Imaginary Words: Eric Wynnere
“Ms. Maxwell, your 2:30 appointment is here.”
“Thank you, Rilena. Please, show him in,” Jessica Maxwell responds over the intercom in her luxury New York office. The office walls are covered in a wood-marble paneling, which works well with the tan carpeting on the floor on which Jessica is currently resting her hose-covered feet. Decorative paintings, which add a bit of colour to the room, adorn the wall by the closet door to the right, the office door in the center, and restroom door on the left. A library of books rests on the shelves of two gigantic bookcases that run on parallel sides of the room. The wall aligned with the outside of the building is currently covered by a set of magenta curtains, drawn closed because Jessica wants to concentrate on her work rather than the beautiful view she has out of her huge window. In the back center of the office is a large mahogany desk with Jessica’s computer, intercom, and desk lamp resting upon its black marble surface as well as various paperwork. Three chairs sit in a triangle. Jessica’s chair is a fancy black executive chair with built-in features like massage, heating, and telephone. The other two chairs are comfortable white linen chairs.
Jessica makes some quick remarks on the report she is currently working on and then places it in a manila folder, moving it to the side of her desk to work on later. She opens the lower right desk drawer, pulls out a folder with the label marking “JM—Wynnere”, and places it on her desk as her office door opens.
A gentleman wearing a black business suit enters the room. The business suit is Kenneth Cole and in addition to the suit, the man is wearing a light gray dress shirt, a black silk tie, and Oxford shoes, most likely from the same line. He is about 6′ in height and his suit suggests a normal build. He appears to be in his twenties, maybe thirties, his brown skin showing no signs of aging, nor does his baldhead or his babyface. Finishing off his appearance are unusually coloured hazel eyes which most would possibly mistake for contact lens at first glance.
Jessica quickly slides her shoes on, rises from behind her desk, and walks up to the gentleman as she sizes him up. “Hello, Mr. Wynnere. I’m glad you could make it today, " shaking his hand. “I apologize about the short notice.”
Jessica’s appearance is remarkably opposite his. Her business suit consisting of a flare-shaped jacket and a front wrap skirt is light gray with a subtle white pinstripe by Joan and David with matching pumps from the same designer. She is also wearing a black turtleneck tricot bodysuit by Olivia Lee, cinnamon pantyhose, and what appears to be simple jewelry consisting of a gold bangle bracelet and a swirl necklace. She stands at about 5′10 in her high heels and her suit shows a very impressive figure without drawing unwanted attention. She is in her mid thirties, however her light brown face makes her appear like a recent college graduate. Her dark brown hair is up in a bun and her brown eyes rest behind wire-framed glasses, giving her a look of beauty and sophistication.
“That’s quite alright, Ms. Maxwell, " replies Eric Wynnere as he does a quick sizing up of the attorney in front of him.
“Call me, Jessica.”
“Thank you, Jessica. You may call me Eric. As I was saying, there is no need to apologize. It was no problem at all, trust me.”
“I just didn’t want to take you away from any important work, " remarks Jessica as she shows Eric to a seat in front of her desk.
“When you’re concerned, I believed there is no work more important.”
Blushing slightly as she returns to her desk, Jessica begins, “Well, Mr. Wynnere...Eric, the reason why I call you is because of this contract. I was going over it and there were some items inside it that just don’t seem to work. I’m sure my client would have problems with it. I know I would.”
“All my contracts are negotiable, provided both sides are willing to bend here and there. Have you spoken with your client yet?”
“No, not since the contract arrived, but I’ve been given instructions on how to proceed.”
“Which are, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“My client has instructed me to make a contract that I would be able to sign.”
“An excellent plan. If you have no problems with the contract, and your client has complete faith in you, why not go along with it?”
“And that where we have our problem. Going over this contract there are many items here that my client has issues with.”
“Like what?”
Jessica presents the contract and her notes to Eric. “Here, under clothing. It says that you will determine what clothes she wears.”
“I see no problem with that. She will be wearing the standard uniform for her style of work. Many businesses require uniforms and that uniform may change at any point.”
“Uniform?” questions Jessica.
“Yes, what did you think that meant?”
With look of embarrassment that is trying not to show, Jessica regroups her thoughts. “Well I thought...well it’s just that...I think it would have been more clear if you had simply worded this as uniform. Well if that is the case, I see no problems with it, provided we are talking about uniforms.”
“Of course. Now you were mentioning other issues?”
“Yes, the salary for one; it is not listed anywhere on this.”
“The salary, as decided by both myself and your client, is strictly between the two of us. We decided that we did not want knowledge of the salary to influence your judgment on the validity and credibility of this contract.”
“I see. " Looking back down at her notes, “The next issue I had was with...”
“I believe the next issue you would most likely have is the training. Your client has certain skill that will make her an asset to me, but she will be required to undergo a form of compliance training and the training of additional skill sets she would need. In essence, this is a career change for your client and being a beginner, she will basically be in an entry level status, at least in the beginning.”
“Alright. Next, holidays and vacation.”
“Yes, what about them?”
“There is nothing in the contract that will allot for them. According to this, she won’t even have weekends off. I couldn’t in good conscience...”
“The type of care and services she will be providing require that she’ll always be on call. If at anytime she needs a leave of absence and it doesn’t conflict with anything planned, arrangement can be made to allow for time off.”
“Yes but we’re talking 365 days.”
