shark held the vr headset in their hands. "so this is your mind control device?" they joked.

"yep!" bill answered cheerfully. "well, it's a normal vr headset. but that's what we'll be using it for!"

they glanced at the monitors next to him. there were all kinds of different controls and displays - it looked complicated to navigate. knowing bill, most of it was probably just thrown together without much rhyme or reason.

he stepped in front of their line of sight. "hey, you shouldn't spoil it."

"sorry, sorry," they said, looking away. "are you really gonna be controlling everything manually? shouldn't this just be like, pre-recorded and pre-programmed and stuff, if you're gonna do any actual tests or whatever? like for actual research?"

"well, maybe, maybe not. i'm just using you as a guinea pig before i decide on stuff like that. i want to see what kind of stuff generally works and doesn't work first."

"why are you using me, anyway?" they asked. "jim and victor are way better subjects."

"i'll try it on them sometime, too. but i wanted to use you because you have a little less experience being hypnotized, and because you're more picky about it. i'm curious how you'll react to everything."

"well, i can't promise it'll work that well."

"that's alright. critical feedback is important, too," he said. "but anyway, why don't you sit down, and make yourself comfortable?"

"yeah, alright."

he helped them put on and adjust the headset. "is that good? it's not too tight?"

"no, this is fine."

it wasn't turned on yet, but it already felt a little weird having something over their eyes. as casual as this was, being more of a favor to a friend than some official scientific experiment, there was still something about having a device on their head like this, something that made them feel more like a subject.

"there. just sit back in a comfortable position."

"i thought the hypnosis was supposed to start after we started all the vr stuff?"

"you already feel hypnotized?"

"well, no, i'm just joking about how you're already like, telling me to relax."

"i mean, i don't see any reason why i couldn't start putting you into a trance before doing the vr stuff. it'll probably be more effective if you're already in a light trance to begin with."

"is that fine for your tests, though? like, if you wanna test how effective it is with the vr, but you have this other factor because you already started before the vr thing..."

"don't worry about it! i can think more about that later. but this isn't anything official or important. there's no pressure. we can do whatever we want right now. and it might be good for you to relax and make sure you're nice and comfortable now, because you might become less aware of your body later."

"right. i didn't even think of that." they leaned back, adjusting their position.

"that's right. that's good. you can even take some deep breaths... nice and slowly."

he was really doing this.

it was interesting with him, too, because it felt so natural. he didn't say it like it was a hypnotic suggestion, he said it like a friend trying to be helpful.

"there you go. just let go of any tension you have. you can go into a little bit of a trance now, if you want. it's really alright. a lot of people, especially people who have been hypnotized before, go into a light trance even before someone starts trying to hypnotize them, because they're anticipating it. just the context is enough. just the presence of a hypnotist is a suggestion. isn't it?"

well, he was right. they knew that. it was still weird to think of bill as a hypnotist, but that was objectively the role he was playing in this situation.

"it's too bad the visor covers your eyes," bill said. "i'd look at them right now to see if they look any different. to see if your eyelids are any heavier, or if your stare looks a little more blank, or if your pupils are dilated, or anything. but now i can't see them."

"man, come on. you think i'd already be reacting like that? i'm glad you can't see."

"that's a lot of attitude from someone starting to fall into trance."

"i'm not starting to fall into trance yet."

"really? well, you should be. you're here to test this for me, aren't you? you agreed to listen. don't you want to be a good test subject?"

"you shouldn't be fucking around and playing with me if you wanna practice actually doing th-"

"just relax," he interrupted.

for some reason, it stopped them dead in their tracks. even when the initial shock wore off, they didn't say anything.

"there you go. i know i embarrassed you a little. it's alright. it's fine to start to fall into trance. it's fine if your eyes feel a little different already. you're just listening. you're just testing this for me. it's really helpful for me, if you listen and go along with it the best you can. you can do that for me, can't you?"

maybe they were already in a trance, because they could feel that that worked on them. "i guess," they said quietly.

"that's good. i know you'll really be trying. now, why don't you just keep relaxing, letting those limbs start to feel a little warm and heavy?"

"this is, like..." they mumbled. "what's the point in the vr thing, if..."

