19 comments

Creative Nonfiction Drama

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.

July 23, 2020 15:13

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19 comments

Authoring Studio
16:38 Jul 24, 2020

Whoa. Title was super gripping. I love your story!

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Harken Void
19:40 Jul 24, 2020

Thank you, Pranati :D

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A. Y. R
10:27 Aug 06, 2020

You've perfectly personified ego and the survival instinct! And you've perfectly created the character to give the reader a long think about its ethical conflict on the survival of oneself vs being morally just

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Sahara Carter
22:11 Jul 29, 2020

Hi! You were included in my critique circle email. I like your philosophy in this. The ego is often portrayed as a negative; you made sure to capture the benefits it has, like protection. The writing itself made me a little angry at first (which kept me reading so good job). You captured the right tone for this piece. Since this is a critique circle, I will add that you can work on reducing repetitive prose. Thanks for sharing! I’ll be reading more of your work for sure

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Harken Void
06:41 Jul 30, 2020

Hi Sahara! Thank you for reading and for the critique - something to keep in mind. Yeah, I too am biased towards thinking my ego is 'bad', but that's just because it gets me emotionally and mentally in trouble, in favor of physical survival. The ego is very important, yes, but shouldn't be left in control. I'm glad you like the story :) Feel free to share your opinion any time!

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Corey Melin
18:11 Jul 25, 2020

Is this the start of Outer Limits? Very intriguing story. We are all controlled. Time to fight against it and I will win. I have such an ego.

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Harken Void
07:52 Jul 26, 2020

I'm not familiar with Outer Limits, what is that? But yes, you are only a slave until the moment you realize you're a slave. After that, you can start plotting your escape! Glad you liked the story!

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Corey Melin
17:01 Jul 26, 2020

Similar to Twilight Zone or Black Mirror.

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18:03 Jul 25, 2020

Definitely interesting!

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Kelechi Nwokoma
16:20 Jul 24, 2020

Awesome story. When I started reading it, it reminded me of 'You' by Ace (don't mind if I use the nickname) Yours is now 'I' and the narrator is different, too. This time, you're the master and I'm the slave. Pretty creepy. When I read this part, 'I am an illusion of an illusion that believes it isn’t an illusion' I had to read it again and I laughed out loud. This story is really interesting. From the beginning to the ending, I was captivated.

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Harken Void
16:27 Jul 24, 2020

Thanks Kelechi, I'm glad you liked it :) Haha feel free to use the nickname, I think the man himself will appreciate it too ;) I agree, there were similarities. Ace's POV in his stroy is from a benevolet creator, aka God or however you want to name that powerful force that created you and the universe, while my story is from the POV of ego. Literaly, your master. Unless you're an enlightened yogi, the ego runs your life, and you don't even know it. Well, now you do, since you read the story :P

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Kelechi Nwokoma
16:38 Jul 24, 2020

Yeah, that's true. Almost everyone is a slave to ego. I love the ingenuity of your story, making ego a character - I feel it adds more weight to your story. Great job.

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21:52 Jul 23, 2020

WOW. WOWOWOWOWOWOW. This was awesome. WOWOWOWOWOWOW. —Aerin!!! 🌈🦄❤️ (would you mind checking out my most recent story, A Poem By A Star [No, Literally]?)

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Harken Void
06:23 Jul 24, 2020

Thanks Aerin :) I'm glad you liked it!

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Sia S
10:36 Aug 17, 2020

Wow 👏 😮 👏 loved it. Would you mind checking out my latest story : The Andersons. I think you'll like it.

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Nandan Prasad
15:17 Jul 29, 2020

Very well-written story! Deep and disturbing, but brilliant (is it weird that I love it for being so?). Just one thing I spotted, I think 'palls' should be 'pals'. Otherwise, amazing story and keep writing! Also, would you mind checking out my stories if it's not too much trouble? Thanks and good luck

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Harken Void
16:21 Jul 29, 2020

Ah, thanks for spotting that! Too bad I can't correct it now. I don't think it's weird, I love and am deeply fascinated by things that disturb me on an existential level. The deeper down the rabbit hole the better! Sure, I'll check yours! Thanks and good luck to you as well :)

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Keerththan 😀
07:14 Jul 28, 2020

Wow! Superb story. Loved it and I also like the title. Would you mind checking out my story "The secret of power?"

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Harken Void
09:32 Jul 28, 2020

Thank you :) Sure!

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