Digital Enslavement
Three of the world’s most famous YouTubers sat at a round table, technological knights united under the banner of mass entertainment.
There was TryHardezt, a.k.a. Trevor, first-person shooter enthusiast extraordinaire who couldn’t spend a day without getting at least fifty headshots with a sniper rifle, preferably in a row; There was Pinky lips, a.k.a. Joan, the cutest green-haired lesbian the city of Liverpool had ever produced, always accompanied by the equally cutest Mr. Fluffs, a Shorkie (Shih Tzu and Yorkshire terrier hybrid!) on her extravagant travels around the globe; And there was D$llar-o, a.k.a. Sean, known for his don’t-try-this-at-home-unless-you’re-stupid-like-me videos where he often looked Death in the eye without blinking.
While the three of them ‘knew’ each other from the virtual sphere on account of their mass following and popularity, it was the first time they were actually physically together and the reason for such was quite mysterious.
Sitting in front of them, sporting a pair of haute couture lavender jeans most women would never have the chance to see up close, was Georgia Fein, executive producer of a wide assortment of reaction channels. It was her undying resolve that had brought them there for she was the kind of person who, once she set her mind on something, stopped at nothing to see it come true. A little over thirty years old, Gee (for close friends only!) was worth $18.5 billion. Saying ‘no’ to a whim of hers was not just saying ‘no’ to a lot of money, but also a promising career.
“Thank you all for coming.” She began, placing her perfectly manicured hands on the table. I’m sure you’re all wondering why I had you fly here and now you get to know why. To put it simply, today you’ll be reacting to something very special and then share your thoughts with your fans through our channel. Easy-peasy, right?”
“I suppose...” TryHardezt muttered. “What are we reacting to?”
“A video by Ms. Ember Lee.”
“Who? I never heard that name before.” PinkyLips noted, her pet eager to jump off her lap and explore fresh territory.
“Ms. Ember Lee is a hypnotist who claims her videos can hypnotize anyone in less than a minute.”
“Right... too bad hypnosis isn’t real.” TryHardezt grinned.
“I honestly don’t care if it’s real or not as long as the payment is good.” D$llar-o retorted.
“Would you expect anything less coming from me?” Georgia shot him down with a blazing stare.
“Of course not. Apologies.” He tapped his feet under the table like he always did when he had been fucking owned.
“Hypnosis?” PinkyLips sighed. “That sounds boring but whatever... can we take care of business a.s.a.p.? I really hate New York and don’t want to be here any longer than necessary.”
“We can take of things right away if you’re up for it.” Georgia snapped her fingers and three muscular men walked in the room, each one holding a fully charged laptop with the video already raring to go.
“All three together?” D$llar-o frowned.
“Why not? A group reaction from you three has never been seen on YouTube. The cameras are ready and you’re all busy people, so let’s make it a good one.” Georgia stood up and exited the set. “Just say when.”
“When.” TryHardezt was the first to hit the ‘play’ button, followed by the other two less than half a second.
Three candles appeared horizontally on each screen, bright red and orange flames against a pitch-black backdrop. They flickered to the sound of a low hum like a siren was calling to them from one hundred feet under the ocean. There was no other sound or movement beyond the melting wax.
The hum rose to a crescendo of garbled voices and one candle—the middle one—faded into nothingness. TryHardezt blinked and his head dropped heavily atop the keyboard.
PinkyLips barely had time to react to his sudden blackout when the voices stirred again and her vision fluttered into unconsciousness as the second flame was extinguished.
“What the...?” D$llar-o tried to speak, the last remaining source of light burning out in the middle of the sentence. A blanket of pure nothingness enveloped both conscious and subconscious thoughts as he instinctively slid down from the chair to drop to his knees.
“Good pets.” Ms. Ember Lee’s voice echoed in triplicate, making it even harder to resist. “Listen to my voice...”
They did, and Georgia accompanied them, an empty smile on her plump lips, and ecstatic devotion glowing inside her heart. Discovering that her former college BFF had become an Internet manipulatrix two weeks earlier had been an eye-opening experience and helping her grow her stable of mindfucked puppets, the best use for her empire. Once the three YouTubers were properly indoctrinated, they would recommend Ember Lee’s videos to millions of unsuspecting future thralls. Digital enslavement was at hand and it was going to be glorious!