."
END