"i'll wake you up before i start that," he said softly. "and then i can fractionate you a little. how does that sound? you want to go nice and deep, don't you?"

his tone was slipping into something almost condescending, and for some reason, even though they were complaining and arguing just a minute ago, this shift only made them feel less like arguing now.

"doesn't it feel good to go into trance? doesn't it feel good to be hypnotized? you can answer, if you want. it might feel nice to tell me."

fuck. if he'd just directly told them to answer, they probably wouldn't. but the way he phrased it...

"well, it does feel kinda good..." they said.

"that's right. isn't it nice to be honest?"

"when are we gonna get started with the actual vr stuff?"

"we can start that soon. are you excited for that?"

"it's just what i'm here for."

"you're so focused on helping me with this, aren't you? and in a little bit, all of that focus is going to be on your trance."

they knew what he was doing, he was twisting around their words. but it was hard to even think about that. they were already feeling like this? he hadn't even done anything yet.

"you can slowly wake yourself up now, while i get everything set up. i'm sure you'll be ready to go right back down into trance. this time, it might feel even better. just wait here for a moment, alright?"

"alright."

he was at the desk beside them now, typing and clicking. they had a minute to just sit and think more normally again.

of course, all they could really think was that bill was way better at this than he had any right to be. he managed to shut them up so quickly.

it was kind of hot. which was stupid.

"alright," bill said. "i'm just going to turn on your headset now. you won't be able to see the room around you anymore."

it was an obvious statement, but it really made them aware of how disconnected they were going to feel.

the screen turned on, and their vision was filled with sand, waves, and a blue sky. they weren't wearing headphones, since that would block out bill's voice, but there were speakers near their ears, playing all the sounds they'd expect to hear in this kind of environment.

"how's that? do you see a beach?"

"yeah," they said. "some people are scared of the ocean, though. you should probably be careful about stuff like that."

"don't worry about other people right now. just focus on how you feel, alright? i can ask you for other more general feedback after we're done with this. so don't think about that. just save it for later."

"alright, alright." they looked around the virtual environment, still aware that in reality, they were just looking around at nothing, with a headset on.

it was fine, really. a beach was a pretty generically relaxing place. it wasn't especially interesting to them, but it was inoffensive.

the thing that bugged them was looking down at their body.

"it throws me off that i'm standing here, when i'm actually sitting."

"i was wondering if that'd be distracting. it probably wouldn't be a problem if you were more disconnected from your body. i'm sure that even if i left it like that, you'd get used to it eventually, but maybe we'll start by having you sitting down in a chair somewhere. i don't really have one that matches with the beach, so... well, let's just put you somewhere else."

"you really didn't plan this, like, at all."

"i'n being a little loose with it. but that flexibility is good for you, right? if something bothers you, i can just change it. we'll figure it out. here, it's just going to fade to black for a minute, and then the next environment will fade in."

it was a little unsettling seeing everything fade to black. it felt like losing their vision.

the next environment was a room with a fireplace, and some tall bookshelves on the sides.

"you're doing some dracula shit to me."

"i don't know if it's fancy or antique enough to be a dracula thing. is it?"

"well, it was the first thing i thought of. i don't know if that's what other people would think. i guess it's got that kind of like, cozy autumn type thing."

"well, you can see it as a dracula thing if you want, anyway. any other thoughts? how do you feel?"

"i like this better than the beach. it's kinda comfy."

"that's good. we'll stick with this one for now, then."

"is the point of this to feel like i'm really in this room?"

"yep! well, that's one thing i want to try and do. it shouldn't be too hard, right? the vr already does a lot."

they pointed their head toward his voice. "isn't it weird having you talk to me when you're not, like, here, though?"

"aw, come on. you're not really bothered by that, are you? i mean, i'm the hypnotist here. it's not that weird for me to be a disembodied voice, is it?"

"well, i dunno. and i can hear you clicking and typing at the desk and stuff, too."

"hmm. well, i don't have a model to represent me or anything, and something like that would be way too complicated, anyway..." he was quiet for a moment. "oh, wait. i know. hold on, let me disable the head tracking for just a sec. face your head forward for me?"

they turned forward, wondering what he was doing.

"alright. this might feel a little weird without the head tracking thing, so maybe just close your eyes for a second."