“366 every fourth year. Anyway, Soldiers and police have no problem being on call. Any time they want off, they arrange for their leave. In almost any job, you must make arrangements for time off. I don’t really see the problem. Are you sure you’re not just looking too hard?”
Removing her glasses to wipe them with a cloth from her desk, Jessica responds, “It’s my job to look hard, Eric. I have to make sure there aren’t any loopholes that will allow my client to be taken advantage of. The thoroughness of my job calls for me to...”
“Well usually such hardships as documented by this contract require a monetary compensation.”
A questioning look appears on Jessica’s face. “What?”
“Surely, Jessica, you know what monetary compensation is?”
“Yes, but...”
“So my question is, how much would it cost for your client to agree to the conditions of the contract? Or, more to the point, how much would it cost for you to sign the contract, since your client would follow your recommendations?”
“I...I thought you said the salary of the contract was strictly between my client and yourself.”
“Better still, how much would it cost for you to okay this contract? I believe that would be that proper question?”
Jessica’s eyes open wide in shock. “MR. WYNNERE!!”
With a sly smile, Eric responds, “Come now, Jessica. You cannot sit here and tell me you have never taken a bribe.”
“Taking a bribe would be unethical. If anyone found out, my credibility as a lawyer would forever be in question, if I wasn’t disbarred.”
“Ms. Maxwell, all I want is for this contract to go through. I’d prefer not to go through point-by-point and battle over this contract with you. So I’ll tell you what, in my pocket I have a bank certified check for $500,000. All you have to do is give your client the okay to sign.”
Jessica begins to back away from the desk. “Mr. Wynnere, you can’t expect me to...”
“Here. I figured you would be a hard sell, so I also brought a second check for $1,000,000 dollars and a small, simple business contract to make to whole exchange legal. I leave you both checks and the contracts for you to think about while I use your facilities. If you’ll excuse me?” Eric Wynnere rises from the chair and sees himself to the office door, leaving Jessica at her desk to decide if she is going to “play ball”.
Reentering the office as if he owned it a few minutes later, Eric immediately returns to the subject at hand. “Have you made your decision, Jessica?”
Jessica looks up from her desk and the two contracts. “I have. Here are the contracts, Eric. I’ve signed both documents in the appropriate spots. You may have a look at the primary contract. I’ll contact my client and let her know that the contract it acceptable.”
Receiving the contracts from Jessica’s hand, Eric gives Jessica a genuine smile. “Thank you, Ms. Maxwell.”
“No, thank you, Mr. Wynnere,” says Jessica holding the two checks in her hands. “With your help, I can make the final arrangements for a certain project I’m finishing up.”
“Everything looks in order. Thank you for your time, Jessica, " says Eric as he turns to leave, rolling up the contracts and placing them in his inside jacket pocket.
“It was a pleasure. Uh, Eric, you might want to give me the contract before you leave.”
“Why should I do that? I already have the necessary signatures. See, you signed in all the appropriate places.”
“I didn’t sign there...I thought I signed...”
“A contract is a contract. And you have signed this one and now are legally bound to its conditions.”
“Now wait just one minute. That contract was supposed to be between my client and...”
“You are the client, Ms. Maxwell.”
“Excuse me?”
“It was necessary to create a difference between yourself and the client as a means of dissociating yourself from what the two of us where working to build. As per your instructions, you were to go over the contract and make sure that it would have been acceptable to you if you were the one signing it.”
“But you bribed me to go along with it?”
“An eye for an eye, you might say.”
“I don’t follow.”
“It was a bribe that started this whole situation. A bribe you accepted 5 years ago. I don’t feel like doing a history lesson, unless you’ve accepted so many that you just cannot remember any more.
“I...I...”
“My brother was the last criminal trial you handled before making the transition to civil law. A bribe that gave you money and a way out of what you figured was a dead-end career as a public defender.”
“The...the Winner case. But I never imagined you were related to that case?”
“An excellent choice of words, for it was my brother who got screwed in that case. Not only did you cost him his life’s work, but you also got him a 5-year prison term. So now, with the contract I have with you, I can begin the next phase of his vengeance.”
“Now wait one minute. I do not intend to honor this contract. If it’s a matter of money, you can have it back.”
“It’s not about money. It’s about serving time. My brother is serving 5 years, in which he is due out in 6 months, and you will be serving the remainder of your life. And you will be honoring the contract.”
“And how do you plan to do that? I can walk right through that door with the $1.5 million you’ve already given me...”
“By giving you the proper motivation. And as for the door...”
Eric points towards the door as it disappears from sight, simply fading away leaving nothing but a wall behind.
“What did you do to the door?”
“I didn’t want the door there, so it’s gone.”
“You just can’t ‘want’ a door away.”
“You can in this place.”
“My office?”
“This is not your office, Jessica. Your secretary, Rilena Barton, is not outside. In fact, you haven’t been to your office in over a week. You’re on vacation, a much need one as most of your associates would agree.”
“What?”
“You are in a sort of virtual reality, a three dimensional representation of your office. And everything around us represents you. From books on the wall to the papers on your desk, everything that makes up you, your memories, and your personally are in this...construct.”
“This can’t be real...”
“It’s not. Right now, your mind is connected to a computer that is administrating all of this. With complete access to your mind, the computer has built this small world to represent everything you are. The small library of law books in your office now represents one month of your life, some volumes larger than others. I guess there are about 400 here. The various pictures in your office represent those people you are close to...not that many I see. That’s a shame.”
“Why are you doing this?”
