'I Looked Into The Spiral'
CW: Consensual VR headset hypnosis, serial recruitment, AI/technology based brainwashing, chicken and cat transformation, mantras, light public humiliation
Kat sighed as she swiped through her InstaPix timeline. Another stupid Internet trend had hijacked her feed of tech influencers and gaming sites.
It was called The Spiral Challenge, and required the use of an Apex Visor Max headset. Kat happened to own that exact model resting on her desk across the room - it was pricey but she just loved having the latest tech. She loved the pass-through tech to see into the outside world while in the headset, and it was the only one on the market to have a screen displaying the userās eye movements on the outside of the unit. Super useful for social situations.
Supposedly, it was some sort of 'hypnotic resistance' challenge, whatever that meant. As part of the challenge, youād have to post a video of yourself to your Story saying your name and why you think youāll be able to resist The Spiral. Then, a short while later - times varied from 10 minutes to half an hour, a second video would be posted by the challenger, headset on, babbling on about having ālooked in the spiral and become deeply hypnotisedā or something. Sometimes, the challenger would also act out some sort of stupid āforfeitā - something like taking their shirt off, clucking like a chicken, or revealing some sort of embarrassing secret.
According to The Spiral App Company website, no one has so far been able to successfully resist it. A very bold marketing slogan.
Kat wondered just why so many people were willing to embarrass themselves just to keep up with the social media algorithm.
They must all be faking it, thought Kat, I guess The Spiral App Company must be paying these influencers big bucks to be doing this
Kat continued to swipe through her feed:
āHereās 5 THINGS you MISSED from the latest Apex conference! -ā Skip
āThis is Tech Review David and today Iām going to be attempting The Spiral Cha..ā Skip
Some pictures of her ex-boyfriendās friends dog - SKIP
āCan The Spiral App Company continue to DISRUPT the VR market?ā - SKIP
āHey everyone, Iām Tiffany and today, Iām going to be attempting The Spiral Challengeā
Huh? Kat paused. This was Tiffany, her best friend from college and now studying across the country at uni. Sheād recognise that loud and bubbly voice anywhere. Wait - she was doing this stupid challenge?!
ā¦āI think Iāll be able to resist The Spiral. No, in fact Iām sure of it. Iām very intelligent, Iām studying a STEM degree at one of the top universities in the country. I learnt in psychology class that all hypnosis is self hypnosis, thereās no magic here itās just using basic social expectation and compliance. You wonāt be seeing me making that second post! Anyway guys, wish me luck!ā
An option popped up to see the next post from Tiffany - Kat advanced to the next video
Her mouth opened in shock. Tiffany had indeed, made that second post, 15 minutes after the first.
The Tiffany on her screen stood in stark contrast to the one in the previous video. Her Apex Visor Max was on and covering her face. The outer screen displayed a sort of foggy haze effect, partially obscuring her avatarās eyes, which were twitching and rolling and barely staying open. Her neatly pressed hair had become disheveled, frizzy and sticking up all over the place behind the strap of the headset. Her mouth hung slightly open, and - wait, was that saliva at the corner of her mouth? Grossā¦
After a brief pause breathing slowly and deeply in front of the camera, Tiffany began to speak in a soft, monotone voice the same script Kat had heard many times before-
āI looked into The Spiralā¦ā
āAnd The Spiral looked into meā¦ā
āI looked into The Spiralā¦ā
āAnd I became deeply hypnotisedā¦ā
āI was wrong to think I could resist The Spiralā¦ā
āI am easily controlled by The Spiralā¦ā
āI cannot resist The Spiralā¦ā
āMy mind is blank and emptyā¦ā
āI looked into the Spiralā¦ā
āAnd saw my true selfā¦ā
āI am an airheaded chickenā¦ā
And with that, Tiffany began to make the most indignant CLUCKS and BAWKS like an aggressive hen. There was truly nothing in those digital avatar eyes on the Visor - no shame, no recognition, just clucking. Tiffany was the smartest person Kat knew - she never thought sheād see her looking this dumb and airheaded, embarassing herself in front of the whole world.