"alright."

he turned their chair around, so that he was behind them.

"there. that shouldn't be an issue, right? you're never going to turn all the way around. so you just can't see me because i'm behind you. you can still imagine i'm in the room with you."

"oh, clever."

it kind of felt more right for him to be behind them, anyway.

"of course, this means it's harder for me to see you. would it be alright if i put a camera in front of you? i'd like to be able to see your physical reactions and everything."

"yeah, sure. well, it might make me feel kinda self conscious, but..."

"i kind of wondered if i should just set it up without telling you, so you wouldn't think about it, but that felt a little dubious. but, well, it's not like you can see it. i'm sure you can forget about it. and it's just me watching you. it's exactly the same as if i was just looking at you normally."

"yeah, i guess so."

"i'll set that up. you can just relax in the meantime. i know this is taking a bit to get started. but thank you for helping me figure some of this out. you're doing great so far."

they almost laughed. "i haven't even done anything," they said.

"that's not true!" he replied. his voice was coming from the fireplace now. "you've been listening, and giving me good feedback."

"you don't have to suck my dick the whole time. i know everyone says to give people a lot of praise when you're hypnotizing them, but like, this is kind of ridiculous."

"i really mean it! i'm sure you'll appreciate it more when you're back in trance."

"you don't even say it in a sexy way. you say it like an employee. like... a customer service guy. or like a corporate ai assistant."

"well, saying it in a sexy way wouldn't really be appropriate for an actual test! i'm not really sure i could do it like that even if i tried. i mean, not a normal sexy way, anyway." he started walking back behind them again. "is that what you'd prefer?"

"i mean, i can't imagine it, either. it's not really you."

"it's not like i need to put on a voice like that to hypnotize someone. or even to turn someone on, if that's what i was trying to do. it's a lot more appealing to work with what you've got, isn't it?"

"yeah, that's true." they paused. "well, not that i'm calling you sexy."

"maybe i should test your arousal after this? or ask you to rate it on a scale of one to five?"

they laughed. "man, just get started with this already. you have everything set up, right?"

"i do! i guess you're right, i've kept you waiting a while. that's a problem with doing this with friends, huh? i wouldn't talk this much with someone else. alright, let's see..."

they heard more clicking behind them.

"just relax for me," he said. "just relax..."

the light around them dimmed, leaving the fireplace as the main light source.

"oh, you are making this kinda sensual," they joked.

"that's fine," he said, his tone sounding completely genuine. "you can feel whatever you feel. just lean back and take deep breaths. you can look into the fire, or at anything that catches your attention, or just stare off at nothing in particular. the fireplace is nice and warm, isn't it?"

they weren't sure they felt any warmth, but they did relax more quickly than they expected.

"it's getting dark out. it's cold outside. but you're nice and warm in here. and as you relax your eyes, they might start to unfocus. your vision might blur. and that's alright."

a shiver ran down their spine as their vision changed, more than it usually would. they had a feeling it was the screen in the vr headset that was blurring, but that just made it even weirder. they couldn't do anything about it - bill could directly control what they saw, and how they saw it.

"how are you feeling?" he asked softly. "it might feel a little odd."

"yeah- yeah, it is weird." it didn't make them dizzy, exactly, but there was some overwhelming feeling in their head, as the focus slightly shifted, sometimes a bit more focused, sometimes a bit less. he was playing with it.

"maybe it makes your mind feel a bit hazy... a bit dreamy. you can just let go to it. it's alright. you're perfectly safe. you can just relax and accept it."

the concept of just giving into it was even weirder. it wasn't like they had any way of fighting it, anyway, but relaxing still felt like surrendering some part of them.

"feeling so sleepy... so tired... so drowsy. you might as well just let yourself feel it. you might as well just let yourself enjoy it. just take deep, slow breaths... like the way you breathe when you're falling asleep..."

they finally leaned back again, breathing more slowly. the tingles seemed to swarm their body. the blurriness was starting to feel kind of nice, somehow.

it felt wrong to be so relaxed when their eyes were doing this... or, no, it wasn't their eyes, but it felt like it. it almost felt like they were being drugged.

