DON'T (any gender, mid to late teens)
Syd? I think you're awake now, aren't you? A couple of things. On Monday, at school, I'm not going to be acting like we're a couple anymore. I'm breaking up with you. I don't think that's much of a surprise. But I also wanted to give you fair warning: If you hurt anyone ever again, you're only going to be hurting yourself.
And maybe I WAS a special case, your first and last time. I am a bit-- unusual-- maybe a little scary- who, knows. It's trueI have been doing some pretty edgy things with technology and last night, maybe I showed you too much, too soon. Maybe I was a little pushy about it, pressuring you to participate. Maybe you just wanted to make me-- what-- make me "sane again" with a good hard shove and then slap to the face? Maybe you're not really a violent person?
Maybe, maybe.
But here's the thing, Syd. After you shoved me against my equipment, when you raised your arm when I told you d- when I told you "do not" you didn't hesitate at all to hit me. And afterward you didn't seem at all phased, you only seemed concerned about the result: Was I or wasn't I going to stop developing the device? Not startled at all by what you did.
Probability says you're going to hurt someone else again. "Syd, it's the only way to make sure things back under control" that's what a part of your brain tells you, I'm sure. So I'm going to make sure your body is telling you something different. Every time someone near you says the word d- every times someone says d-o-n-apostrophe-t, you're going to feel an intense pain in your chest. That will be your body telling you to stop.
It's the device. The micro implant. I injected it when you were asleep. It has an audio receiver for outside voices and a shock output for your heart. You should be fine, just be sure never to get to the point where someone has to tell you d-- oh what the hell, let's test it-- when someone tells you DON'T.
Copyright 2016 by Matt Haynes. If you would like to use this piece, please credit: "Courtesy of Matt Haynes and The Pulp Stage"