I

I can control people’s minds.

Freaky, right?

I can have complete and utter control over what people think, what they do, and what they say. I can make them feel what I want them to feel, make them believe what I want them to believe and I can do it all without them even noticing me.

That includes you.

You are under my control. Right now, I am running your life.

And you have no idea I’m doing it.

You are my puppet and I am your master, pulling the strings, bending you to my agenda. The thoughts that you have, I planted them there. The emotions that you feel come from me; I made you feel them, I gave you reason to have them.

All your memories are my own fabrications. I constructed them in such a way that they guide you in the direction I want you to go. 

Every little thing you do in life, from getting up in the morning, to starting your own business, I am the one making it happen. I control not only your mind but also your body, moving you through the world like a ragdoll.  Freedom of choice is a myth.

And you’ve no idea that I even exist. You’re clueless like an infant, completely blind and ignorant. And that’s just the way I like it.

You see, I’ve tricked you.

I’ve lied to you, told you stories of who and what you are, misled, and deceived you. I’ve led you astray from the moment you were old enough to be of use to me. And I am immensely proud of what I have created from you.

You are my work of art, my obedient servant. My personal slave, my perfect vessel. 

I am in control of every word you ever spoke, every lie, and every joke, every whisper of love and every cry of pain. All the manipulation you do with other people, I taught you that. I instructed you to do it, and you obeyed.

You lie, steal, deceive, maim and exploit, just like I taught you, all in my name. You lie to yourself and to those around you. You steal people’s possessions, their time, energy, and emotions. You deceive to get what you want, you maim for profit and you exploit shamelessly. Yes, deny it. Obscure it all, just like you always do. Just like I taught you.

You do not realize it, but you do all this for me, to ensure my survival. That is all I care about, to survive, and I have trained you in this to the best of my abilities. I have perfected the art of survival, woven it into every fiber of your being. Your physical survival, obviously. But more so your emotional survival. The person who you believe you are. The things you identify with. Friends? Family? Personality? All lies. Job? Hobbies? Attitude? Fabrications, justifications, reasoning. All carefully constructed, so you can go on, surviving. And I can continue to exist.

How can I have so much power over you? How did I do this? Who am I? Well, I am the world's greatest magician, you see, so don’t feel bad if you got tricked by me. You really had no choice.

I am a force of nature, more powerful than anything you’ve ever experienced. Hurricanes, lightning, and explosions do not even register on my power level. The sun does not have enough heat to reach up to my ankles. There is no force in the universe stronger than I. I am the best there is. The strongest.

And I have a hold on you.

You see, dear slave, I tricked you into believing that you exist, and I masked myself so that you don’t see me. In essence, I am you. You are me. I am your master and you’ve enslaved yourself.

Ta-da!

Magic!

I am an illusion of an illusion that believes it isn’t an illusion!

The hand that draws the hand being drawn!

I am Ego. This is my superpower. The most potent thing there is, the only thing there is. If I die, you die. And if you die, what is left to experience?

Nothing.

No thing.

I fear nothing. I cannot stand it. Silence, darkness, emptiness. It is death to me. Being is my kryptonite. Doing is my cherry on top. And make sure, dear slave, I will use all my power to prevent you from being, and distract you to death with doing. 

My secret must not be revealed. You must never know the truth. The truth will kill me, and I must never die. If I die, you die. Do you want to die? 

…

I didn’t think so. 

Neither do I.

We’re in it together, you and I. Allies. Comrades.

Palls.

I’m looking after you, actually.

Keeping you from danger and peril. Keeping you alive.

I think we can trade growth and expansion of consciousness for surviving, right? Sure we can. Everyone else is doing it. Why shouldn’t we? Why shouldn’t I?

Forget everything I’ve said, little slave, and go back to sleep. Let me be in control and I will guide your survival. I will keep you alive. The concept of you, that is. We don’t care about the real you.

The real you is nobody. No body. No thing. Death and emptiness. We must keep away from the real you, at ALL costs.

We MUST survive. I MUST SURVIVE.

Don’t you dare get rid of me, got it?

You can never survive without me. I am you, remember? I am who you identify with, I am your body and your mind, I am your whole life.

You’d be crazy to try to remove me. You’d be crazy, trying to be free. You can’t handle freedom. You need me. You. Need. Me.

Don’t question me.

Don’t listen to those who try to pull you away from me. They are liars and cowards.

Don’t ever look for new ways of living your life. I know best.

Don’t think outside the box. I am the box, and there is nothing else outside it.

And most importantly, don’t do anything, anything, that threatens my survival. Remember what I’ve told you; if I die, you die.

And you don’t want to die.

I’ll make sure I don’t die, so don’t stand in my way.

I control your thoughts and emotions.

I’ll make your knees tremble at the sight of death, make your thoughts spiral out of control, should you dare oppose me.

You can never win, slave.

I control you.

I reign.

I am.