(Note: all characters are 18 and over)
Introduction
College student Grayson Nichols finds an unmarked package at his doorstep. Inside, a copper ornamental box contains a statue holding a small bowl. Instructions translate before his eyes and read:
Fill the bowl with sand and write a command.
The command must be legible.
Write as many commands in a day as you wish.
A person cannot be commanded more than once a day.
A person cannot be commanded for more than 137th of a day.
A person must be properly identified.
Now, Grayson suspects he's damned, but he intends to see how far he can bend the world to his will. Marcus Aurelius once said, "A man's worth is no greater than his ambitions." If that's true, Grayson may have the highest net worth on the planet.
Hampered only by an old injury at the hands of a bully, he fills the bowl with sand and starts writing.
Chapter 6
The whole gang showed up to give their briefings to Grayson, who wore a cap. He wasn't anonymous, but it made him a little less recognizable, or at least felt that way. They made a circle in the cafeteria. Oliver and David reported another twenty grand they had picked up around the city. It sure was generous for the wealthy to give so freely. Sarah manufactured dirt on various college administrators. It was good practice for when she moved up to government officials. Danial had the rest of the group working at the office. Oh, how surprised Danial would be when clients scrambled for their business.
I'm proud of my little posse of miscreants
.
Sarah pushed an envelope into his hand. She said, "I got the photos." He flipped it open, and she pointed at an old man getting a blowjob. "Here's Tiffany and the chancellor."
Grayson smiled and looked at his followers. "You have no idea how much this all means to me. We'll cheat, steal, and fuck to the very summit of the world."
Oliver raised a can of soda to a toast. "Fuck to the top."
A gaggle of cheerleaders caught Grayson's attention as they strode by. Long, shapely legs moved under their uniform blue skirts. Good, they would be great entertainment for the hypnotist event. He had had to write so damn many commands last night. He was getting faster at it, though. He could reuse the same command and just take his fanger, smudge out the name, and write a new one, which let him write hundreds of commands efficiently. Also, he'd learned that conditionals worked better. He had to provide a time if he wrote someone would do something
when
he snapped his fingers. But, if he just wrote
if
he snapped his fingers, he would not. Why it worked differently, he didn't know, but it simplified things immensely. The stage was set.
Sarah pointed at the television droning news behind them. "Look at that."
Grayson waved dismissively. "I don't watch the mainstream media, Sarah."
"No, look, that's crazy."
On the TV, a news anchor spoke:
"The state of California has made membership to the Flock of God mandatory, as long with a tithe."
An overweight pundit with gray in his curly hair said, "I don't know how it's gotten so far. Look, it blatantly violates the Constitution. The United States was founded on freedom of religion. It shouldn't have to go to the Supreme Court, but this is where we are, and someone needs to bring the case to them, but it seems like it keeps falling apart every time they try. And now Californians could face over a hundred-billion dollar tax by the Flock. It's insane."
"What do you think of their leader who calls herself The Anointed One?"
A picture of a girl appeared in the upper right. The girl had bangs, green eyes, and a thin nose held up as if in contempt.
"I don't know what's wrong with this girl, and I say girl because she's eighteen? She thinks she's Jesus returned for the End Times. Look, it's just ridiculous. You don't need a theologian to know she's not the Son. I think someone is using her, someone from the billionaire class who wants to destroy society."
"And what about the little riddle she gave yesterday? She said
God told me there's another with a statue, the Antichrist
."
"I think she might be on drugs."
Grayson massaged his withered thigh. A girl with a cult took over the Golden State? And she said she had a statue... That could mean there's another statue beside his. If so, she implied there were two and no more. Why the fuck would she let out that piece of information? He would need to get the statue out of his room and somewhere safe ASAP.
Okay, he needed to forget that for now. He was here for relaxation and team building. There was no need to derail his plans over some girl a couple thousand miles away.
He said, "It's California are you really surprised? Anyway, we didn't come here to worry about the news. We didn't even come here for our progress reports. I brought us here to have a good time. Enjoy yourselves, and that's an order."
David cocked his head. "We've come to watch a hypnotist?"
Grayson nodded. "Yes. Trust me when I say it won't be boring."
They looked at Grayson, intrigued. They moved to the adjacent room and sat in the rows of plastic seats around a stage. Students filed in and soon crowded the space.
Grayson almost fell asleep from exhaustion. Perhaps he had dozed a moment, for suddenly, a man on stage asked for volunteers.
Oliver shifted in his seat. "Can you give us a hint of what's gonna happen?"
David nodded. "I hate suspense."
Grayson sank back into his chair. "It's a surprise. But if you must have a clue, look at Victoria. She's everyone's favorite cheerleader. Her attitude is remarkably disdainful towards other students, but no one's perfect. I think it sets her apart."
Oliver said, "I asked her out once. She said she didn't want to have a fast food date. I thought that was unfair, we'd have gone to a buffet."
Grayson watched Victoria take her seat with the other cheerleaders, who were already raising hands. "It's the forbidden fruit that tastes the sweetest."
The cheerleaders entered his trap willingly, like a fly into a Venus flytrap. They took seats on stage along with a few other students.
Grayson made his way to the stage as well. He picked the last possible moment when everyone who had volunteered was already seated.
The hypnotist stared down.
Grayson limped his way past the front rows to the stairs. "Pardon me. Thank you. If you could move your leg." He took each stair seriously, as you never knew when one might send you on your ass. Conveniently, an empty seat sat beside Victoria, who, consciously or unconsciously, curled her nose at him. He ambled over and sank into the chair. The hypnotist seemed annoyed at the delay.
