When the World Fell Silent

When the World fell Silent

It was the first experiment. The Corporation would play the commercial on a low rated Television channel. A few thousand people would be watching it. Their faces glued to the TV, minds ready to be manipulated. Before The Corporation’s commercial aired, another appeared unexpectedly.

In it, a man stood in a simple room. The room was a dull grey; there was nothing in it, but the man. The man had an average figure with slightly off center teeth. His nose was slightly too big for his face and his ears were too small. His skin was sickly pale; he did not smile. With a serious face and deep convictions he spoke.

Welcome,
I am here to warn you,
There are thousands of advertisements out there,
They sell you useless things,
They pretend to care, but all they want is money,
They deceive you so you will spend more money,
They kill creativity and thought
Stop believing lies,
Turn off the advertisements and think.

The TV went blank as the channel cut off the unwanted commercial. The people watching wondered why someone so ugly would dare to be on TV. They ignored what the man said. The Corporation’s commercial aired.
In it, a man stood in a complicated room. The room was red and filled with beautiful decorations. The man had perfectly straight teeth. His nose and ears were perfectly proportional. Muscles rippled on his chest and arms. He put on a big smile and spoke.

Welcome,
Is life putting you down?
Are you unhappy?
Well today is your lucky day,
I’m selling this new bracelet called ModCelet,
It is the new fad; it will give you confidence,

The man disappeared and many images flashed rapidly across the screen. They were images of muscled men and hot women wearing the bracelet. The people who wore it got whatever they wanted. The others got nothing. The man reappeared and said,

This is a limited time offer,
Hurry, before we run out of stock

As quickly as it started, it was over. At first, only a trickle of people bought it. Slowly it spread across the internet. New commercials popped up and they spread like viruses. If you were cool, you had to have it. It became a cultural phenomenon and Culture committed suicide. A subsonic message was sent to all the bracelets,

Assimilate
Assimilate
Assimilate

And the world fell silent.

A man stood on a far off hill watching the sunset. He remembered the discovery in that lab. How could people not understand what they had created? How could they let the lies grow? In that primordial ocean of advertisements and lies, a malevolent life had been born. He had been there the day it was discovered—Mind Control. He had watched it grow.

There was only one problem. For mind control to work, a small transmitter would have to be placed on the people. He remembered the long discussions and the final decision. They created a bracelet. Once a few bought it, The Corporation could control them and they could tell everyone how great it was. It had worked. The man sighed as he watched the sun’s rays disappear over the horizon. Darkness fell on the earth forever.