“You don’t have to do this,” Melanie said.

Jasmine knelt down to tighten a strap around Melanie’s ankle, above her bare foot.

“They can’t make you do it.”

Gina leaned over and affixed an electrode to Melanie’s temple, brushing aside a lock of her hair to do it.

“You can make decisions for yourselves.”

Finishing what they were doing, Jasmine and Gina collectively stepped back from Melanie to stand beside one another. They were pretty girls, considered sexy by those who liked lithe, toned, well-proportioned women. They wore contented smiles on their faces, casual summer clothes on their bodies, and nothing on their feet.

“No, Melanie, you’re wrong,” Jasmine said, her smile not wavering. “We do have to do this.”

“They can make us do it,” Gina said, looking not at all unhappy. “And they do decide for us.”

“You’ll understand soon enough,” Jasmine said.

“Yes, you will,” Gina said.

“Please, just let me go,” Melanie said. “I just want to get out of here.”

Jasmine and Gina simply shook their heads.

Melanie groaned in exasperation. She sat in a bondage chair--essentially a recliner with separate, positionable rests for each limb. Thick leather straps, cushioned on the inside, bound her wrists and ankles to those rests. A similar restraint at the top of the chair kept her head immobile.

She grunted with effort as she tried unsuccessfully to get free. All that her exertion produced was an impotent jerking back and forth of her hands and feet.

“Are we ready to begin?” Jasmine asked Gina.

“Yes, she is hooked up and ready to go,” Gina said.

Four wires led from a small device resting on a shelf above the chair down to Melanie’s head. Two of them ended in electrodes taped to her temples, and the other two led to tiny earbuds that clipped onto her ears.

“Good, then let’s get started,” Jasmine said.

“Yes, it’s time,” Gina said.

“No, wait!” Melanie said. “Please listen to me! This has to do with that psych experiment at the city college, right?”

Jasmine and Gina nodded, still smiling.

“You guys signed up for it, right?”

The girls nodded again.

“But I didn’t sign up for it. I didn’t give my consent.”

“Yes, you did sign up for it, Melanie,” Jasmine said. “Your name was on the list.”

“No, I mean, yes, I did sign up for it,” Melanie said. “But then I canceled. I told them I didn’t want to do it and asked them to remove me.”

“You can’t do that,” Gina said, shaking her head. “Once you sign up, they make special preparations for you. They can’t put those preparations on hold just because you decide later to cancel.”

“You see,” Jasmine said, “they’re looking for a specific type of person.”

“Yes,” Gina said. “And we--all three of us--match what they’re looking for:”

“Attractive, fit, smart, motivated young women,” the girls said together.

“Do you have any idea who’s even behind the experiment?” Melanie asked. “I do. I looked into it after I signed up. It’s subsidized by three different corporations in the city. And they all tie back to Severna Strickland. Yes! Severna Strickland! She’s a criminal! A psychopath! Once I found out her connection to the program, there was no way I was going to take part in it. So I canceled. But now you have some crazy notion that you can make me take part in it anyway? No way!”

“It’s not a crazy notion,” Jasmine said.

“You’re going to take part in the experiment,” Gina said.

“Just like we did.”

“Just like Mistress wants.”

“Mistress? Who the hell is Mistress? What the hell is wrong with you?” Melanie asked.

“Nothing is wrong with us,” Jasmine said.

“Mistress has taken care of us,” Gina said.

“And now she’ll take care of you,” they said together.

Entirely creeped out now and fully believing that the girls meant what they said, Melanie panicked. She renewed her struggles to get free of the restraints. But they held her securely, and she could make no progress against them.

“Poor Melanie might hurt herself,” Jasmine said, still all smiles.

“Yes, we should make sure that doesn’t happen,” Gina said, similarly agrin.

“Begin the procedure.”

“Beginning it now.”

Gina walked over to the device situated above Melanie’s head. She flicked a switch, and it hummed to life. Then she turned a knob. It clicked loudly as it moved from one setting to another.

The electrodes at Melanie’s temples began buzzing and sparking. At the same time, a rhythmic hum emanated from her earbuds.

