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The bright swirling colours filling his vision died away as the soothing sounds flowing into his ears faded, leaving him blinking in black silence. A commanding voice suddenly said. “You may remove the headset and step out of the conversion pod.” Automatically obeying, his paws went to his head, finding it encased in some kind of device, which he was able to easily lift off, wincing slightly as harsh bright light stabbed at his eyes. He found he was lying on an upright surface tilted at a slight angle that was located in a circular metal tube. The transparent door in the front of the tube was open, revealing a metal corridor beyond. He released the headset device he had removed, letting it dangle from the thick cables that snaked from it the wall beside him, and stepped out. As he did this, he looked down at his naked and heavily muscled body covered in brown fur. Something seemed wrong about that… Vague memories came to him of having a lithe athletic body, with orange fur and black stripes. He was also certain he used to have a long tail lashing about behind him, not the stumpy one he now felt. Tiger. That was it. He had been a tiger. Now he was a musclebound brown bear? Some small part of him felt he should be more concerned about such a change, but a stronger part insisted this was good, he was better this way, it was a great honour to be a bear. After all, bears were the superior species. Weren’t they? “A little confused?” Beside the tube, or conversion pod, or whatever it was, stood another muscular bear in a tight jumpsuit, watching him and making notes on an electronic pad. “Y-yes…” He answered the question, voice quivering with uncertainty. “Don’t worry, it’s perfectly normal after the upgrade.” The other bear nodded. “Your new programming will assert itself in a few moments.” “I…” He wanted to say something but wasn’t sure what. He had so many questions and didn’t know where to begin. “Stand to attention!” The other bear suddenly barked. “State your designation and purpose!” His obeyed without even thinking about it. He was supposed to obey, he seemed to know that, some knowledge that was now deeply ingrained in his mind. He stood up straight, paws clasped behind his back, gaze focused forward. “My designation is Ursine 5557246.” He said, the words slipping from his muzzle automatically. “My purpose is to serve the Ursine Elite and their goals.” He had no idea where that information had come from, it had just come out without him even thinking about it. And yet, he knew it was true. He was a loyal slave of the Ursine Elite. He felt proud to be owned and controlled by them. “And what are the goals of the Ursine Elite?” Once again, the answer came out automatically, bypassing any conscious thought. “The Ursine Elite aims to bring the honour of being a bear to all, by upgrading all other species into bears.” And just like that, the new bear’s mind was filled with knowledge of the Elite, as if being asked had caused something to click into place in the recess of his brain and allow him access. They were a group of rich and powerful bears who believed utterly that ursine were the superior species in the world and that they represented the best bear-kind had to offer. They decided it was their duty to the bring the supreme gift of bear-hood to all the other species of the world. With them as rulers, of course. And so, they had devoted money and resources into developing ways of transforming others, upgrading them from lesser species into strong superior bears, who were mentally programmed to be their loyal subjects. A vague memory from his old life as a tiger bubbled up in his head, of the Elite launching a campaign of world conquest. They had already conquered and converted more than half the world by the time they had attacked the town where he had lived, and he had been captured… But rather than feel any anger at what had been done to him, the new ursine felt nothing but gratitude to the Ursine Elite. It seemed obvious now that it was so much better to be a bear, and for having been turned into one by them, it was only right he show his thanks by devoting the rest of his life to serving and obeying his rightful Elite masters. The idea that he had been programmed to think this way briefly flitted through his mind. But it seemed an utterly unimportant thought and he dismissed it, focusing his thoughts entirely on his new life as a loyal slave ursine. “I am ready to serve the Elite, now and forever.” He said, meaning every word. “Excellent.” The other bear said, making more notes on his pad. He gestured with a paw down the corridor. “Proceed to the processing office for your uniform and assignment.” “Yes, sir!” The new bear nodded and smiled. He headed off along the corridor as ordered, noting the numerous conversion pods that lined the walls on either side, each containing a figure in varying stages of being transformed into an ursine. He knew it was just a matter of time until each and every one of them were loyal slaves like him. It filled him with a sense of pride and happiness, bringing home to him how he was now part of something larger and greater. He found himself looking forward to playing his part in helping the Ursine Elite upgrade all non-bears. These feelings drove him forward as the new bear proceeded along the corridor to his new life… Commands for the King “Father, may I speak with you in private?” King Magnus regarded his son. The younger grizzly bear still had that odd look about him, just as he had ever since the kidnapper had returned him several weeks ago after receiving the ransom payment. The same kidnapper his best intelligence agents had continually failed to track down so that he could properly punish the one