jim woke up strapped tightly to a chair. the room was dark, illuminated only by faint blue and green lights from various screens and devices. two people in lab coats were talking quietly to each other, too quiet for him to hear over the buzzing and humming of the machinery around him.

the taller one turned to look at him, noticing him stirring. "looks like he's awake," they said.

both of them stepped toward him, their shoes clicking on the tile.

the taller one was more forward, moving right over to him, putting one gloved hand on his shoulder, and another against his neck, checking his pulse.

"he's being quiet and still, but his heart is racing," they said. "he's tense in the shoulders, too." the hand on his shoulder moved to his jaw. "and his jaw. obviously you can see his eyebrows, too."

the other person, also wearing gloves, gently placed their hand on his. "just relax..." they murmured. "just relax for us... take some nice, deep breaths..."

their tone of voice was so deliberate, their words so slow and articulated. they softly rubbed his hand with their thumb.

"yeah, he reacted pretty well to that," the person checking his pulse said. "he's good at relaxing, and he's at least responsive to your voice. this is a good one."

he had to wonder what exactly they meant, what exactly they were looking for.

"very good," the more gentle one cooed, stroking the top of his hand. "just let go of all of your tension... just lean back... we'll take care of everything. just let us take care of everything..."

it was difficult to completely relax when he still had no idea what they were going to do to him, but their voice and their words were unbelievably soothing, somehow.

"yeah, wow," the other scientist muttered. "just look at that... i've never seen anyone get this relaxed, this quickly. not in this lab, at least."

"this is a particularly lovely subject," the gentle one replied. "that's it... that's right... the more you relax, the easier it will be for all of us..."

the stroking was extending up more of his arm, traveling all the way down. it was a slow, tender gesture.

as ominous as the situation still was, it was so inexplicably... good.

they moved to his side, leaning closer to his ear. just feeling them get so close made the hairs on the back of his neck stand.

"his heart's a little faster now," the other scientist noted. "considering how well he's responding, it's probably just excitement. he might have sensitive ears, or it might be the intimacy. or both."

it was odd having someone comment on every response like that, especially so casually. he did feel... a kind of embarrassment, specifically because they were telling all of this to that other scientist.

"it's alright," they said softly into his ear, sending chills down his spine. "it's natural to react that way... but you can still just relax... any excitement will just fade away... you're supposed to be relaxing right now. just let your mind grow dull... dull, and quiet, and numb..."

he could feel it. it was a strange sensation inside of his head. a tingling inside of his brain. or... that probably wasn't really possible. but that was how it felt.

"and as your mind grows more and more dull, and quiet, and numb... your body relaxes... your body lets go... completely. letting go... letting the tension melt away... your senses growing dull, and quiet, and numb, just like your mind... open and receptive... still and passive... and docile. a perfect subject. that's it..."

it was irresistible. it felt good, somehow. all of it just happened. it felt natural.

the other scientist was feeling around more of his body. he couldn't tell what exactly they were looking for, but he didn't have more than a passing interest in it.

"i can't tell exactly how limp he is with the restraints in the way, but his muscles seem relaxed, and his pulse changed, it's weaker in the wrist now. he didn't react to being pinched. he's probably pretty numb. that was fast."

"such a good subject..." they gently stroked his hair. "you're doing so well..."

a wave of pleasure went through his whole mind and body at the praise. he almost didn't even care what they were going to do to him. it wasn't rational for him to trust them, but the feelings were so strong that rationality didn't matter.

"should i get it ready?" the one checking him asked.

"yes, i think we can just go ahead," the other scientist answered, before going right back to jim's ear. "just stay nice and relaxed like this... this will feel good."

the taller one stepped away, reaching for some kind of little device or tool, before coming back to hand it over. jim didn't get a particularly good look at it. his eyes were half-closed and unfocused.

"honestly, i don't even think i need to monitor him much, at this point. his reactions were all predictable, and he's easy to manage. this should go smoothly. i think he'll just accept it."

the other scientist no longer had their mouth right next to jim's ear - they were still close, though, with their hand holding the outside of it. they seemed to be looking at his ear, their tone slightly shifting, as they focused on what they were doing. "i think so, too. his ears are also quite a nice shape. even if they're sensitive, that sensitivity should be dulled now... but even if it isn't, he should be good at holding still. isn't that right? you're being so good for me... just hold still, and relax... this should feel very nice..."

he felt them inserting something into his ear, gently and carefully. it did feel nice, that subtle, delicate touch inside of his sensitive ear canal. even the change in their breathing, and their soft mutters to themself as they worked felt nice, sending warm tingles down his spine.

"that's right... that's perfect... so relaxed... exactly what i'm looking for..."

the device was slowly being pushed deeper inside. at first, it just felt like they were cleaning his ear, but after a while, he felt a strange, foreign sensation. it was deeper inside of his ear than anything had ever been.

but it only felt better, the further it went.

"there you go... almost there... doing very good..." their voice was almost a whisper. they were clearly so focused that they were hardly thinking about what they were saying, just murmuring praise out of habit.

it really did feel nice. he wasn't even thinking about how deep it was, how it was still going. he didn't question it.

then, all at once, he felt tingling through his whole body, more intense than any of the other sensations he had felt - but he didn't even twitch. he didn't feel as if he could move at all.

"there you go," they said, a sense of relief in their voice. "it's in now... very good... very, very good... just accept it. just keep relaxing... it feels good... just let it feel good..."

the tingling became slower, quieter, more relaxing, less overwhelming. he realized, in his dull haze, that something had entered his brain. that something was... being pushed into it. the device was placing something there, planting it inside of him.

any concern he might have felt was being washed away by the pleasure, and by the scientist's soft cooing and reassurance.

"it's good for you..." they murmured. "it's very good for you... it's going to help you... it's going to help you feel good... and relax... and continue being such a good subject."

the other scientist had been looking at a screen, quietly reading something. "looks good. it's implanting. faster than average, too, like i thought. he's taking it well."

"that's perfect," they whispered. "such a perfect, docile, obedient subject... you're going to be so helpful... and it will feel so good... it feels nice to be helpful... it feels nice to listen... to just do as you're told... doesn't it?"

"it does," he mumbled.

"just keep holding still for me..." they slowly pulled the device back out of his ear, just as gently and delicately as they had inserted it.

he could still feel something inside of his brain. it felt... sticky, maybe. or maybe like it was melting. he wasn't sure what it was, or what it was doing, but it felt good.

both of the scientists undid the restraints, but he still sat there in the same position, unmoving.

"honestly, he's pretty cute, too," the taller scientist said. "and you can see that he's hard. he's probably really into this. that might be why he reacted so well.

"we do have more important things to focus on, but... he is very cute. i'm sure he could be useful for some other things..."

now that they mentioned it, he was throbbing. he hadn't even noticed.

even as they spoke about him as if he wasn't even there, he could only feel... a sense of pride, maybe, that they were speaking positively about him. that they said he could be useful.

they finally directed him to stand up, and to follow them, assuring him that the next experiment would feel even better. that they had only just gotten started. that it would be even easier to listen and obey now.

he did exactly as he was told.