Mind control

“Everything is clear,” muttered Aster. - Only one letter and this should be it.

Over the past three years of his work for the government, a special courier or telephone has always been used to communicate. But when the letter arrived by regular mail, he realized that the three-year project ended in nothing.

“Dear Mr. Henderson!

It is with great regret that I have to inform you that your proposals for the refinement and improvement of the device were discussed by us and rejected. Due to budget cuts, our department does not have sufficient funds to support all projects. I will personally save all the information about this case and if the situation changes, we will be able to continue work on creating an instrument that is absolutely useful for society. I want to express you my personal gratitude for the efforts made in this direction. An official notice will be sent to you shortly with your fee.

Sincerely yours, General G. F. "

He turned off the terminal. Doodles Idiots They not only failed the demonstration, but also sent a message via regular mail. Strange, but he was not angry. He had a good time working on the project, getting good money and leading a moderately intense personal life. His time was devoted to endless checks, modifications and experiments with the Device. It was not his fault that the people from the government who came to the test were so stupid that they could not use it. On top of that, one of the project managers received a copy of the letter and sent Ann to him so that she would morally support him.

Stupid. He did not want to be supported. Ann stood by and Aster tried to focus on what she was saying.

- Like this. - Ann did not waste time. - What does not work?

“Pretty support,” Aster thought. He responded in such a tone as if he had just lost his best friend ...

- Everything works perfectly. The device just does not work for everyone. All the people from the government were so skeptical and so stupid that it did not have the slightest opportunity to work.

Ann continued to persistently ask questions, as if she had a list ...

- Does it work for you?

- Yes. And for most people too.

“Ooo-oh,” it sounded as if she had no questions left. - Sorry. I have never been interested in our experiments.

Aster turned around and took the device.

“Sit down,” he said, pointing to a chair across from him. - This is just an amplifier of thoughts. He reads your thoughts and relays them so that they become clearer and clearer. But the main difference lies in the fact that these thoughts can be transferred to a distance of several feet. Want to try?

Anne nodded silently and Aster began his rehearsed speech before the demonstration, explaining what would happen and introducing some precautions in case something goes wrong.

“Touch your fingers here,” he said, pointing to a small metal ring at the top of the device, holding it in his lap. Anne touched. “This will allow the Device to tune in to you (he hated these simplifications so much!) ... according to the long wave, so practice. You already know what the device is doing, so it's easier to show you its capabilities than to explain. All you need to know ... this box cannot reproduce itself in your mind in the same color. This is a completely safe device, for which I have ruined for almost nine months. If I try to fool you into thinking that the demonstration is over, you will notice that the color of the device will turn red and not blue and you will not be able to see it otherwise. Upstairs is a timer, so the demonstration will end ... (he set the timer) in ten minutes. This is another precaution, in case I can not turn it off, the device also turns off if you feel that something is bothering you, so relax and do not be afraid.- He did not suggest, as usual, to visit the rest room first. - The last caveat is the pain that you cannot feel, whatever happens to you. Knowing that the device is working, you can stab yourself and feel only a moment of discomfort. And, of course, you will not be able to cause yourself real damage. It seems to me that this will prevent the use of the device for torture. Now just relax and free your mind from thoughts.

Aster looked at Ann. She closed her eyes. He threw a quick, thieving look at her legs and the place where nature is destined to unite with them. “And why doesn’t she like techies?” Well, okay. Go". He leaned back and pressed the button to start the demonstration, then put the device on his lap.

He opened his eyes.

- Ann?

She silently opened her eyes. The box was red, not white. Incredible! Nothing had happened yet, and she was already looking at the red sphere sitting in front of him. But no, the box is blue and her eyes are closed. It just seems to be. She moved her hands. Are moving. Fingers too.

“Anyone can do this,” Aster laughed. - So far, everything is going fine. Do you think your fingers move? Not! They do not move in the real world. But now they do it.

- Incredible. And you did it?

“Yes,” Aster smiled. “It took three years to do it.” But you haven't seen anything yet.

They got up. As soon as they were on their feet, the walls and ceiling disappeared, revealing trees, sky, clouds. They were outside the building. Five minutes ago, the street was 41 degrees Fahrenheit, and now it was warm - somewhere around 70.

- How did this happen?

- Simply. I decided that the walls would disappear, and they disappeared even before I imagined it. The device reads my mind and creates the illusion as if everything is really happening. It all became just after I learned the basics of the theory. Look, I missed nothing from the environment?

Ann looked around her and nodded.

“In reality, this is not the case,” Aster continued. - As far as we know, none of this really exists. But all these images are projected directly from our imagination. Most of them that we hear, see, smell, touch and try, are analogous to those taken from memory. The person participating in the experiment sees it for the first time. But the person who holds the box has a huge advantage. Look, - in front of them appeared a small metal gauge with an indicator on it. - The indicator is still empty. The device will now reflect certain characters. But they are not yet visible, since I have not yet decided what they will be. Do you want to see what it displays?

Ann leaned over the device. Aster turned away. It was noon. Some birds flew very close to them. Something is clearly not enough.

“9601, these are the last four digits of my phone number,” Ann said in surprise. - How did it happen?

“You just wanted to see it there, or the Device decided that these were the most appropriate characters for the occasion.” I do not know your phone, and could not write it there. True?

Ann nodded. In this case, the number on the indicator has changed to 2066 - Aster’s work number.

“You can create everything directly with your imagination,” Aster explained, “but if you break the rules, the Device will turn off and we will return to the real world.” The whole problem with the tests was that people did not have enough imagination (weak imagination, if that was clearer) to make the device work. They only saw how the device changes its color, but could not concentrate on the signals from the device, which said that even THIS did not occur. - Yet again,...