A Blue Pixie (Wyatt POV)

Wyatt Clarke

–

A week passed while I let Tessa listen to the next CD. I really had to be sure it had sunken in.

In CD 1, the Test Primer, the key phrase was the real proof of concept. If I could get Tess to say she was primed for conditioning without blinking an eye, then I could be confident my subliminal scripts worked. And she'd given me the key phrase exactly as planned, so the test had been a full success.

However, it wasn’t clear whether implanting and recalling key phrases was the limit of the method.

Sure, Tess gave positive responses during the Q&A, but again, those were just words. Maybe she was just saying what she thought I wanted to hear. Maybe Tess hated the CD's music even after full exposure, only saying she liked it because that's as deep as the conditioning went - enough to pay lip service to the script, but nothing further.

Saying something is trivial. I needed to test whether my subliminal conditioning method could prompt Tess to act on a script that required effort. The test task couldn't be something innocuous, either, or it wouldn't be much of a test. It had to be something Tessa wouldn’t think of on her own, and it needed to have a visual consequence so I could see for myself if she'd gone through with it. An obvious change would be better.

That’s why the premise of CD #2, the Visual Conditioning Test, focused almost entirely on hair.

2.1. Short hairstyles look good on girls.

2.2. Long hair is too high maintenance for you.

2.3. You are sick of having long hair.

2.4. You want to dye your hair a fun color.

2.5. Brightly colored hair helps you stand out.

2.6. You want to be noticed.

2.7. The key phrase for CD #2 is ‘Tell me my hair looks great.’

I also included part of the framework from the Test Primer to ensure Tess kept listening to the CDs, as well as to mitigate any suspicions she had about the experiment.

2.R1. You love this music.

2.R2. You don’t mind listening to Wyatt’s CDs. You will listen to them as often as you can.

2.R3. Do not worry about the subliminal contents of Wyatt’s CDs. They’re perfectly safe for you.

2.R4. Key phrases are uninteresting and unremarkable. You will not think of them outside of giving them to Wyatt when he asks.

2.R5. You will only ever repeat key phrases in private. When you’re talking about the CDs or their effects, do so secretively.

The next Monday, I called to arrange a checkup and went to meet Tessa.

When I arrived, Tess was in the middle of a shower though, it was Cassy who opened the door and invited me in.

Cassy was watching the timeless classic, _My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. _It was a Rainbow Dash-centered episode, the one where she breaks the sound barrier (or something like that) for the first time. I joined her on the couch and settled in.

“Rainbow Dash is the best,” Cassy noted, curled up on her side of the couch with her computer.

“Good taste,” I agreed. Out of all the ponies, I liked Rainbow’s design the best, with her colorful hair and rebellious attitude.

Stealing a glance at Tess's tomboyish little sister, I found she reminded me a bit of Rainbow Dash herself. Cassy hadn't changed much - really, the primary difference between the Cassy of today and the Cassy of four years ago was the length of her legs. She seemed quieter too, more grown up and less volatile. We saw a lot more outbursts from tween Cassy when she was running around - spunky kid.

When the end credits of the cartoon rolled, Tessa emerged to greet me.

Wrapped in a towel, her feet and shoulders bare and hair still wet from the shower, Tess smiled. “Hey, Wyatt. Payday already?”

I stood, but my reply died in my throat, and I stared instead. It was all I could do to keep my jaw from hitting the floor.

Tessa's hair was a vibrant cobalt blue, cut into a short, sharp, stylish pixie. She’d gotten a haircut, and the professional dye job to match. I'd never seen her hair shorter than shoulder-length, or out of a ponytail.

She didn’t quite notice my failure to speak. “One sec guys, let me go get dressed." Tess retreated to her room.

I marveled at what a difference such a small change made. Tess looked like a whole new person! But when my friend came out again for the second time, her hair wasn’t the only thing that she'd changed.

Tessa's entire outfit was brand new. She wore a graphic tee, with a floor-length denim skirt, and a new pair of silvery glasses. She gave off a totally different vibe now - not so much of a mousy wallflower anymore, Tess looked downright dazzling, all while keeping all her quirks intact.

She gave a cute laugh at my dumbfounded reaction. “You can close your mouth, I’m sure you recognize me.”

I wasn’t only shocked by her change of looks. Not only had Tessa absolutely destroyed the Visual Conditioning Test, CD #2 had performed beyond my wildest expectations. I’d planted the suggestions, and each and every one had bloomed in but a week's time!

But it was more than that. By the looks of her makeover, Tessa's mind had internalized the subliminal script in a way all her own. The CD hadn't explicitly told her to go out and buy new clothes, or deviate from her usual style, and yet here she was, modeling an outfit I'd never seen her wear before today.

When I first read that the estimated price per unit for my stolen subliminal encoder ranged into the millions of dollars, I'd scoffed. Now for the first time, I comprehended what a steal it was. A literal steal, in my case.

I approached her almost as a stranger, not quite gawking, but close. “You got a makeover.”

