"Welcome to Sparkle Industries!" a voice chirped as Sophie opened the door. She walked up to the counter, not looking up from her phone.
"How can I help you?" the receptionist asked.
"I have a meeting with Dr. Johansson."
"Ah, the 10:15. Down the hall, third door on the right." She walked off, glancing up once in a while to count doors. She walked into the third door on the right and found Dr. Johansson sitting at the desk.
"Sophie! Good to see you," he said. "Got something real exciting for you today."
"I'm afraid I'm not here for a demonstration, Doctor," she sighed. He looked at her in confusion. "The corporate office is, well... Let's just say they're not happy with the results of your recent inventions. Sales are low and the company's stock is plummeting."
"I don't understand."
"As of today, you are terminated from your position at Sparkle Industries. Your leftover experiments will become the property of Sparkle Industries. You have been ordered to vacate the property immediately."
"Sophie, you of all people should know that--"
"I'm just here to do my job, Doctor."
"You've always appreciated my experiments."
"I have. One of them is sitting at my home right now, as a matter of fact."
"Just one last demonstration? For an old friend?" Sophie chuckled and shook her head.
"What the hell? Sure. Why not?"
"Wonderful. Right this way." He led her to a contraption in the center of the room. It was similar to a dentist's chair, angled in a shallow V-shape. "Please, sit."
"Doctor--"
"Mike. No need for professional titles, now."
"I'm not a test subject."
"It's harmless. You'll walk out of here feeling better than new."
"Mike, I don't need you fucking with my brain."
"Oh, it's just a little confidence boost. Get rid of that guilt from firing me, huh? You can step out of the chair at any time."
Sophie shrugged and sat down. It was a surprisingly comfortable position, her upper body reclined back and legs slightly elevated. Mike shined a flashlight in her eyes and she froze.
"Twenty seconds," he said. He strapped down her wrists and ankles so she couldn't escape. Naturally, everything he'd said to Sophie had been a lie. He had no intention of simply giving her a harmless, little confidence boost.
"What?" Twenty seconds were up. Sophie pulled on her restraints. "Mike, what the fuck is this?"
"Don't worry..." he said. He put a gas mask over her mouth and nose, and she writhed, eyes wild as she searched for an escape. "This will all be over soon."
"Fuck you!" she yelled. Her voice was muffled by the mask. Mike sighed and put a visor over her eyes. It was tinted blue and was still transparent enough for Sophie to glare at him.
"Relax..." He smiled at her and pressed a button on the side of the visor. It filled Sophie's vision with a spiral. She closed her eyes to block out the bright, colorful spiral.
The gas mask began to fill her lungs with a drug that would deprive her brain of oxygen, taking away all of her thoughts and feelings. Eventually, she would become totally blank. Her mind would be open for Mike to program however he wanted.
Her eyes opened and caught the spiral. She stared blankly at it, her mind already melting away. Her gaze moved towards the center of the spiral, eyes crossing.
She breathed deeper, sucking in more and more of the drug. And her eyes focused more and more on the spiral. Mike took off the gas mask and grinned. Her mouth was hanging open, no hint of resistance in her expression.
Words began to flash across the visor. They were there and gone in the blink of an eye, but Sophie would see it. Deep, deep, deep in her subconscious, she would understand.
Drop. Blank. Submit. Obey. Mindless.
Drop. Blank. Submit. Obey. Mindless.