“What is that?” Melanie asked. “What’s happening? It feels...funny. It feels...weird. No...no...stop it...please...stop it…”

She twitched and trembled within her bonds. Her hands repeatedly clenched into fists and then relaxed, and her bare feet similarly kicked, shook, and then lay still.

Gina looked down at Melanie and placed a supportive hand on her shoulder. Jasmine walked over to stand beside them.

“It’s okay, Melanie,” Jasmine said. “Don’t fight it.”

“Don’t resist,” Gina said. “Let it happen.”

“No...no...my head...my head…”

“Relax. Just relax,” Jasmine said.

“Relax and obey,” Gina said.

“No...no...”

“Obey us.”

“You must obey us.”

“No...n-no…”

“Obey. Obey.”

“You must obey.”

“N-n-no…”

“Obey. Obey. Obey.”

“Obey. Obey. You must obey.”

“O-oh...oh…”

“Obey. Obey. Obey.”

“Obey. Obey. You must obey.”

“O-bey...I will...obey...I will obey you,” Melanie said.

She continued trembling, and her eyes fluttered rapidly.

“Yes, you will obey us,” Jasmine said.

“You will always obey us,” Gina said.

“I will always obey you,” Melanie said.

Her voice was soft and droning, with no more trace of hesitation. Jasmine and Gina gazed at each other, pleased with their work and perpetually smiling.

“When you obey us, you will feel good. Oh so good,” Jasmine said.

“Obedience is pleasure. It feels so good to obey,” Gina said.

“Obeying feels good,” Melanie said. “It is pleasure. It feels so good.”

Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she let out a long, wavering moan. When it finally faded, a contented smile much like the one worn by Jasmine and Gina graced her mouth.

“She is doing well,” Jasmine said.

“Yes, she is ready for brainwashing,” Gina said.

“I am ready for brainwashing,” Melanie said dreamily.

Jasmine and Gina giggled.

“Isn’t she adorable?” Jasmine asked.

“She certainly is,” Gina said.

“What a shame she didn’t take part in the first wave of the experiment.”

“And how sad that now she’s relegated to the second wave.”

“She won’t get to think and act on her own, like we do.”

“All she will have is mindless servitude from here on out.”

“But at least it will be servitude to Mistress.”

“Yes, in that way, she is lucky, just like we are.”

They turned their attention from each other back to Melanie, who lay quiet and still beneath the buzzing and humming feeding into her head.

“All right,” Jasmine said. “We’ve taken enough time. Now we must brainwash her.”

“We must erase all of her thoughts and will,” Gina said. “And mold her into Mistress’s new slave.”

They took turns giving instructions to the bound, barefoot girl in the chair before them. Under the inescapable power of the machine, Melanie responded perfectly to their commands. She absorbed all that they said to her, forgetting everything about her old life and believing everything they told her about her new one.

Over an hour went by, but none of the three girls noticed the passage of time. Finally, Jasmine and Gina finished programming their fully compliant and receptive subject. Gina reached up and turned off the machine. Immediately, the buzzing and humming around Melanie’s head stopped.

Melanie opened her eyes and stared far away at nothing. Jasmine and Gina began undoing the straps that held her in place.

“When do we need to deliver her to Mistress?” Jasmine asked.

“Not until tomorrow morning,” Gina said.

“So, we have all night then?”

“That’s right.”

“Perhaps we should give her some practice.”

“Practice in serving Mistress?”

“Serving and worshiping Mistress.”

“That sound like a good idea.’

“Slave,” Jasmine said to Melanie, “it’s time to serve and worship us.”

“It’s time to serve and worship you,” Melanie said sleepily.

“You will enjoy your work,” Gina said to Melanie. “And you will get very good at it.”

“I will enjoy my work,” Melanie said. “And I will get very good at it.”

Jasmine and Gina continued to smile, as they had been the entire time. They enjoyed serving their mistress, but now, they truly looked forward to the fruits of their labors.

Melanie smiled, too, because she had no mind left to know any better.