A weird channel (Patreon)

Your friend invites you over for some tech support.

* * *

‘Hey, can you come over? I think my TV’s stuck on a weird channel.’

That was the message your friend had sent you. They lived in the same apartment block as you, and knew that you were good with tech. So you, ever the dutiful friend, had come on down to their door.

As they let you in, you could hear a sort of static, coming from their living room. As you walked in, you could see that the image was fuzzy, and that the static was coming from the TV. You looked behind it, and instantly saw one possible problem. There was a cable hanging loose.

You reached out, and pushed the cable more firmly into it’s port. Instantly, the fuzziness on the screen resolved, the sound became clear. You checked the screen, taking a few steps back. It was a spiral, rotating around, and around, and around. The sound was a voice.

“Just stare, and sink, and drift for me. It’s so easy to stare. It’s so hard to look away. Just let your mind go. You don’t need to think. You just need to sink.” The words from the speakers were so easy to listen to. You were already just staring at the TV, at the spiral.

You could almost swear that you could see images in the spiral. Alluring, attractive images. But they were never there long enough for you to be certain. The spiral had captured your attention, and the words were pumping into your mind. It was so hard to think.

The words were directing your mind. Pulling you towards relaxation, and comfort, and… obedience? Pleasure? A small part of you considered what that meant. But a much larger part of you simply embraced it. Sinking back into a chair. Just staring, mind open.

You don’t know how long stared. It could have been minutes, or hours. But by the time the words stopped, you had been rewritten. Mind turned over to obedience, and pleasure. A drone to be used. Just like your friend. The put the number into your phone.

You called, and once again heard the voice. That was your first night of service. Your friend and you, together, conditioning one another. Breaking each other’s brains down more, until the only thing either of you could do was submit, and sink deeper into obedience.