Kathy found the website by accident. "Decode the Secret Message!" it exclaimed. "Win real prizes!"
And in the middle of the screen, a spinning black and white spiral, overlaid with flickering static. And a text box - "TYPE THE SECRET MESSAGE HERE"
She knew it was a scam. She knew she should close the browser window. But there was something in the flickering spiral - words - and she could *almost* see them. It started with a T - or a W - and it was a three word phrase - or maybe four...
She stared at the spiral. She thought maybe one of the words was "THE" - or possibly "OF".
When she finally tore her eyes away, she was surprised to see that half an hour had passed. It had only felt like a few minutes. What had she been thinking?
She went to close the browser window - and then saw the small text beneath the spiral, that she had overlooked before. "Turn up volume to help decode the message. For best effects, use headphones."
Curious, she plugged her headphones in, and clicked the icon to engage the audio. Suddenly, she could *hear* the static - a flickering hiss - and also hear the spiral - a deep, bass thrum, cycling from a pitch too low for her to hear up to a clear, harmonic note, and back again.
It felt like it ran through her whole brain, a reverberating wave of noise - intriguing, oppressing, impossible to ignore. Her mouth opened, her lips parted, her breathing shallow.
She looked at the spiral again - and the audio helped. She could see deeper - clearer...
And then suddenly it was dark. The sunlight outside the window was gone, and the indoor lights had not been switched on. Hours had passed. Kathy was tired, confused, dehydrated. She had trouble focusing her eyes. She tore the headphones off her head, and stumbled away from the computer, looking for something to eat and drink, and when she had sated herself, she pulled off her clothes, fell into her bed naked, and instantly dropped into a deep, heavy sleep.
That night, she dreamed, and in her dream she saw the spiral. Black and white arcs of colour spun in an endless dance, and across them was the grainy flicker of static. She was aware of the words beneath the images, and the words seemed even clearer now. One of them was "GIRL". She was sure it was "GIRL" - she could see the "G" - but at the same time, but it might have been "SLUT". Another of the words was "BLANK". A third was "OBEY". But none of these words seemed to go together into a phrase. She was sure the phrase was only three words - or four - but it seemed like there were too many words to fit into a single sentence.
She needed to see the real words. She had to check again what they looked like. She woke with a gasp, in a room that was still dark. The sun had not yet risen. She should sleep longer, she knew - but her dreams consumed her mind. She had to see the words. She stumbled to the computer, completely naked, to reload the site. When the spiral appeared, she put her headphones on - and the day vanished.
She had no sense of time passing - and yet, when her consciousness next returned, she knew that something was wrong. There was dim light outside.
At first she assumed it was the rising sun - but it wasn't. It was the *setting* sun. She had been at the computer all day. But she didn't feel as dehydrated, or hungry as she had last night. She cast her eyes about - and spied a plate with crumbs on it, abandoned on the computer desk, next to an empty drinking glass. Had she gotten up and made food, without even remembering it?
Stranger still, she became aware that there was a damp, urgent heat between her legs. Her pussy was throbbing. It yearned to be touched. It was wet, and aroused - and her fingers smelt like her pussy, too, she discovered. Had she been masturbating? What had happened to her? Was the spiral to blame?
But then she remembered *why* she had suddenly become alert. She knew the message! She had seen the words, perceived the letters, and worked it out!
Beaming with delight, she selected the text box on the screen, and typed "I AM A SLUT".
The website pinged. A jubilant banner popped up. "YOU HAVE FOUND MESSAGE ONE OF TEN! ONLY NINE TO GO!"
She squeaked with happiness and pride at her success - and then sighed, understanding the meaning of "one of ten". Of course! That was why there were too many words - there were multiple messages. And apparently each had a separate prize - the banner was informing her that she had just won a $50 gift voucher to spend at a lingerie store.
"Enter your name, email address, home address and phone number to claim," said the website, and Kathy entered her details obediently.
As soon as she did, a message appeared on her phone. "Get an edge in breaking the code! Install the Secret Message app on your phone!"
Kathy was suddenly aware that she desperately wanted to uncover the other messages. If solving just one could win her $50 in underwear, what would she get for all ten? She clicked on the link in the message - and frowned. Apparently installing the app would require sideloading it - bypassing the protections in her phone's app store, and giving it a range of dubious permissions to control her phone.
But the prize for the first message was real. And she *needed* to find the other messages. So she followed the instructions and installed the app.
Once the app was installed, more messages immediately popped up. But these were strange. One was from her father - and it read, "Well done on finding the secret message, Kathy!" Another was from boss, reading, "Great job on decoding, Kathy!" A third was from a friend, and was just a thumbs up emoji.
Was the app impersonating the people in her contacts list? That was weird, and gross - but also kind of funny, in a way. It felt good to see those messages of approval - particularly from her father and her boss, who had always been difficult to please.
She had to know, though. She phoned the friend who had sent her the thumbs up. "Hey, Mitch," she asked. 'Did you just message me a thumbs up?"