who had dared hold his beloved son prisoner. Ever since his return, his son Marston had been prone to odd behaviour, seeming distant and distracted much of the time. Magnus supposed he just needed time to recover from his ordeal and he was doing everything he could to accommodate him. “Of course, my son.” The king gestured to the door to his private study at the back of the throne room. Once they were inside with the door closed and locked, Magnus waited for his son to speak, taking a seat behind his desk. Marston stepped forward, paws fumbling in a pocket of the elegant tunic that hugged his muscular frame. “I’ll make this quick, father. It’s time to show you something…” The young bear pulled out something wrapped in velvet. He placed it on the desk in front of the king and unwrapped it, revealing a multi-faceted green gemstone. It was glowing slightly. “What is it?” Magnus asked, staring at it. There was something odd about it, something relaxing. It was oddly enthralling, and he found he didn’t want to look away from its glowing, glinting surface. “Just keep looking at it…” He heard his son say. “It feels good to stare at it, doesn’t it?” “Yes…” Magnus agreed, the word coming out slightly slurred. He was feeling completely relaxed now, slumped in his chair, eyes fixed on the gemstone. “It was a gift.” Marston said. “From Syrus. He sends his regards.” The king’s eyes widened at the name, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the gem or feel anything other than utterly relaxed. No matter how much he might want to… He remembered Syrus, of course. The sorcerer who had been part of the royal court until he had been found mis-using his magics for his own gain. Magnus had banished him from the kingdom many years ago. “Syrus was the one who kidnapped me.” Marston revealed. “And during my weeks as his prisoner, he used his magics to enslave my mind. I belong to him now. I serve his wishes.” “Son, I…” “Be silent.” Marston commanded and the king found he couldn’t no longer speak. He assumed being enthralled by this magical gemstone rendered him unable to disobey commands. “This is what is going to happen.” The younger bear explained. “Over the next few weeks, you will gradually come to the decision that it is time for you to step down as ruler of our kingdom. You have earned retirement. You will abdicate and I will be crowned king.” Magnus could guess what would come next, and a moment later his suspicions were proven correct. “Once I rule, the kingdom, I will end Syrus’ banishment.” Marston continued. “He will return as a prominent member of the court, my personal advisor. In truth, as he is my Master, I will rule the kingdom according to his commands. He will rightfully be the true ruler.” The king struggled to resist the power of the glowing gemstone before him, but he remained powerless to look away, staying silent and relaxed and compliant. “And he wanted you to know that he will be spending several weeks with you once he returns.” Marston added. “The first thing I am to do once I become king is to ensure you are securely imprisoned so that you will be completely at his mercy. He intends to do with you what he did with me. After weeks of the proper magics, you will become his loyal property and will then spend the rest of your days as his personal servant and sex slave.” King Magnus paled at that thought. Syrus had vowed revenge when he had been banished, but he had never expected anything like this. He would resist this; he would fight back. Marston couldn’t keep him staring at this cursed gem forever… “You are likely telling yourself you will resist.” Marston said, interrupting his thoughts. “But you cannot resist what you don’t remember. Once this gemstone is covered again and your eye contact broken, you will remember none of this. At least not consciously. But your instructions will remain in the depths of your mind and you will obey them, believing them to be your own decisions.” The king’s heart sank at that revelation. He truly could not see any way out of this and the fate that awaited him. “My Master has thought of everything. There is no escape.” Marston said, an edge of affection in his voice as he talked about the evil sorcerer that had enslaved him. “In a few weeks, you will abdicate and allow me to become king. Those are your commands and you will not be able to resist them.” With a sudden swift movement, Marston covered the gemstone with the velvet cloth the younger grizzly bear quickly returning it to his pocket. King Magnus blinked, feeling a little confused. He had been talking with his son, he knew, but couldn’t for the life of him remember what they had been discussing. Marston was looking at him expectantly. “Forgive me, Marston.” Magnus said. “I seem to have trouble remembering what we were talking about…” “It was nothing important, father.” Marston said with a smile. “Pay it no mind. Thank you for listening all the same.” “Anytime, my son.” The king smiled at him warmly as Marston departed the study, leaving him alone with his thoughts. It was slightly troubling that he couldn’t recall the conversion with his son. But, he supposed, he was getting on in years, an occasional lapse in memory wasn’t out of the ordinary. The grizzly bear sighed. He was getting old, that was certain. Such problems would only get worse… The idea suddenly occurred to him that maybe it would be best for the kingdom if a younger ruler took the throne. It seemed like a very good idea. He was certain Marston would make a fine king. But abdication was a big step. He’d have to think about it over the next few weeks before he decided. As he relaxed in his chair, mulling it over, King Magnus was sure he would make the correct choice for a good future… The Sentence Governor Harris starred