“I already told you, Jessica. Vengeance. And because I can. Within this environment, I can do anything I want to you, make you do anything I want as well as make you anything I want. In addition, the final product will be what returns to the real world. Let’s see here...”
“What are you doing?”
“Here we go...August 1993. A pretty average sized volume. Let’s see if we can see anything interesting. Here we go, page 167, August 17. It says here that you’re taking a small vacation with friends to New York City. That’s amazing; I didn’t think you had friends. Let’s see, you’re on your way to see Cats. You should be remembering this clearly as I read it.”
As soon as Eric opened the book, the memory of that period in her life opened clearly in her mind. Every detail, every nuance of 1993 New York City that she experienced was now replaying, almost like a flashback to her. Even the things people on the street where saying, which she was not paying much attention to at the time, came back to her, as if her mind had recorded the whole thing on a VCR tape.
“You’re using some sort of hypnosis on me. I will not let you play with my mind. I won’t let you do this to me.”
“Whether you want this to happen or not, it will happen. And yes, this is a form of hypnosis. The computer has divided your conscious mind from your subconscious. Your subconscious is what makes up this room, combined with your memories. Your conscious mind is the representation of yourself here, combined with your personality. When I’m done with you, it will be the most complete mental conditioning of all time.”
“Get out of my mind, you freak!”
“That’s not nice. Let’s see what we can do for punishment. Ah, here we go, January 1985.”
Jessica’s mind opens up and the memories flood in, more vivid possibly then when they occurred the first time. Eric continues, “Daddy’s little girl had a very special birthday party that year, didn’t you? Your father’s last birthday present was given to you. Though he had died three months earlier, your mother held on to the present and waited to give it to you. It was your father’s last wish.”
An eighteen year old Jessica, sitting amongst her collection of friends, watches her mother, almost in tears, brings her what she just said was her last present. Not knowing exactly what could be wrong with her mother, Jessica took the present her mother just handed her. There was not a card on the gift so she simply unwrapped it. Inside the box were a small jewelry box and the card. Jessica opened the jewelry box to reveal a necklace. It was a glittering 18K gold necklace with nearly 100 tiny diamonds inserted through its entire length. Her friends looked at it in awe. Jessica looked up at her mother, who pointed to the card and then left the room crying. Jessica opened the card to read what was inside.
“No, please don’t, " Jessica, not wanting to relive the memory, cries to Eric.
Suddenly, the memory stops. The vision completely cleared from her mind. Jessica shakes her head to shake out the emptiness that seems to have taken root in her mind. She looks over to Eric who is standing with the book in one hand and some pages in the other.
“Oops, how fragile these pages can be. Now for dramatic effect, do you happen to remember what you got for your eighteenth birthday?”
“I...I don’t remember, " replies Jessica. The emptiness in her mind seems to center on that exact point in her past. “I don’t think I got anything for it.”
“Oh, really, " says Eric with a smile on his face. “Let’s see if you remember once I put these pages back?” Eric puts the book pages back into the book and they are “magically” rebound.
Not only does the memory return to Jessica, but she can also remember the emptiness that was once there. She can feel how the memories where torn from her mind. The memories pick right up where they left off as eighteen-year-old Jessica opens the card from her father, a note from a man who knew he was going to die.
“Oh my god? You bastard!”
“First I’m a freak, now I’m a bastard. I’m upset, disappointed. I think I may have to change history a bit. Hmmm, let’s see. Yes, yes I do like that. Oh I’m such a genius. It seems your mom was having a bit of a money problem that day and pawned your present before you ever got it. But you never knew it ‘til now did you.”
“That’s not what happened.”
“It is now.”
Jessica can now see two sets of memories. The memories that Eric just created for her are quickly overwriting the real ones. The eighteen-year-old Jessica is reading the note from her father:
Hello Princess,I’m sorry I couldn’t be there today, but you know how these things can be. The last time you saw me, I was probably in pretty bad condition. I knew that there was no possible way for me to convey everything you have meant to me these past eighteen years so I did the best I could to put it all down in this letter. I want you to know that since the day you were born, there has never been a more perfect angel to walk on this earth. Your mother and I have taken great joy in watching grow up and...
The memory is overrun by her mother walking out of the pawnshop with the little bit of money that she was able to get for an item that cost a small fortune, both in money and in love. Jessica felt the memory change and tried her best to hold on to the truth, but then it was gone. As the new memory took firm hold, Jessica reached her hand up to grab the necklace around her neck but as she touched it, the necklace shattered into more than a hundred pieces. As each piece hit the floor, it disappeared. Jessica fell to her knees.
“I’m gonna take off for a little while and get something to eat, Jessica. I think I’ll leave you that time to think about how things are going to change, " says Eric as he turns to leave. Not bothering to use a door this time, Eric simply walks right through the wall where the door used to be. Jessica tries to run through the wall but meets the cold hard virtual reality of the barriers created around her mind and then she hits the floor.
“Ms. Maxwell? Um, excuse me, Ms. Maxwell?”
Jessica opens her eyes as she hears a familiar voice call her name. She looks up to see her assistant sticking her head into the office. The door fully opens and Rilena Barton steps in.
