Tell Me a Story

Chapter 26

"Red, do you mind if I ask you something?" Red stared at me, her face blank. At least it wasn't a look of annoyance, so I ran with it, pointing to the bookcase. "What's the deal with all these movies?"

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno. You just don't seem like the type to sit at home watching simple-minded fairy tales." I quickly added. "You seem deeper than that."

She sighed, pulling a copy of Alice and Wonderland off the shelf, waving it around as she spoke.

"These aren't just simple-minded fairy tales. These are full of symbols and triggers."

"Triggers?"

"Yes. People who have been subjects of mind control experimentation respond to different triggers. Many of them are implemented using movies – specifically children's movies."

I tried to keep my face in check, refraining from showing how crazy I thought that sounded. I reminded myself than just about everything Red said would have sounded crazy until recently, so I kept at it. "So, people watch that movie and, what, go crazy?"

Red gave me a hard stare. "No. It's not that simple. It all depends on their programming. Sometimes its reinforcement of their training, sometimes it shifts them into a different state."

"State? Like a different personality"

"Basically. Many mind control victims have been abused to the point that they've compartmentalized. The triggers allow those controlling them to flip a switch from one personality to another."

"Okay...I still don't get what Alice in Wonderland has to do with that."

"Have you ever noticed how Alice willingly follows the White Rabbit and does what he asks?"

"She was curious."

"No, it's more than that. He tells her to fetch his gloves and she does. Do you really think she was curious about his gloves?"

I shrugged. This conversation was too weird for me to give her question much thought.

"The White Rabbit," she continued, "is an image used in control – it represents the controller, the person in charge of the victim. Think of how many songs and movies have a White Rabbit. It's almost always associated with 'guiding' or controlling someone."

"I guess I haven't really noticed."

"Of course you haven't. That's the whole point."

"Gotcha."

"What about the rest of these movies? I don't remember a rabbit in most of these."

"Obviously, there are other triggers, other characters who manipulate and call the shots. And some images reinforce the training, remember? Mirrors, staircases, tunnels, paths, doors; I could go on for a while. If you're really interested, you could sit in on one of our meetings. Silently, of course."

"Uhh, I'll think about it."

Red raised an eyebrow and stared at me again. "What made you ask about all of this in the first place?"

"Curious, I guess."

"You sure?" I nodded slowly.

"Yeah. I've got a few things I need to get done. I'm gonna head upstairs - but thanks for answering my questions. It's all very..." I paused, considering what word I would go with, and settled on the most innocuous thing I could think to say. "It's interesting."

I made my way to the staircase and heard Red mutter something under her breath before returning to her computer screen.