disdainfully at the prisoner, the tall, heavily built polar bear in the tight prison jumpsuit with the mussed up and unkempt fur. “Do you have anything to say before your sentence is carried out?” The prisoner glared at him. “To you, you conformist piece of fucking…” Harris nodded to one of the two drone guards flanking the prisoner, who promptly slammed the butt of his blaster rifle into the polar bear’s stomach, shutting him up and causing a growl of pain. The panda governor sighed. He hated this part of his job, but it had to be done. It was procedure to allow the condemned prisoner to make a statement. He’d heard the government was considering changing that, but until then, this was the proper way to do things. “Allow me to rephrase that.” Harris tried again. “Do you have anything civilized to say before your sentence is carried out?” The prisoner coughed and gave him a wry smile. “I hope they’re gentler when your time comes to go through this.” That caught Harris off guard. “What the hell are you talking about? I’m not a criminal like you.” “Like that matters these days.” The polar bear spat, paws twitching in his manacles. “Besides, all my friends and I were doing was protesting…” “Exactly.” Harris nodded. “You are a dangerous subversive, trying to disrupt the stability of our country and spread lies and misinformation to the normal law-abiding citizens.” The polar bear actually laughed at that. An annoyingly derisive laugh. “You can’t be dumb enough to believe that, can you? You must have some degree of intelligence to get to a position like yours. My only crime is daring to speak up and oppose the fact that we have become a police state, our freedoms gone, our…” Harris waved a paw in the air dismissively. “Utter nonsense.” “Really?” The polar bear wasn’t finished. “Ever since drone conversion was introduced as a punishment for dangerous convicted criminals, more and more crimes, from serious to minor, have been allowed to be punished this way. And now, the government has a veritable army of loyal programmed drones at their beck and call, ready to crush any resistance to their rule, to capture and ‘convict’ any who questions their erosion of our freedoms, the heavily rigged elections, the utter corruption of those at the top…” “Are you done?” Harris hadn’t really been paying much attention, just letting the prisoner rant. The polar bear shook his head. “Bury your head in the sand then. The way things are going, it’s just a matter of time until anyone who’s not in power or super rich is going to end up a mindless drone. They’ll come for you eventually.” Harris decided to get on with things. He consulted his notes. “Harlan Powell, you have been convicted of crimes against the state and have been sentenced to drone conversion. Your mind will be reprogrammed and you will spend the rest of your days as a mindless drone, serving the state you harmed. Sentence to be carried out on this date, November 20th, 2134.” The panda nodded at the heavily armoured drone guards either side of the prisoner. “Begin the procedure.” The drones silently obeyed as they always did. They roughly shoved the struggling polar bear down onto the metal table in the middle of the room and strapped him down. The governor briefly considered taunting the polar bear. After all, he had seen the prisoner’s assignment and it might be amusing to tell him that after his conversion he was going to be a prison guard drone just like the two currently restraining him. But he rejected the idea. It was against procedure. The bulky conversion headset was forced onto the polar bear’s head and activated, the visor across the eyes lighting up. The prisoner quickly ceased struggling, the first waves of hypnotic brainwashing pulsing into his head. In less than an hour, the polar bear would be fully reprogrammed, ready to begin his new life as a drone… … Harris sighed, shaking off the memories of Harlan Powell from several weeks earlier. On one paw, he wished he’d listened to the polar bear. But realistically, what could he have done? The former governor didn’t resist as he was strapped to the table, his replacement, a haughty looking grizzly bear, watched proceedings, looking thoroughly bored. It had only been hours after the processing of that polar bear that he had been arrested, allegedly for irregularities in his financial records that suggested embezzlement of prison funds. He knew he was innocent, but a pile of evidence against him appeared out of nowhere. And then had come the visit from his superior, the Minister of Justice. He had expressed his sorrow that this had proven necessary. They had to remove anyone who had heard Powell’s ‘lies’, to stop anyone repeating them, to eliminate the possibility of them spreading and stirring up dissent in the populace. Framing him and getting him converted into a drone was for the good of the country. Of course, he had tried to speak out at his trial, but had only succeeded in getting labelled a subversive, an extra charge that got him convicted and sentenced all the quicker. And now there he was, about to have his brain rewritten, and there was nothing he could do about it. A guard stepped forward with the headset, a polar bear Harris recognized. A short laugh escaped his muzzle. It seemed the universe had a bizarre sense of humour, he mused as the mindless guard drone that had once been Harlan Powell pushed the conversion headset over his skull. A moment later, all the thoughts were driven from his mind as hypnotic light flooded his vision and pulses of brainwashing energy pummelled his consciousness, crushing all thought and memory. Less than an hour later, Harris had ceased to exist, a new drone utterly obedient to the government taking his place… |
Multi-Part Stories / Short Stories