Getting in the Mindless Zone Written by: TiranMaster Commissioned by: Legotron123 & his friend Lurker Driving up to the gym, Kolt couldn’t stop the look of awe that appeared on his face as he and Lurker drove up. The place was highly technical, a huge screen facing the street projected images of the members hitting weights, jumping into a swimming pool, and even performing karate. There were several muscled people walking up and down the sidewalk, handing out fliers and even taking selfies with people walking by. “Man, you weren’t kidding,” he said, watching as a muscled woman did a standing backflip to the surprise and wonder of nearby passersby. “I swear, I feel like I’m at a circus act or something.” “They’re just showoffs,” Lurker laughed, pulling the car into a stall as he turned off the car, Kolt couldn’t help but give his friend a doubtful look. The rabbit had put on quite a bit of muscle himself in the weeks since joining the gym, even showing off a new love of running and jumping that he’d never had before. “This place is pretty great though, I can’t wait to show you the machines, they’re crazy,” he said with a big grin. Prior to joining the gym, Lurker’s physique had always been rather petite and slender. A bit shorter than Kolt, he’d always looked lighter than the fox did. After he’d started attending the gym though, it had been apparent rather fast that he was packing on muscle at the gym. His slender frame had filled out, developing a solid set of muscles. His abs had developed rather well, one day Kolt having caught a glimpse of his friend’s stomach when he was stretching and it had been one of the selling points for Kolt to go with the rabbit to see what was happening at the gym. Even now, glancing at Lurker in profile he couldn’t believe how much thicker the rabbit seemed. “You’re sure the people here won’t judge?” Kolt asked, clambering out of the car as he grabbed a gym bag from the back seat. Though he wouldn’t qualify himself as being overweight, the fox had been a little jealous of his friend’s new physique and energy. Since he’d joined the gym, Lurker had been telling Kolt about how amazing the other members of the gym really were, and how truly welcoming they were. Jumping out of the car, Lurker waved to some ladies walking by who waved at him and called him by name. “It’s like I said, Kolt, everyone here is great. I don’t think I’ve run into anyone I don’t like, though some people can definitely ham it up sometimes,” he said before pointing to the showboating people out on the street. “Though I suppose they do get the perk of signing up new members.” Chuckling as he glanced back to see all of the bright personalities on display, Kolt walked over and bumped his friend’s shoulder. “Well, you’ll be getting credit for yourself on getting a new member... I mean, if this place is as great as you say it is. The free trial doesn’t hurt either.” While Lurker was fetching his own bag from the back, Kolt allowed himself a moment to watch other gym attendees, seeing all the different varieties of people walking around. Lurker himself was much beefier than he had been, but he still paled in comparison to some of the others. The fox noticed a panther woman climbing out of her own car, standing up taller than the fox and rabbit both, her large physique causing the clothing to sit very well on her frame. Lurker stood up and noticed Kolt’s gaze, a smile appearing on his muzzle. “Yeah, she’s been attending this place longer than I have, and she’s stronger than most of the men here,” he said quietly, so as to not draw attention to them. Kolt could only nod in admiration, clearly seeing how dedicated she was to the gym. The rabbit and red fox both started off towards the gym, the entrance of the place a busy nexus of people coming and going, all of them happy and pleasant. Kolt was already enjoying the energy of the place, even though he’d yet to actually get inside. Just as the outside was stylish and futuristic, the inside was full of a sleek modern decor that felt very welcoming as promos for the gym played on nearby screens. “Welcome!” a beautiful horse said, giving the pair a bright smile as they approached the front counter, “Glad to see you back, Lurker, and who is your handsome friend?” “Hey Melanie, this is Kolt, he was wanting to sign up for the free trial,” Lurker said, grinning as he slapped his friend’s back. “Kolt, this is Melanie, she’s the usual front desk person, and she is amazing.” “Stop,” Melanie said with a laugh before flashing Kolt a bright smile, “welcome, Kolt! Let’s get you signed up so you can stop yapping out here and go in and enjoy the gym’s amenities.” Kolt smiled back at her before he started to go through the process, meanwhile Lurker walked off into the locker room to drop off his bag. The signup process was blissfully shorter than he’d been expecting, and by the end of it he could see why Melanie made for a great introduction to the gym. Finishing up by signing off on a few waivers, Lurker walked up and slapped a device down on the counter. “Now that you’re in the system, you can officially use the gym provided media devices!” Glancing down at the device his friend had slapped down, Kolt’s eyes widened as he saw that it was a brand new media player. “Wow, that looks... really expensive,” he said, suddenly feeling doubtful about touching it let alone using it. