Kirthaven Gym: Gym Motivation (hypno)
by irrcapt
Business was booming at the Kirthaven Gym, and Max was its newest customer. He'd alwasy been a gym nut, but when his friends all started going to the Kirthaven, he decided to give the place a try.
So far, thought, the experience had been less than ideal. The man at the front desk had been deadpan, and it looked like the trainers were the same. You don't want them gushing, he thought, but doing something to motivate helped everyone.
"Is there a problem, sir?" a scrawny young man asked as he walked up.
"You're a trainer?" Max was incredulous.
"No, I'm the owner," the man replied smugly.
"Well, yeah, there is a problem. Your employees aren't really helping motivate your customers," Max said accusingly.
"Well, sir, we here at Kirthaven Gym feel that motivation is very important, but that kind of motivation doesn't go far enough, and so we're going to the cutting edge. The music you are hearing is specially tailored to help motivate you as you listen."
Max raised an eyebrow at that. "Really?"
"Oh yes, as long as you focus on it, you'll be able to do more and push harder. Why don't you give it a try?" the man said, indicating a weight machine that was open.
Max shrugged. "I guess I can."
Max started working out as the owner watched. Huh, he's right, Max thought as he started working out. The music was easy to focus on; he barely heard the owner's rambling.
"Yup, this is state-of-the-art. Everything you need to help get you to the place that you want to be. Focusing on the music helps you do that. It goes straight to those portions of your mind that distract you and just blocks them out. Can't you feel it?"
"Yeah," Max replied, finding his attention easily focused on his reps. And the music. And the owner's voice.
"Those blocks are very important," the owner continued, "and the longer you listen to the music, the more those unimportant things can be blocked out. So the more you work out, the easier it is to block out fatigue, to to block out distractions, to block out worries, to block out cares. So easy to focus with those gone. But there are other things that distract you, too. Like your memories?"
Wha? Max thought, the shock tryinh to break him from the music and the words. But the owner droned on.
"Memories are so distracting. Bringing up the past, trying to make you think of other times. Better to let the music block it out. Even the little things like your name are distracting, unimportant."
My name? Max thought blearily. My name is uh... ummmm.... I... thinking... hard... reps... music... his thoughts drifted off. He continued to pump, but his eyes rolled back in his head, his brain seeming to dribble with mush with the owner's final words.
"Thoughts are a distraction too. You don't need them, my voice is enough. It can do all the things your thoughts used to. You just focus on the music and wait for instructions."
Max's mouth fell open, but he still mindlessly did reps.
The owner smiled evilly. Perfect, he thought, and this one is already buff. Might make him another trainer so we can expand.
"Stand up and pose," the owner ordered.
Max stopped doing reps and stood, his body posing, except for his head, which fell loosely to his chest. The owner gauged sizes.
"Okay, let me get you a uniform. Wait here."
Holding that pose, Max did, as the rest of the people there, trainers and customers alike, continued mindlessly working out, waiting for more instructions from their master, focused on the music and nothing more...