Jessica has been a major influence on this former high school dropout. In the past 15 months that Rilena has worked for Jessica Maxwell, she has gone from the weak-minded girl that thought high school was all the world had to offer, being the only world she every really knew, to becoming a woman getting her GED and starting college. Jessica has looked upon Rilena as a “project” for herself, to see if she can mold the girl into a woman in her own image. Many of her colleagues wonder to this day how Jessica caused such a transformation in Rilena. The only reason she had been on the payroll was that she was nice to look at. Her long, lithe, lightly tanned legs, well-endowed chest, and the long curly blonde hair that framed her angelic face superceded her lack of education. Now Rilena is often mistaken for executives with a business appearance that outshines many of the legal aids not to mention a few of the other attorneys at the firm. Her hair has been straightened and cut to her neck and her clothes, a black pinstripe skirt suit, show that she is doing extremely well with what she has, even if it is not designer clothing that costs hundreds of dollars.
Rilena walks up to Jessica’s desk. Speaking to the back of Jessica’s desk chair, Rilena begins, “I’m sorry, Ms. Maxwell. I tried to contact you by intercom and I knocked on the door but I didn’t get a response. I just came in to make sure you were okay. Mr. Wynnere was the last appointment for the day. Is there anything else you need before I leave for weekend?”
The desk chair turns to the desk to reveal another Jessica. The real Jessica on the floor, at least she would like to think of herself as the real Jessica, is stunned, trying to understand what is going on.
“Thank you, Rilena. Everything is all set so you are free to leave. I will be gone for the next 3 weeks for a vacation...”
“Right, everything is prepared for it. Your itinerary arrived about an hour ago. I’ve taken the liberty to set up a contact number in the case that an emergency presents itself.”
“Hopefully there will not be any emergencies. I’ve waited for this rest for quite some time. I’ll be here another couple of minutes so I’ll lock up. You have a good weekend.”
“And you enjoy your vacation. Have a good time, Ms. Maxwell.”
As Rilena turns to leave, Jessica tries to stop her, gain her attention, something, but Rilena walks past her as if she is not there. When Rilena leaves the office, the door goes with her. Realizing that Rilena will be no help, Jessica turns to her desk to see what is going on with this other Jessica but finds the desk chair once again turned towards the window. Jessica gets up and walks over to her desk. As she moves around the desk to see this “fake” Jessica, she hears a door open behind her. Jessica looks back to see Eric struggling with a huge box trying to get into the room.
“I could use a little help here.”
Jessica ignores Eric and moves to the back of her desk. As she turns the chair around to see who or what is in it, she finds exactly what she was afraid she would find...nothing; nothing that would help to explain what is happening to her.
“Come on, Jessica. Would you please come over here and help me?” asks Eric, visibly straining to get the box, which is about half his size and the width of the door, through the door.
“Why should I?” retorts Jessica as she moves back to the front of the desk. “You have me somehow stuck in a nightmare and you want me to help you continue the delusion?”
“Hey, I’m simply asking as one helpless human being to another for a little bit of help. Besides, the sooner I get this box in, the sooner you find out what’s going to happen.”
“Well in that case, “starts Jessica as she walks over to the door, “take all the time you need, because I’m in no rush for you to continue.” She casually leans up against the wall to watch Eric struggle.
“Fine [Grunt], be that way, " Eric tries to fire back as he tries to pull the box in.
“You know, it might help if you pull it from inside the office and I push it from the outside?”
“Comedy...I like that. Make light of a situation in order to try to take control of it...interesting.”
Eric gives one strong pull to box and it comes through the door. However, Eric does not have control of himself or the box and begins to fall backwards. Trying to gain his balance, Eric manages to stagger backwards before he falls. The box, having it own momentum, continues its journey, and hits the ground right in front of the desk. When Eric sits up, he finds Jessica in trying to do everything she can to stop herself from laughing. Doing his best to ignore Jessica, he gets up from the floor and moves over to the box.
Eric opens the box and begins to pull items out. The first looks like a small all-in-one print shop device, a printer with facsimile, copier, scanner, and collator. It alone seems to be the size of the box. Next, he pulls out two gift-wrapped boxes, which look like they would contain clothing. Wondering what else could possibly be in the box, Jessica leaves the wall and begins to walk over to Eric as he struggles with the next item. Eric pulls out a large stone planter. It has various decorations, mostly Roman influenced, on it and appears to be made of marble. He carefully places it down in the exact center of the room.
Jessica looks into the box and sees that it is empty. Looking at the planter, she sees that it is actually bigger than the box by a few inches in each dimension. Jessica takes a knee by the planter to get a better look at it. It is beautiful. The marble looks like it has just been polished. The circular rim has a vine decoration with leaves and berries extending from the vine. An angel rests at the front with its right arm reaching up and its wingspan taking up half the planter. On the other side of the planter is a slanted ledge, as if left for a book.
“I’m glad you like it, " says Eric, shocking Jessica out of her inspection. She sees him holding a large bag of dirt, a small box, and a watering can. He puts them down on the ground and reaches in to the box one last time to pull out what looks like a shoebox.
“Where are you getting all this stuff? The box was empty just a second ago.”
“No, now it’s empty. Before, you just didn’t see anything because you didn’t know what you were looking for.”
“I’m looking for a way out of here.”
“Well, there’s no way out through the box.”
Jessica sighs before continuing, “What is all this stuff for? What are you going to do with it?”
“Lots of questions. Well I have all your answers but I’ll answer them as we continue. Now let’s get started on the new Jessica, " says Eric as he navigates through all the stuff he brought with him over to the print shop.
“What do you mean, new Jessica? Is that the Jessica I saw in here a few minutes ago?”
“What?”
“While you were gone, I saw another me sitting in my chair, talking to my assistant.”
