Free Flesh: Alpha Males and Taboo Tales by Scarlett Skyes et al

exactly, but it does do that. Mostly, it should make you sort of…forget about smoking. The program uses a kind of hypnosis to give you suggestions while you’re asleep.”
    “Is it like, a voice, or something? Repeating things over and over again? I tried one of those once to help me cram for a Spanish test, but it did nada .”
    “Oh, this is much better. Instead of a voice, it uses binaural tones, so you’ll want to use headphones. The professor and I worked on the technology for this on our last experiment. More than eighty percent of the people in the trial completely quit smoking after only two days. I added some extra to stuff to yours to raise your mood and give you more… ahh… energy .”
    “Wow. That’s impressive, Daniel. I’ll have to try it out tonight.”
    He looked over at me again and smiled. “I can’t wait to see how well it works on you. It’s gonna change you into a much better person.”
    A few hours later, I did just like Daniel said and settled into bed with my headphones on. When I clicked “play”, the gentle sounds and noises reverberated in my ears like they were all around me. It wasn’t so much a rhythm as it was different random tones playing over top of each other, echoing back and forth, sometimes joining in harmony for a moment before trailing off. The sensation lulled me in a nice way, and before I knew it, I was asleep.
     
    The next morning, I could faintly remember having the strangest dream. Although almost all of the details of that dream were lost to me, I did recall being on my knees and wearing a blindfold. There was a presence of someone near me and I was touching something hard and fleshy with my hands. I concentrated on the dream, but try as I might, nothing else would come. At least whatever it was seemed pleasant.
    Once I had a chance to wake up, I noticed a difference in myself almost immediately. Usually, I’d throw on enough clothing to be decent and head outside for my morning cigarette, which I could hardly wait to smoke. To my surprise, I found myself not really thinking about it that much. I even pulled one out of the pack and examined it, only to find myself vaguely turned off by the idea of lighting it up. Even better, I felt alive and exuberant, much more so than usual. I was smiling and enjoying myself immensely as I went from one boring task to the next at work.
    It was like that most of the day. A few times I had a smoke anyway, but only when the nagging urge to get some nicotine in my bloodstream caused me to give in. Each cigarette I smoked, however, tasted absolutely stale and awful. By the time I got home from work, I’d only had three the entire day.
    I flipped the lid of my stereo open and made sure the CD was still in there. “ Right on. This little thing is amazing. I can’t believe it actually worked. I’ve got to thank Daniel for giving me this.”
    I began to feel guilty all over again. Here I was, taking advantage of my best friend’s favor, and I’d been boning his girlfriend the previous two months. What kind of a friend does something like that?
    “Let it go, man. It’s over now. You can’t see Laura anymore and Daniel’s broken up with her. Just move past it and move on.”
    I turned on my computer and reached for the well-used water bong that sat beside my desk. “ A little weed and a little porn will help me relax, ” I thought, hoping the subliminal message on Daniel’s CD that helped me not want to smoke tobacco didn’t also apply to the smelly green buds I had packed into the bowl. After taking a few long draws with no ill effect, it seemed he’d thankfully left that out.
    As I began to partake in my favorite after-work activity, I clicked through some of my favorite web sites. None of them really seemed that interesting, though. Most of the videos were your standard fare; a pretty, slutty woman would come onto a guy, she would suck his dick, and then they’d fuck. It was all so… boring , for some reason. I