"there you go... just like that."

and bill was behind them, encouraging them to let it happen.

what kind of stupid fantasy were they inventing here? they had to say something.

"this is, uh... this is like..."

"are you alright?"

"i'm fine, it's just... i don't know. this situation. it's like. you wouldn't wanna use this one."

"don't think about anyone else. just focus on your own feelings. the only thing that matters is that you enjoy it, and that you listen."

they relaxed again. they had really just been alternating between tension and relaxation. their vision was still shifting.

it felt nice. it felt really nice. their breathing was slow, but their heart was pounding.

"good... don't worry, your vision will clear back up soon. you just got so sleepy for a moment..."

it was kind of creepy now, hearing him give that fake explanation. but they kind of loved it.

their vision did clear up again. it made them feel a little less woozy, but they could tell they were still in some kind of trance. they just felt different.

"but you feel a little bit more focused again, now, don't you? even if you still feel a little tired. you're not really about to fall asleep, or anything, but you just feel so comfortable in your chair... you can feel yourself just sinking into it."

they were shifting a little bit. it was a subtle thing, but they could see it, especially because they were being so still. they looked down, seeing themself actually sinking into the chair.

they were sort of impressed that bill figured out how to make something like that work and look good. it looked comfortable. it felt comfortable, looking at it. they could... kind of feel it.

"that's right... feeling that cushion. feeling it envelop you, just a little bit. sinking deeper. how does that feel?"

they leaned back a little bit, still keeping part of the chair in their sight. "it feels good... it's kind of weird, but... it's like a dream, or something..."

their voice sounded different. the idea that they were in enough of a trance to sound like they were in a trance was kind of crazy.

"it is kind of like a dream, isn't it? a very vivid dream."

"yeah," they said, although they already kind of forgot what they actually meant before. there was more significance to their dream comment, but it didn't really matter. bill's words felt nice.

"it feels good to dream," he said.

they had stopped sinking into the chair. they leaned back a bit more, knowing they didn't have to keep watching that.

talking about dreams felt interesting. it was a nice word.

"man, this is..." they trailed off for a minute. they were pausing for way too long. "it's nice..." they finally mumbled.

"that's good. that's very good. going into such a nice, deep trance for me."

they almost made a sound, stopping themself out of concern that it would seem like a moan, instead just letting it out as a sigh.

"you might start to feel warm and heavy... your limbs might feel like they're being weighed down..."

it happened quickly. it really was like they were made of lead.

"so numb... so dull... you don't want to move... maybe you feel like you can't move... maybe you have trouble feeling your body at all."

their legs were feeling sort of numb. there was this very slight static-y feeling inside of them, and the pulsing of their blood, but that was it.

"that dull, numb feeling is spreading... it's slowly going through your body... and even into your head... your mind is becoming dull and numb... dull and numb..."

their vision was changing again. the colors were fading, becoming less vivid, less saturated. slowly turning monochrome.

they felt that tingly feeling inside their head. the idea of their mind becoming numb... it felt nice, in this weird, distant way. even though they weren't really feeling much at all.

everything was slow and quiet.

"dull and numb..." bill repeated. "why don't you say it, too?"

"dull and numb," they muttered, barely moving their mouth. it felt kind of stupid, even now, but they still did it. the tiny trace of embarrassment they felt seemed to vanish after only a few seconds, anyway.

"that's good. just like that. that's how you feel, isn't it?"

they didn't really feel like responding.

"it's just a nice little break from everything. sometimes all these different feelings can be overwhelming. sometimes it's nice to just let go... to not really feel anything."

it was true.

"and now that you've had that little break, maybe you're ready for something different." the color was slowly coming back. "i'm sure you're curious what else you could feel, here, right?"

it was a little sudden to start changing things right after going on about how nice this was and making them comfortable in this numbness, but that's how bill was. they were willing to go along with it.

"you can still stay in trance, just less numb now... just a little more energy. you can just focus."

they straightened up, just a bit.

"that's right. because there's something else in the room right now. there's this nice smell... it's really subtle. maybe you don't really notice it yet. but it's relaxing."

did they smell anything? they focused on that. it made them breathe in deeply, which made them wonder if that's what he was trying to make them do, or if it was just a side effect.