“Oh. No, that’s not the new Jessica I’m referring to. I’m going to remake you in my own image of you, sort of what you’ve done for Rilena, but in less time. Now I can use your assistance in this, " says Eric, looking to Jessica.
“I’m not going to help you brainwash me.”
“The more you help, the easier it will be.”
“Yeah, ‘cause there wouldn’t be any resistance.”
“Resistance is futile, " shoots back Eric. Jessica simply sticks out her tongue at him and defiantly crosses her arms. “You know, I could make you.”
“Make me? How?”
“You’re in a trance. The only reason we’re even having this conversation is because human interaction seems to allow me to see how the changes are holding. I could make you a mindless automata with the snap of my fingers.”
“Now wait...” Jessica begins as Eric snaps his fingers. All her feelings quickly drain from her. Any emotion she had over the situation she was currently going through was gone. Her thoughts slow, but do not stop as quickly as her emotions left her. She looks on as the room begins to breakdown and fade. The curtains over the window crumble as the shelves fade from sight. The construct of her mind was based in her thoughts and, with her thoughts stopping, the construct is ceasing to exist. Resistance was gone, her desire to fight back leaving her right after her emotions had. In fact, any desires she ever had were now drained away. Her opinions no longer matter, as her beliefs simply have no backing. Eventually, like a clock winding down, all of Jessica’s thoughts stop. And all that is left of the room are the books of Jessica’s memories, floating where the had been on the shelves, the items Eric brought in, Eric, and the now mindless Jessica.”
Eric walks over to Jessica’s defiant form. She is frozen in the last pose she had before Eric snapped his fingers, her mouth still forming the next words she was going to say. Eric figures she was about to say “a” and move to “minute”. He waves his hand in front of Jessica’s frozen face. Eric puts his mouth by her ear and yells, “Hello!” which only echoes back within the room. Satisfied that Jessica sees his point, Eric walks back over to the print shop and snaps his fingers.
“...a minutes oh My GOD!!” restarts Jessica, her frozen space in time firmly on her mind. She sees Eric and he is smiling at her. At that point, she refuses to give Eric the satisfaction of knowing he had gotten to her. She looks around the room and sees that the room reformed instantaneously once she “woke up”.
“Interesting experience, huh?”
“If that’s what you’re into. It was really no big deal. I could probably sleep more if I could do that before bed.”
“Uh-huh. Well, are you going to help me?”
“Not in your dreams, " answers Jessica. She sees that Eric is about to fire back and shoots out, “Or my own dreams.”
“Not bad. Beat me to the punch.”
“’Know thy adversary’. And yes that’s how I will think of you unless you can come up with anything better.”
Eric turns away from Jessica and she tries to relish in what she hopes will be the first of many victories. She walks over to the curtains in the back of her office to look out the window. She expects to find a void, most likely similar to the one she saw when Eric had stopped her mind. Once she is at the curtains, Jessica tries to look for an opening but cannot seem to find one. She looks back over to Eric and he’s simply taking books off the shelves and bringing them over to the print shop, not paying her any mind. Jessica decides to go to the very end of the curtain and just pull it back. When she finally does get the curtain to move, she is not at all surprised by what she sees. Instead of a void, she sees a giant sign taking up the entire view of the window.
You know, it would be much easier on both of us if you just helped me with this.
—Eric
Jessica turns back to Eric and sees him stuffing the books into the print shop. She knows he is up to something, but she is not quite sure what. Jessica takes one last look outside the window and finds that the message has changed.
Of course, I’m up to something. If I weren’t up to something would I even be here in the first place. How many people do you know that would go through all this trouble if they weren’t up to something?
—Eric
Jessica closes the curtain quickly. She feels an uneasiness. There is a hole in her memory again, she can tell, but it is bigger that last time, much bigger. The hole in her memory is big enough this time that she can notice it. Instead of a day missing like before, it feels like years are gone. Jessica looks back over to Eric and finds he has almost stuffed all the books of the right bookshelf into the print shop. She wonders if the device could possibly be destroying the books, her memories. Suddenly, the curtains fly open. Jessica turns to read the message Eric has left this time.
Yeah it’s destroying the books. Every last one of them. If you had been helping me, I’d have explained what this was going to do to you. Since you aren’t helping me, I’m just going to let you panic and agonize over your fate.
—EW
Jessica does not finish reading the note, only getting to the word “book”, but she does exactly what Eric wrote, she panics. However, the agony may be all Eric is as Jessica kicks off her pumps and charges at him. She makes contact and tackles Eric to the floor where she unleashes a variety of different hits, slaps, scratches, and punches in an adrenaline-induced fury.
“Last book, " says Eric from behind Jessica, breaking her fury for a moment. She turns around to see Eric put the last book in the print shop device while her nails slowly claw across the face of the body below her. She looks around her office to see all the bookshelves are clear. She can feel a giant void in her mind. However, that is momentarily forgotten as Jessica wonders who she was hitting and looks down to see Rilena’s unconscious body, a mass of cuts and bruises. The shock of the horror she just inflicted on her assistant causes Jessica to slowly draw back and get off the body. She looks back over to the print shop but does not see Eric standing there. Suddenly, the body next to her sits up and it is Eric, all his wounds quickly healing.
“Sorry to use your assistant as a distraction to get you to stop beating on me, but all that clawing was starting to hurt, well it would have hurt if you could possibly hurt me.”
“What are you doing to me?”
