Financing Jack's hobbies

Still sitting at his desk, Jack switched gears, pulling up the latest audio files for the Urban Legends podcast he'd been working on. Producing this show had been his main source of income for a while, and while he enjoyed the stories, the work was starting to feel routine. He had bigger ambitions now, and the podcast was just a stepping stone to keep things running.

Whatever. It was easy work, and starting today, he planned to make it work even harder for him.

The host had sent over another eerie tale of a haunted asylum. Jack skimmed through it—solid narration, spooky sound effects, the usual formula that kept their audience hooked. As he fine-tuned the audio levels, adjusting the reverb on the narrator’s voice to give it that haunted, echoey quality, his mind wandered. The podcast had a decent following, but if he was going to finance his experiments long-term, he needed more. More listeners, more subscribers, more revenue.

He leaned back in his chair, fingers tapping the edge of his desk. It was time. The Subliminal Cue Mixer wasn’t just for personal projects. Why not use the tech to expand his reach? All it would take was one subtle addition, buried in the podcast's audio layers, inaudible to the conscious mind but effective nonetheless. He opened the cue mixer software and began carefully crafting a new subliminal message, something that would work on everyone listening.

• “You feel compelled to support this podcast. You want to share it with your friends. You trust the team behind it, and are excited to engage more deeply with their work. You are especially impressed by the production quality, and will reach out to the producer of this podcast if you need any audio engineering work done.”

He set it to a frequency that would slide seamlessly into the background, masked by the chilling wind sounds that underscored the haunted asylum tale. It was genius—completely undetectable but powerful, pushing listeners to feel more invested in the show, driving them to share, subscribe, and engage. More engagement meant more sponsors, more leads. More leads would provide opportunities to expand his influence, and more sponsors meant more money. More money meant more freedom to pursue his... other ventures.

Jack tested the track, listening closely as the cue blended perfectly into the soundscape. He played the podcast back one more time, just to admire the finesse of it all, having to actively resist the urge to share it with his friends. He'd really done an amazing job, he thought—although that could just be the subliminal acting on him. Either way, it worked, and no one would suspect a thing.

He saved the file and sent it off to the host for final approval. With the powerful background message now in place, the podcast would practically promote itself, and in time, it would bring in the extra cash he needed.

Smiling to himself, he closed his laptop. Another problem solved. Another step forward in his growing empire. And another big day tomorrow, checking in with Rachel. Time to go to bed.