the metronome moved at a steady rhythm. not especially fast, but not particularly slow, either.

"just listen to the metronome, jim," adrianus said. "your thoughts don't need to be on beat, or anything... this just represents your normal speed. the normal speed of your thoughts. the rate you're thinking at right now. just focus on that, as you listen."

he didn't feel anything in particular yet, but he still focused as he was directed to.

"that's it," they said, their tone still mostly normal, not dipping into that hypnotic voice just yet. "steady and even. just like that. the way you always think. has anything changed?"

"no, not really," he said.

their hand moved to the metronome, and he found himself holding his breath in anticipation. maybe this immediate, automatic reaction indicated that he was already in a sort of trance, after all.

"and what do you think will happen," they said, their voice a bit lower, "if i slow this down, just a bit?"

his heart pounded.

"i'd like you to answer."

"my thoughts will slow down," he said. he was only answering their question of what he thought would happen, but the simplicity of the statement made it sound like it was certain, like he knew it would happen.

still, he didn't bother to backpedal, the way he might have if they'd had a session like this a year or two ago. because he recognized that strange feeling he got, hearing those words come out of his own mouth. he knew that he really believed it.

"that's right, jim. very good. your thoughts will slow down. and it will feel very, very good when they do."

he almost felt those chills in his spine, a feeling he often got when he was being hypnotized. they were already threatening to creep along his back.

he was still thinking normally, or at least at his normal pace. his mind wasn't empty, at least. but he was in a trance. he could feel it in his own stare, in the way he looked at the metronome. in the way he obediently waited for them to slow it down. in the way he not only didn't mind the strange, condescending way they talked to him, but he even liked it, expected it.

they were adjusting it now, carefully, slowing it down just a little bit. it was subtle, but he felt it.

"that's it," they said, their voice also a bit quieter. "how does that feel?"

it wasn't just that it felt that little bit slower. it was the feeling of his mind being controlled in some way. the feeling of something changing inside of him just because of that simple action.

"it feels good," he said.

"it feels so good, doesn't it? and you want it to be even slower. don't you?"

he did.

he nodded his head.

another adjustment, just a little slower.

"the slower it goes," they said, their voice also slowing down, "the deeper you fall into trance... and you want to go deep, don't you?"

he meant to answer immediately, but there was this odd lag that he noticed. "i do," he said.

the slowness was strange. he liked it enough that he wanted to express his enthusiasm, that he wanted to think about it, to analyze it. but then, that same slowness was limiting him. it was only a small difference, but thinking usually came so quickly and easily to him that any difficulty was immediately noticeable.

he didn't even have time to adjust before they slowed it again, considerably more than they had the last couple of times, and he felt a wave move through him, like his mind and body were being flooded with thick molasses.

"there you go... just listen to it... follow it..." their tone was much more hypnotic now. "tick... tick... tick....... tick............" they were slowing it down a little more as they said it, making each "tick" they repeated all the more powerful.

all he could think was that it was unfair. it was so much at once. it was difficult to focus on anything except the feeling, the waves going through him, the warm tingling inside of him, his body relaxing and starting to slump over. thinking was like waiting for a viscous fluid to drop until it filled an entire bucket.

"so slow..." they murmured. "it's such a relaxing pace, isn't it? you don't need to be frustrated... you can just relax... and be patient... just accepting it... accepting my pace."

his thoughts might have been delayed, but the relaxation and feeling of submission was immediate. it made it more striking. it felt faster than humanly possible, because everything else was so slow.

"how does it feel? can you answer me?"

he did want to answer, and he knew that he could. it just... took a moment. the words weren't coming to him.

they would have seen it... they would have seen that slowness. well, they were making him respond because they wanted to see that... this was on purpose.

"it feels... good," he droned. "i feel kind of... docile."

"that's right, jim," they responded. "so docile... so easy and relaxed... very good."

there was silence, aside from those slow, slow ticks. every tick reinforced that feeling. holding back his thoughts. it really did feel nice, in this strange, distant, abstract way.

"what do you think will happen," they finally murmured, "if i stop the metronome now?"

he already felt the answer, long before it formed into actual words in his head.

"my thoughts will stop..." he said slowly. "i guess i'll just be... empty."

their hand was on it. resting on it. teasing him. threatening him.

"that would feel good, too, wouldn't it? to keep slowing down... until you just stop completely... and there's just nothing."

he stared for a moment, a few moments.

"it would feel good," he said.

"you won't have to think at all... just imagine it..."

by the time he was prepared to really imagine it, they were already slowing it down to an unbelievably sluggish pace. by the time he registered that, it stopped.

everything stopped.