“Just laying down the foundation of your future. You know, I almost can’t help but want to be a typical movie villain and blab out my complete plans for you and tell you everything. I think I can restrain myself though. So I’ll do this, for the next part of this, I need your help. I will answer one question for every article of clothing you put in the big box over there.”
“WHAT?”
“See, that’s one question, but this will be a freebee. I need you to take off your clothes. I have new clothes for you to put on afterwards.”
“Why?”
“Sorry, gonna need some contribution to the box?”
Both Jessica and Eric stand in the middle of the office just looking at each other for the next ten minutes, neither one saying anything or moving. Jessica finally looks to the back of the room and remembers about her shoes, which she could use for extra clothing. She figures she could possible play this game for a little while, play to Eric’s ego, and find a weakness she can exploit. Jessica walks to the back of the room and slips back into her shoes. Then she returns to the box and Eric. However, neither says or does anything else for another 5 minutes. Finally, Jessica turns to her closet as a thought pops into her head.
“Jessica, I let the shoes slide, but you can’t grab your raincoat to use for this.”
“Why not, it’s clothing and I wore it today?”
“You didn’t bring in your coat today. You’re not a work remember. All you have is everything you started with when this little episode started.”
“Which was?”
“Right before I came in here. This is primarily a rewrite of events of your leaving work for this vacation. I’ve blocked the events of you mind since your meeting with Eric Wynnere last week.”
Jessica, deciding to play on a hunch, continues, “So I actually had a meeting with Eric Wynnere last week over?”
“Something about some contract deal with his company and some other company. I decided to play off that and move with my own agenda.”
“So you’re not Eric Wynnere?”
Eric stops talking and looks at her. Jessica gives him a questioning look and he alludes to her clothing. Without taking her eyes off Eric, Jessica reaches down, takes off her right pump, and dumps it in the box.
“No, I’m not Eric Wynnere.”
Taking off her other shoe, Jessica continues, “Then who are you?”
“I don’t remember. All I can remember these days are my initials that happen to be EW. Anytime I take another name as an alias, it always matches them.”
“Then what does this...”
“Jessica, let me warn you, you only have three questions left.”
“What do you mean I only have three questions left? I’ve only taken off my shoes.”
“Well, make that two questions, and I’d make sure they really count. You see, you’ve only put your shoes in the box. However, the box has taken off your turtleneck, bra, panties, and just now your pantyhose. Just take a look.”
Jessica looks down at herself and sees what Eric, or EW, said was right. All she had on was her jacket and skirt. She is not quite sure why she did not notice this before this moment, but she was sure she did not want to use that as a question. Jessica then looks into the box and sees all her missing clothing is neatly folded in the box. She begins to reach into the box as Eric grabs her hand.
“Sorry, a deal’s a deal. Plus, the box will give you a nasty little shock if you try to take your stuff back. But you’re hardheaded, so feel free to try.”
“Okay then, I go back to my first question, why do you want me to take off my clothes?”
“Aren’t the reasons obvious, your clothes are the primary reflection of your personality. People wear what they feel comfortable in and they wear things to express how they feel. I wipe your basic personality and then I can mold it into any form I wish. Now you have a choice, skirt or jacket?”
Jessica turns her back to Eric and then proceeds to remove her jacket. She reaches back towards Eric and drops the jacket into the box, however she continues to face away from Eric with her arms crossed.
“You know Jessica, I might have to do something about that whole modestly thing.”
Jessica does not respond. Eric reaches down, picks up the two gift-wrap boxes and the shoebox, and brings them over to Jessica.
“Since you have one question left and I’m sure your modesty is preventing you from asking it right now, here are your new clothes. It doesn’t matter which one you open first, but you won’t be able to open the second one until you’re wearing the first. I just want to leave something of a surprise.”
Eric hands Jessica the boxes but she just stares at him as she continues to keep her arms folded. He just decides to put the boxes down in front of her. He looks back up at a Jessica who just keeps staring at him. Shaking his head, Eric walks over to the big marble planter, takes off his suit jacket, and picks up the bag of dirt. He dumps the dirt into the planter and fills it to about halfway. He levels the dirt off a little and then grabs the watering can and waters the dirt. Instead of turning into brownish mud, the dirt seems to turn into dark brown, almost black moist soil just right for planting. After placing the watering can down by the bag of dirt, Eric grabs the small box off the floor. Inside is a seed about the size of a peach pit and the appearance of a walnut. He puts the seed in the exact center of the planter and next grabs the left over dirt and piles it on top of the seed. Once the bag of dirt is empty, Eric waters the dirt in the planter once again turning it into moist soil.
Looking over to where he left Jessica, Eric begins, “You might want to come over here and...” He does not finish because Jessica does not appear to be anywhere in the room. Eric turns to the desk and sees the desk chair facing away from the desk to the back window. He walks to the back of the office to find Jessica sitting in the chair staring off at the window curtains. She still has on her skirt and her arms remained folded over her naked breasts.
Before Eric can say anything, Jessica says, “You don’t actually expect me to wear that do you.”
“Is that a question?”
“No, more of a statement. I’m not wearing that lingerie. I’d rather walk around her naked, or take my chances with the box and get my clothes back.”
“Why do you have to be so stubborn?”
“You know, Eric, if you’re going to ask me all these questions, maybe I should get some sort of compensation. I mean, for every question I ask, I loose clothing. For every question you ask, you should have to loose something.”
“I’m loosing my patience.”
“Sorry, not interested in your patience. I’d prefer you loose something else.”
“Like what?”
“This game possibly. Someone needs to come out as the winner and I’d prefer it to be me. And I’m tired of all this deceit.”