Tess preened, brushing her fingers through her very wet, and now very blue and very short hair. “Yeah, it was about time. I was sick of taking care of all that hair,” she said, her smile huge. She paused then, fidgeting shyly with hands clasped behind her back - there's the Tess I knew. “How do I look?”

I wasn't used to seeing so much of her neck, or her face. She'd always been cute but now I could see all of it. It was like looking into the sun. “You look good,” I said, still somewhat stunned. “All this suits you.” It also happened to suit the kinds of girls I loved ogling online, in art, or in anime.

Tessa's thin veneer of confidence returned in ****. “Thanks," she laughed, then, feeling as if she owed an explanation, added, "I don't know, I guess I felt like standing out."

But wow. Here she was. A new, more confident Tess. Unhidden. I swelled with pride. People wouldn't overlook her anymore.

Tess grabbed my hand and dragged me away. "Come on, let’s do the Q&A in my room.”

Cassy watched us go, narrowing her eyes. We ignored her.

After Tess had closed her bedroom door, I withdrew my notebook and popped the first question on my list.

"What's the test phrase for CD 2?"

I didn't need to ask. It was patently obvious Tess had internalized every line of my subliminals. But procedure was procedure, and she'd wonder why I wasn't maintaining consistent methodology if I deviated from the prior approach.

“Tell me my hair looks great,” reported Tessa, diligently, as expected.

I noted that down. “Your hair looks especially great, by the way. Blue’s your color.”

She gave a happy little shoulder wiggle. “Thanks, I think so too! I really want people to notice the new me.”

“I’m sure they will,” I said gruffly. I cleared my throat - I didn't mean it to come out like that. “Ahem. So. Tell me about this week, with the experiment. Any problems keeping with the daily assignment, playing the CDs once a day?"

On this point, Tess was eager to answer. “I’ve been listening to the CDs every day. Both of them. They’re great background tracks to have on, even outside the whole **** learning thing," she said. "But when are we going to start experimenting for real?”

I looked up from my notes, frowning. “What do you mean?”

“The key phrase concept works,” she said, gesturing emphatically at her phone, which I saw was paused on a playlist titled CD#2. Was Tess listening to the subliminals on something other than her laptop? She continued without giving space for me to think. “I want to see what else we can do with the subliminals. Isn’t it a waste for your study if we only check random nonsense proof of concepts over and over? We could be testing memorization or language learning or something."

Woah. I knew Tess took to the scripts quicker than my projections, but even the expedited testing regimens I'd made up to fit her advanced progress weren't this fast. I hadn't predicted this level of response to item 1.5, You are eager to experience more powerful subliminal effects, for another month at least.

An unnatural chill swept down my body, head to foot.

The unbelievable results from the Test Primer weren't a fluke. Somehow, my method was orders of magnitude more potent than the old Cold War documentation indicated. But why? It didn't feel likely that the highly educated and experienced DARPA researchers got it wrong. So what was different now? I'd followed all the directions exactly as written.

What other variable had changed? Was Tessa naturally responsive to subliminal conditioning? Had I made a mistake in the procedure, and somehow improved the method by skipping some unnecessary intermediate steps? It was too soon to tell. For crying out loud, Tess was only listening to the preliminary Visual Conditioning Test CD for a few days!

Thankfully, Tess interpreted my baffled surprise as me worrying over her proposal. "Sorry - changing your plans won't ruin the study, will it?"

I furrowed my brow and mentally scrolled through my plans for Tess's long-term conditioning till I found something suitable for her, frankly alarming, receptivity.

“I was curious to see whether this subliminal learning method could have an influence on behavior,” I admitted, hesitantly. Withdrawing my black-bound CD book, I leafed through its pages, all the way to the back. I pulled out one of the black CDs sleeved on the last sheet - one of the most **** I'd managed to dream up at school before I came home for the summer. The glossy black disk felt dangerous in my hands. Radioactive.

“I prepared a few rough diagnostics exploring the idea, as a proof of concept, but we're skipping a lot of intermediate steps," I said, reflexively handling this particular CD with the same care I'd handle a bottle of nitroglycerin. "I might've pitched it to you at the end of the experiment if you were willing to try it, but I don't know. The scripts on this one are a little more involved than remember this catchphrase.”

Tessa peered down at the black CD for a moment, before taking it from me without prompting. "You look like you're afraid this thing's going to bite you. I'm sure it's perfectly safe," she teased, her toes tapping the carpet excitedly as she examined the CD up close. She smirked up at me. “And I told you, Wyatt, I’m okay helping you out with this - so long as you’re still paying, I mean.”

Tess's assurance allayed my fears. Though privately I still had my concerns, I sighed, smiled, and pulled out my wallet.

With each payday, I was one step closer to being broke, but also one step closer to giving Tess a new lease on life. If the rate we were going was any indication, that lease was going to start a lot sooner than either of us was ready for.

I had no intention of putting on the brakes. I was along for the ride now, and I intended to see where it'd take me.