UnMind TV

This is a short story with a fair bit of hypnotic language in it.  The phrase "Let yourself UnMind" is used repeatedly, especially toward the end.  If you're someone who trances easily over text, make sure you have the time and space to read this safely.

Jaxon was tired of price hikes from his cable company.  It seemed like every few months he was being asked to pay more money for less and less content.  Given how little he actually watched TV these days, he was seriously considering just cancelling the whole endeavor and resolving to use his library card more.

When he’d expressed this opinion over drinks with friends, Mitch had recommended he try UnMind TV before giving up completely.  Said it was half the price of normal cable and could keep you happily entertained for hours.  Mitch didn’t offer much actual information on what sorts of shows were available on UnMind, and the internet wasn’t any help there either, but Jaxon figured he could do the 30 day free trial and see how it went.  The library would still be there next month.

The cable box had been easy enough to install, but the remote control was… weird.  Only five buttons, none of them labelled.  It took a couple of guesses to actually turn the thing on.

Once Jaxon did manage to turn it on, he wasn’t sure it was working right.  The “show” on this channel looked more like an old Microsoft screensaver than anything else, with pulses of color dancing in lazy circles.  And he wasn’t quite sure whether there was any sound with it - he thought maybe he could hear some soft music or a low whisper, but any time he tried to concentrate on it it felt farther away.

He pushed a button on the remote.

There was a bright flash, and then a new screensaver.  This one had waves of color pulsing out from the center.  There was the same almost-there music in the background.

Jaxon moved to sit on the couch.  He might as well be comfortable while he tried to sort this out.

He watched the colors pulsing on the screen as he settled into his couch.  It was a pleasant enough picture to watch, even without any story.  He found his thoughts pulsing in time with the picture, brief flashes of ideas fading into darkness over and over again.  Brief flashes of thought fading into darkness before they had time to fully form.

He wasn’t sure how long he stared at the pulsing waves.

At some point, he remembered the remote and pushed a button.  There was a bright flash and then a new screensaver.  When the flash happened, he felt his thoughts flash away again.

The newest screensaver had a single point of light, swinging back and forth like a pendulum.  It got brighter on each upswing, reaching a peak just as it changed directions.  It dimmed as it swung down, almost fading completely at its lowest point.  Back and forth, up and down, fading and pulsing.  Fading and pulsing.  His mind was fading and pulsing.  Back and forth.  Up and down.

Sit back.  Relax.  Let yourself UnMind.

The words floated through his head unprompted and he lay back on the couch more comfortably.

Let yourself UnMind echoed around his head a few more times while he halfheartedly attempted to connect it to something.  He was coming up blank.

Blank.

It wasn’t a word so much as a sensation.  A nice sensation.

Blank.

Let yourself UnMind.

He was laying down now.

His eyes dropped closed for a moment, or maybe several minutes - it was hard to tell.  Thinking he was falling asleep and should go to bed, he picked up the remote to turn off the TV.

The screen flashed again.

His mind flashed away again.

A new image appeared, a bright candy colored spiral that seemed to spin faster at the center, drawing his eyes in.

Let yourself UnMind.

He moved to set the remote down and dropped it on the floor.  That was okay.  He didn’t mind.  He lay down again to keep watching, drooling a bit as the candy colored spiral spun on his screen.

He wasn’t sure how long he watched.  It didn’t matter.  He just wanted to UnMind.  It felt good to UnMind.  UnMind was better than cable.  UnMind was better than the library.  UnMind was the best way to spend an evening.

Let yourself UnMind.

At some point, the television’s sleep timer kicked in and the screen went black.  At some point after that - maybe moments after, maybe hours after, it was hard to tell - Jaxon moved from the couch to his bed.

He spent the rest of the night dreaming of pretty pictures that helped him to UnMind.