“What deceit?”
“Eric, you have deceived me at least 4 times already during this. You deceived me when you made me think I was in my office. You deceived me in your identity. Then you deceived me in signing that contract and wasting questions.”
“A means to an end.”
“Then explain to me the rules of this game.”
“It’s not a game.”
“Tell me what it is then.”
“All this is so that I...you know, you almost got me there, Jessica. A very interesting way to turn my rules around on me, turning questions into statements and commands. However, I am beginning to tire of your games. It’s time you concede and end your little games. You can’t win.”
“I’m going to resist you every step of the way, Eric. You want me to do something, you’re going to have to make me.”
“Very well, " Eric says as he whips his arm to cause something to fly out from within his shirtsleeve. A gold pocket watch now dangles from his hand, the chain still coming from somewhere up his sleeve. The watch is open-faced with Roman numerals on the clock face and the gold as an almost reflective quality. Eric begins to swing the watch back and worth.
“I don’t believe this, Eric. You’ve changed my memory, wiped every thought from my mind, and even read my mind, but now you’re going to try to hypnotize me with a pocket watch. You’re going to resort to a simple parlor trick to get me to do what you want. If I know my TV stereotypes and clichés correctly, I’m supposed to just stare at the watch as it goes from left to right and wait for you to give me orders which I must obey as I watch the watch go from left to right and wait for you to give me orders that I must obey as I watch the watch move left to right and await orders to obey as I watch the watch...and obey my orders as I watch the watch...and obey as I watch...and obey...as I watch...and obey...”
Eric snaps his fingers and Jessica awakes standing in front of the marble planter. Jessica is about to question Eric about what is going on when she realizes that she was about to waste another question and she decides to hold off. As her senses and faculties return to her, she realizes she is wearing clothes and shoes, her height now closer to Eric’s, if not the same now. Looking down, Jessica sees she is now wearing the lingerie she had previously refused to wear: a white embroidered bustier; white lace bikini panties; white lace top thigh high hosiery connected to garter straps and belt; and white patent leather classic pumps with a heel 1 1/2 inches bigger than the shoes that now occupy the box. Jessica cannot help thinking that Eric may have a thing for the colour white. When she looked down, she noticed that her hair was no longer in a bun, allowed to flow freely from her head down to the base of her neck. It takes Jessica a few more seconds to realize her glasses are gone as well, since her vision is normal.
“Jessica, you might want to look at this, " says Eric alluding to the planter. Jessica looks down at the planter and sees the soil Eric is currently watering. Nothing is happening and after a few seconds, Jessica was going to say something about it but then a small growth came from out of the soil.
“There we go. It starts. This is the moment your life will change forever, Jessica.”
“Since I’m hoping I still have a question in reserve, I’ll simply let you explain to me everything that’s going on and what happened to me.”
Both of them reenter a staring contest, a contest to see who would be the first to break. Jessica wants to know what was happening, but figures Eric will not be able to control his ego enough not to talk. Eric is thinking along similar lines, however he wants Jessica to use her last question.
After about five minutes, Jessica breaks the silence. “Oh, just tell me what you want and why you’re doing this.”
“I’m sorry, but the judges say you must word that in the form of a question.”
“Fine, what is this all about?”
Suddenly there is a bell sound from the print shop and Eric excuses himself for a moment. Being left to wait, Jessica begins to pout. However, just as quickly as she began pouting, she realizes that she never pouts, that she would never pout, but for some reason, it just felt right. She asked her question and Eric ignored her, not that it really bugged her, she just wants his attention. Jessica is not even bothered to be put on displayed like a Victoria’s Secret model nor is she self-conscious of her appearance. She is as comfortable in these clothes as she would have felt in her old ones.
“Sorry about that, Jessie, but the book is ready, " says Eric as he turns back towards her carrying a gigantic book. “Well, I wouldn’t really call it a book. It’s more a tome.” He brings the tome over to the planter and places it on the book ledge opposite the angel. Eric backs away from the planter and takes a look at the overall effect. The planter was now complete, at least where his work is concerned.
“Okay, Jessie, you want to know what this is all about. It’s about you and me. I wanted you and that’s all there is to it. The Joseph Winner case I brought up earlier was just a way in for me. You have a built up guilt over what you did and I decided to exploit it. Until I found it in your mind, I never knew about it. The computer I said that was administrating this environment is a half-truth. My computer enhanced mind is what created all of this, using your mind to fill in the gaps and provide the stage.”
Eric pauses for a moment to see how Jessica is taking this all in. She is not showing much of an outward reaction. Thinking he may have left something out, Eric waves his hand in front of Jessica’s faces, but she pushes it out of her way and sucks her teeth at him.
“I’m here. I was just waiting for you to finish”
“Sorry, it’s just that I’ve gotten more of a reaction from a foot stool. Okay, the next thing is the clothes...”
“Actually you started messing with the books next.”
“I’ll get to that where it fits in. The clothes are the representation of your personality. Getting you to take them off, once they were all removed, allows me to manipulate your responses. See, in your power suit, as people often refer to them as, you are trying to project confidence and belief in yourself. It’s also used for intimation. The jacket acts like a shell, an armour of protection and gives you the ability to hide what you don’t want people to see. The way the jacket works in defense, the skirt can be used as offense. It allows you to show your femininity, which some take as a sign of weakness. For those who are caught of guard by what they think is a weak spot in your armour, their defenses are weaken in key positions allowing you to take advantage. The turtleneck, as with any type of shirt, can work in a similar manor, however exposure can cause difficulty on both sides. Your pantyhose create an ideal illusion of, in most cases, perfection, since they are often used to hide kinks in the armour. Your high heels, though only at an inch and a half, are used for intimidation. Women often strive to be taller, but adjust their height for the situation. Your underwear represents the inner personality and frankly I must say your underwear was boring.”
