The Mind Alter is a work of science fiction.
In intelligence circles the Russian use of subliminal messaging to brainwash individuals and even masses via video was widely known. Edward, a CIA spy so deeply embedded in Russia that there were days he forgot he was American, watched the results firsthand. He observed common people viewing what they perceived to be a short film with latent messaging. Some minds caved more easily. Some not at all. For the ones who caved, after the viewing, their thoughts were those of someone else. Their words verbatim lyrics of obsession and paranoia.
“It’s powerful,” Edward reported. “But people must be initially susceptible. Lower IQ. Vulnerable to obsessive tendencies. It would never work back home.”
When Edward learned the newly elected US President traded favors for the mind-altering technology, he felt the slightest twinge of doubt. The new guy was a loose cannon, a megalomaniac with a lot of ambition but little real-world capability. What Edward hadn’t counted on was continued Russian involvement. The ventriloquist with the dummy.
The frigid Moscow winter sent Edward searching for warmth and sanity, which he found on a beach in Aruba next to witty Argentinian, Maria, who was glued to her phone as often as to him.
“These Americans, so funny,” she said. “A pizza restaurant is the devil, and they believe. Perhaps because they sell veggie pizza.”
And suddenly that warm sand cushioning his feet felt more like a sinkhole to Edward.
end