"it's kind of floral. maybe it's lavender? something like that. it's getting a little stronger."

there was a light purple fog or mist creeping into the room.

so that's what he was doing. maybe the visual would help.

it was almost like they could convince themself it was there, but not strong enough that it surprised them.

"maybe you want to breathe more of it in? it smells nice... and it feels good."

another thing that felt kind of like drugging.

it was kind of working on them, though. they felt something, a wave of drowsiness. they could even smell it, just for a second, like getting a whiff of lavender.

"wow," they said. "i kind of..."

"you feel it, don't you?"

"i could kind of smell it. you didn't actually like, bring something in here..."

"just relax, and breathe it in. you're nice and comfortable by that fireplace. you can't get up, or avoid it. and it smells nice, and it feels good. you don't need to worry about anything. you don't need to question it."

it was so creepy. the shivers ran down their spine again.

"that's right... it's making you relax, isn't it? it's going inside your body, through your lungs... and this is just your natural reaction to that. it's just the physical reaction it causes. you're breathing it in every moment. and it's only becoming heavier, more concentrated. it might make it a little hard to think..."

they were relaxed, but they shuddered. it was overwhelming. the smell still seemed to just come and go, but it didn't really matter. it did feel like they were breathing something in. like it was doing something to them. to their thoughts.

"just letting it happen... it's perfectly safe... it's just helping you relax... it's just taking some of those thoughts away. clouding your mind a little bit. it's good for you, you know? sometimes you think a little too much."

he was hitting all the right buttons. it was just creepy enough, just forceful enough.

they finally let go, leaning all the way back, relaxing to the point where they were completely limp.

"that's right. it works pretty quickly, doesn't it? i thought you'd like that. it's nice when there's nothing you can do about it. when it just happens. isn't that right? you can answer me... well, if you even feel capable of doing that. do you?"

"i can..."

he laughed quietly. "then why don't you tell me how you feel? you like it when you can't control it, don't you?"

"yeah, i do... i really do."

"can you tell me where you are right now?"

"in front of you."

"what's around you?"

"the fireplace and the bookcases and stuff, but..." they paused. "well, like, there's also the desk... and the office stuff..."

"interesting. well, i'm really curious to hear more of your thoughts... is it alright if i wake you up?"

"just tell me when."

"let's get rid of that fog, first... you can start slowly waking yourself up now, if you like. you prefer that to being counted up, right?"

"yeah."

"i'll shut off the headset in just a second. just let yourself come back up, feeling comfortable. and hopefully ready to talk."

"yeah, yeah. i'm always ready to talk."

the headset shut off, and bill helped them remove it.

they rubbed their eyes. it really was still weird getting adjusted to the room again, even if they had been at least somewhat aware of it the entire time.

"i know i ended that pretty abruptly. i was having fun, but i was just curious to talk to you already. you know, just normally."

"i mean, you could've done that in the middle of it."

"i guess that's true. well, we can't just do this forever, anyway. i'd have to think of a lot more stuff."

"like none of that felt like something you'd use for some kind of test at all."

"well, i couldn't help it! i wanted to do things you'd like and play around a bit. it seemed pretty effective, from your reactions. what did you like the most?"

"i don't know. maybe the gas? but that was also the last thing we did, so maybe it's just cuz of that."

"i really didn't bring anything that smelled like lavender, by the way. but it surprised me that even with trance and vr, you still didn't forget that you were in vr. you didn't even pretend to forget."

"i can't help it. i don't know, it's just like, automatic. it's part of the situation i'm in. it's just there in the background."

"well, that's alright," he said. "i do wanna ask, though. how's that arousal rating?"

"man, shut up. what was the scale? one to five?"

"one is, like, not feeling it at all, and five is like being in heat."

"like a two or a three."

he smiled. "the gas thing was a little sexy, right?"

"you got a little sexy with it."

"i'm sure you wouldn't mind being my guinea pig again sometime."

they looked away from him. "you already know i'll go along with whatever stupid shit you're doing."

"i'm really glad! i'd like to see how far you can go as a subject."

he said it so casually and innocently, like he wasn't talking about training and conditioning them, hypnotizing them over and over, experimenting with any tools he could get his hands on.

well, somehow it really was casual and innocent.