Kat continued to watch on with second hand embarrassment -
Tiffany suddenly seemed to snap to attention, no longer a chicken but still far from her usual self. She delivered the standard closing line with monotonous precision
āI thought I could resist the Spiralā¦ā
āMy mind lasted 15 minutesā¦ā
āWill your mind last any longer than mineā¦?ā
āTake The Spiral Challenge today for free on the Apex Storeā¦ā
Tiffanyās head dropped into sleep and the video was over
Kat sat there in disbelief. Tiffany was no tech influencer - what on Earth would she gain from acting all dumb and brainless
Katās phone was ringing. It was Tiffany. Perhaps sheād seen that Kat had viewed her post
āTiffanyā¦. Are you in desperate need of money or something? Whatās up with the spiral business?ā
āKat Iā¦ Iā¦ I canāt remember a thing! I canāt remember posting that video. Butā¦. I canāt bring myself to delete itā
She sounded more like her old self, with a small hint of airheadedness
āWhat do you mean, canāt?ā
āI just canāt, I canāt bring myself to press the delete button. I lost the challenge after all and I got deeply hypnotisedā¦. So very deeply hypnotisedā¦ unable to resist The Spiralā¦ Iā¦ā
Tiffany trailed off into a mumble
āTiffany, stop it! So you actually downloaded the app onto your Visor, can you remember anything after that?ā
āI remember the Spiralā¦ā
āAll I can remember was how pleasurable it was. So sweet and hazyā¦ mind so blank and emptyā¦ Kat, you have an Apex Visor Max right? Youāve got to try it!ā
āWell, Tiffany, you gave such a good sales pitch in the videoā teased Kat
āWell if you are so smart Kat, smarter than me, then letās see you last more than 15 minutes. Thoughā¦ I promise you thereās no need to resist. You wonāt want toā¦ Oh, and Iāve already sent you the link to the Apex store page. Good luck!ā
Kat reluctantly agreed, then ended the call. It sounds like Tiffany may have been a bit spooked. But after all, as Tiffany had said, all hypnosis really is just social conditioning and enforcement. All Kat had to do was to try this app, tell Tiffany thereās nothing magic about it and then she might calm down a bit.
Kat set her laptop to start downloading the app onto her Visor, whilst she quickly charged the battery pack. While she was waiting, she watched Tiffanyās videos back again
āI looked into The Spiralā¦ā
āAnd the Spiral looked into meā¦ā
What did that mean? thought Kat
The download was quicker than Kat expected, and she quickly slipped on the Visor. It had been a while since she last used it properly, but it was a super comfortable form factor.
CHALLENGE VIDEO UPLOAD REQUIRED. PLEASE REMOVE HEADSET
Kat was very annoyed. She didnāt want anyone to know she was doing this stupid trend. Oh well, maybe she might actually get some street cred out of being the first person to beat the challenge.
She took the headset off and grabbed her phone, recording a rough video straight onto InstaPix
āHi, my nameās Kat, uhhh Iām not actually doing the challenge Iām just doing it to prove to my friend Tiffany that she hasnāt just become a mindless zombie and sheās just making it up. I obviously donāt believe in hypnosis. Itās not real. uhhh, yeah donāt expect a second video from meā
Kat tossed her phone onto her bed on the other side of the room. Wonāt be needing that, she thought as she slipped the headset back on along with her favourite pair of cat eared headphones.
PLEASE AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. KEEP THE HEADSET ON
Kat was fuming. She quickly skimmed through the policy using her Visorās hand tracking control
The Spiral App uses AI and machine learning to provide a personalised experience to each user. By continuing you agree for us to process your data, including public data from our partners, biometrics and thought data for this purpose
Yep thatās fine, thought Kat, standard Big Tech legal jargon
The Spiral App Company retains the right to use your mind as it sees fit for the duration of your session in the app. It accepts no responsibility for any personal damages, reputational damages, or otherwise that may come as a result of your sessionā¦
ā¦You agree that The Spiral App Company may, where it sees fit, use you, your mind and your likeness to promote its apps and services to other users.
Kat ticked that she agreed with the policy
THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMPLIANCE.
Kat scoffed at the word ācomplianceā. Sheād be anything but while using this app. If she just closed her eyes, there would be no spiral to look and and therefore hypnosis debunked. She sat there with her eyes closed, arms folded and started to count to 15 minutes in her headā¦
A sultry voice whispered in her ear PLEASE BLINK TO START
Oh, maybe it was a bit cleverer than I thought, thought Kat.
She opened her eyes briefly to blink and was met with a short flash of light from the centre of her screen, startling her. She blinked rapidly a few times to clear the afterimage.
She thought about closing them again, but the light had started to glow a little bit brighter and a bit warmer. She looked into it a bit longer
āAre you wondering where the Spiral is, Kat?" a voice seemed to whisper in her ear
Actually, come to think of it, she was. Where was this supposed spiral? All there was was this glowing light. Was it broken? Maybe it would be best not to look straight into it.
She reached up to take off the headset
Her hand paused just on top of the visor, shaking slightly. Her hands dropped into her lap.
āYou wonāt last as long as your friendā
Wow, they werenāt kidding when they said theyād be using your private dataā¦ thought Kat
āYour mind is weak. Even without The Spiral you are complying and compliance leads to hypnosisā
āNo, my mind is pretty strong actuallyā Kat spoke out loud
āIs that so. Try to take your eyes away from the light Katā
Kat gasped. She hadnāt even realised sheād been staring straight into it, like a deer in headlights. It was so bright now, burning even, searing into her brain
āWe see who you are Kat. And you have already fallen deep under hypnosisā
Kat shook her head. No, she felt fine, she moved her body away from the light - ah the benefits of 360 motion tracking! Now she was facing away from the light, she could close her eyes again, block it out andā¦
She felt needle-like pains in her foreheadā¦
Katās body shot round to face into the light again. That was better, her head felt a lot less painful and moreā¦ fuzzy
āI need the lightā she murmured, before realising what she was saying and clearing her throat
āYou need the light, the longer you stare at the light the longer you can delay watching the Spiralā
The Spiral, yes, thatās what she was here to see. Waitā¦ noā¦ she had to avoid looking at the Spiral, it was going to hypnotise her. And she couldnāt afford to be hypnotised.