“Where in the hell do you get this shit? When did you become a psychoanalyst and what makes you thing you’re right? I wear what I want to wear, when and where I want to wear it.”
“Right but what you decide to wear is based on how you feel and how you wish to present yourself. Your personality. Moving on to what you have on now, though you still have another box of clothing to add...”
“Oh, so you are giving me something to cover myself up with?”
“I’ve given you clothing to fully expose your feminine side, to allow you to be the sensual and sexual creature I know you can be. And for now, without any outer layering, that creature is what you are inside and out. In addition, the other clothes I’m going to give you won’t change that much. Next, we have the manipulation of the books. The entire library that made up your memories is now contained in that huge tome that I just finished creating. You should notice that large empty feeling should be subsiding now that your memories are back. However, by placing them in the tome, I’ve locked these memories aside. They are more like a reference to you on who you used to be then what you are now.”
“What do you mean who I used to be? I know exactly who and what I am. I remember everything that’s ever happen to me.”
“You are supposed to remember everything that has ever happened to you. That’s the purpose of the tome. Any additional memories will create brand new books to once again populate the library. But you are far from the person you once were. You should be able to tell the differences in yourself. If not now, you will. This final item will make use of that.”
“The planter?”
“Not really the planter but the plant inside it. You see, the main purpose for all of this was to plant a seed in your mind, a seed that will soon blossom into the center of your being. As this sapling takes a firm root and grows, it will consume your thoughts. Even out in the world, your thoughts will be in the interest of what is growing in your mind. But before I leave it in your care, I have to make sure that the correct emotion corresponds to the plant. If you have a hatred towards the plant and what it represents, your thoughts will reflect that hatred. As you should know, the two most powerful emotions are hate and...”
“Love.”
“Yep. As they say, there’s a thin line between love and hate. I have to make sure that the primary emotion you have to the plant is love.”
“And how are you going to do that?”
“The final part, your clothes, at least the clothes that your psyche will wear. No matter what you wear from now on, the clothes you have on now and two other garments I have to give you will always reflect your personality...at least where the plant is concerned. You can open the last box now. I’m sure you’d like to put a little something on to cover up.”
Jessica looks around the room to find the gift boxes and finds they are sitting on her desk. She reaches over to the desk and picks up the box. Opening the box, Jessica finds a necklace resting on top of translucent silks. It was the gold swirl necklace that her father had given her for her eighteenth birthday. She looks over to Eric.
“I restored the memory and the necklace to your psyche. Hey, I’m not all that bad.”
Jessica places the box down for a minute so she can put the necklace back on. Feeling it around her neck made her feel comfortable as a piece of her psyche was restored. Returning to the box, Jessica pulls out the silk pants and short short-sleeve top. The clothes did not really hide anything.
“These look like something a harem girl would wear.”
“Hey, I didn’t say I was all good either.”
“So these clothes will represent the subservience and loyalty to the plant you wish to instill. Well, I’d rather be...”
“Naked. You said that already. Besides, I can get you in those clothes the same way I got you into what you’re already wearing.”
“What, with that stupid watch trick? You may have gotten me once, but you won’t do it again.”
“You wanna bet?”
“Yeah?”
“Okay, what will the bet be?”
“Um, okay um...if you can get me to put on those clothes then I’ll be every bit of obedient and loyal that you wish me to be. However, if I can resist, you have to free me and never come for me again.”
“That bet doesn’t do anything for me, I have you no matter what happens. At some point, you will put on the silks. The plant will see to that.”
“What’s the plant?”
“It’s the center of your being.”
“Yeah, but what does it represent?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“Why stop answering the questions now? I thought you were getting off at playing the typical villain revealing his plans to the hero, or heroine in this case?”
“Who said I was the villain?”
“You did. Earlier, you said that you wanted to be like the cliché movie villain and tell me what you had planned for me.”
“All in due time.”
Eric walks over to the print shop device, picks it up, and puts in into the box. Next he proceeds to collect all the other left over items he brought with him: the empty bag of soil, the watering can, the seed box, the empty gift boxes. Then he puts on his jacket.
Looking around, Eric asks, “Did I forget anything?” Jessica immediately tries to hand him the silk. “Told you I like comedy. Well, I have to go. I’ll probably meet up with you about six months. By then, the plant should be fully-grown. But not to worry, you won’t remember any of this when you wake up. And the changes in your mind will slowly work its way into you. I think the best part about the whole thing is the next time you see me, it will be like the first time you’ve ever seen me. Oh, and one last thing. When you finally decide to put on the silk pants, they connect to the garter belt as well.”
“Will you leave already?”
“Fine. Well, enjoy yourself.”
“Bye, good riddance.”
Eric closes the box and then pushes it down. As he presses, the box scales down finally to the size of a small package. Eric picks up the package and puts it under his arm. As he walks to the front of the office, the door appears and opens for him. While the door is open, a cold breeze passes through it. It sends a chill through Jessica and by instinct she grabs the silk top and puts it on. Only after getting comfortable in the top and the door closing does she realize what she has just done.
“Damn.”