āThe longer you look at the light the fuzzier your head will become. The less able to think you will become. The less able to beg for the spiral you will become. But you didnt want to see the Spiral, did you?ā
Kat blinked. It was like her head was full of tv static.
āYou havenāt even seen The Spiral yet, and yet you are already sinking so deepā
āShow me the Spiral thenā said Kat, a little quieter than she wanted to. Yes, thats it. She couldnāt resist this burning Light but she could definitely resist a stupid spiral
āYou were going to try to avoid looking into the Spiral, so we didnāt show you the Spiral. We showed you the Light. Do you wish to change your mind?ā
It was becoming harder for Kat to think over this static in her head.
āShow me the spiralā¦ pp.pleaseā
The Light switched off and Kat was left in the dark, with a small amount of pass-through from her room filtered through the Visor. She realised she was kneeling on the floor. When did that happen?
Then, the spiral came into focus. She looked deeply into it, a swirly twist of pinks and blues. She let herself get lost in it, to become entangled and drawn further and further in with every rotation. The Spiral was much easier - much more pleasurable - to watch than the Light.
āFeel every turn of The Spiral draw your thoughts further and further from you..ā
āFeel every turn of The Spiral wash away your remaining resistance to tranceā¦ā
āFeel every turn of The Spiral make you more deeply hypnotised and easily controlledā¦ā
Katās eyes fluttered under the visor. But.. she had to keep watching the Spiral. She loved the feeling it gave her
āRepeat and believe. I am deep under hypnotic control..ā
āI am deep under hypnotic controlā¦ā Kat murmured quietly.
āRepeat and believe. I cannot resist the Spiralā
āI cannot resist the Spiralā¦ā
āCan you remember what led you hereā¦?ā
āDo you know how long it took for you to fallā¦ā
How long had she been here? Kat didnāt know
āCan you remember your own name?ā
āFor the next 2 hours, your mind belongs to The Spiral App Company. You have lost the challenge and must pay your forfeitā
āā¦sā¦.pirā¦alā¦ā
āYou will sink down into mindless sleep in
Kat jolted awake. Her Apex Visor Pro was on her head - out of power. Her neck was stiff from holding it up.
She reached up to her face and slowly removed it. She had been lying down on her bed, underneath her blanket
ā¦how did she get here again?
She got up and looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was all over the place and there were big patches of sweat underneath her armpits. Her head felt fuzzy.
ā¦what happened this evening?
Her housemate Rebecca burst through the door to her room. Her phone was blaring loudly in her hand
āKatā¦ Kat! Are you alright? Youāve been posting some seriously weird stuff online tonightā
Kat heard her own voice coming from Rebeccaās phone.
āā¦I obviously donāt believe in hypnosis. Itās not real. uhhh, yeah donāt expect a second video from meā
āAnd then your next post, is this:ā
Kat gasped as she saw herself on Rebeccaās phone - visor on, cheeks red, lips wet with saliva, sweat beading down her forehead, visor screen hazy and eyes blank and rapidly twitching
It all came flooding back to her now, as she found herself mouthing the words along with Kat on the video..
āI looked into The Spiralā¦ā
āAnd The Spiral looked into meā¦ā
āI looked into The Spiralā¦ā
āAnd I became deeply hypnotisedā¦ā
āI was wrong to think I could resist The Spiralā¦ā
āI am easily controlled by The Spiralā¦ā
āI cannot resist The Spiralā¦ā
āMy mind is blank and emptyā¦ā
āI looked into the Spiralā¦ā
āAnd saw my true selfā¦ā
āI am an attention seeking catā¦ā
Kat and Rebecca watched on as the Kat in the video began to purr, lick and crawl her way around her bed which she was sat on. She looked especially cute with those cat-eared headphones on.
āYou do this for a good few minutesā¦ā said Rebecca. She skipped ahead to the end
āI thought I could resist the Spiralā¦ā
āMy mind lasted 8 minutesā¦ā
āWill your mind last any longer than mineā¦?ā
āTake The Spiral Challenge today for free on the Apex Storeā¦ā
Kat remembered now. She had looked into the Spiralā¦ She had so easily fallen into trance. The Spiral had controlled her mind for a good few hours after that
āI lost the challenge and I got deeply hypnotisedā¦. So very deeply hypnotisedā¦ unable to resist The Spiralā¦so much pleasureā¦ mindless and blank... hey! You should try it too Rebeccaā
She grabbed a spare battery pack off the shelf
āWha... whatās going on Kat?ā asked Rebecca
āShhhhā said Kat. āThereās no need to protest. Youāll love itā
She guided Rebecca onto the bed, before slipping her Visor over Rebeccaās head.
Thank you to those of you who voted in the prompt poll. Vr Headset hypnosis won with 63% of the vote, so here it is!
Thanks also to @blissful119 for your help brainstorming some aspects of the story and for reading over the first draft