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to use this?” “We love being able to provide excellent service and allow all of our members the premier experience while exercising. All we ask is that you return the device whenever you’re finished for the day so that we can recharge and clean them for the next member to use,” Melanie said with a winning smile. Kolt almost felt like he’d stepped into some sort of dream gym, and though he still felt a bit anxious he smiled and waved at Melanie before picking up the device and slipping it into his pocket. “You can drop your stuff off in the locker room, then we can head to the main gym area, I can show you around the machines and you can get a feel for the place.” Lurker said, giving his friend a friendly swat on the shoulder as they waved to Melanie and started off towards the locker room. As with the other parts of the facility, the locker room was full of high quality equipment with special scanners on each of the lockers to allow them to fingerprint lock them. “Told ya, this place is crazy,” Lurker said, laughing at the expression on Kolt’s face as the red fox picked out a locker and quickly got his thumbprint set up. Finally with his stuff put away, Kolt felt ready to get to grips with the gym, his mind still reeling as he clutched the media player in his paw as Lurker led him around. Everything was futuristic, rooms full of treadmills with monitors to watch videos on, a huge swimming complex, and a variety of classrooms set aside for a plethora of different courses. Kolt’s free trial limited him to one class before he was required to fully sign up for a membership, but honestly he thought that was plenty fair of the gym. “Have you taken any classes yet?” Kolt asked as they started back towards the main complex where the more standard gym equipment would be held, Kolt was still unable to believe how huge the gym really was. “I’ve taken a couple, mostly some classes to help with my breathing exercises and help my posture,” Lurker said, going through a few stretching motions as they walked past several other members of the gym. The gym’s membership seemed to be a good mix of men and women both, all of them looking very fit, if not some looking absolutely buff. Kolt felt a bit out of place, but he’d yet to get any judgemental comments or glances since he’d entered. “Here we are,” Lurker said, gesturing towards a pair of doors that slid open as they approached. Just like with the rest of the gym, the equipment within were a variety of high quality machines, many of them equipped with monitors that allowed one to adjust the weights with a press of a button. “Seems a bit much,” Kolt laughed, though he could see the appeal as he watched a wolf press a few buttons on the screen before he started doing reps with a concentrated expression on his face. Lurker gave Kolt a dubious expression, his muzzle pulled into a half smile as Kolt rolled his eyes and laughed. “Fine, this place is awesome, I can’t believe it’s not more expensive for a full membership.” “It’s like I told you,” Lurker said, walking over to a rowing machine and started adjusting the weight on the tablet, “this place is for people who really want to better themselves. The owner’s apparently a really rich person who just wants to help their community out,” he explained, sitting down and starting to do some reps. “Why don’t you go around and start trying out some machines? I’ll be here,” he said with a wave of his hand, flashing his friend a big smile before he slipped a pair of earbuds into his ears and started properly working out. Kolt glanced around the room, seeing that there were plenty of empty machines that he could try out, the fox started to make a circuit around the room and explore his options. Pulling a pair of earbuds out of the media player, he slipped them into his ears before he sat down and started to do a basic set of reps on a leg machine. The weight was too light at first, but with some adjusting on the machine’s interface he soon allowed himself to properly start exercising. The media player had a large library of music, some of it more basic copyright free music, and there were even some playlists of musicians he knew. Picking a list of songs he enjoyed, Kolt allowed himself to fall into a rhythm. As Kolt was doing reps, he glanced around, seeing the other gym goers were all in their own spaces, some of them chatting with one another, but all of them seriously exercising. The music washed over Kolt, the earbuds’ quality was superb, the music pulsed and rang as Kolt allowed himself to fall into the pleasant rhythm of exercise. Taking even breaths, Kolt turned up the weight a bit more as his heartbeat picked up, his muscles burning with the exertions. The music pulsed and rolled, Kolt’s ears able to pick up the subtle vibrations of the instruments, his eyes closing as he pushed out a series of reps. Buried underneath the music, a chord of sibilant noises started to play, Kolt’s ears perking up slightly at the noise. He wasn’t fully aware of the noise, but something in the back of his head relaxed at the underlying current of sound. Finishing up his set of reps, Kolt got up and switched to another machine, his head bobbing in time with the sound of the music. Passing by Lurker, the pair exchanged a smile and a quick fistbump before Kolt was onto his next set of exercises. The music swapped from track to track, though the beats hidden underneath never quite stopped, soft synthetic tones that continued to relax Kolt. The fox’s meandering thoughts quieted with time as he continued to push himself through exercise after exercise, his eyelids slowly drifting downwards as he allowed the exercise to fill his every thought, that and the ever present music. Kolt found himself moving from machine to machine, his pace slowing, his thoughts growing increasingly quiet, he passed Lurker several more times during the process. The first couple of times, Kolt acknowledged his friend with either a wave or a smile, but as time went on Kolt’s expression grew dazed and his movements almost mechanical. The others around the gym didn’t seem to pay the odd behavior, instead continuing on their own exercises or conversations as if the fox weren’t acting strangely. As he went from machine to machine, the weights started to grow increasingly heavy without Kolt needing to adjust them, his body pushing itself harder as he continued to lose himself in the music. Finally after a couple of hours, Lurker along with another member of the gym approached Kolt, the fox’s eyes vacant as he listened to the binaurals playing over his headphones. He didn’t know when the music had faded away, only to be replaced by the synthetic tones constantly looping and beating themselves into his mind. Lurker’s expression was as blank as Kolt’s own, the earbuds still visible in his ears as he strode to one side of the fox while his companion went to the other. The tall panthress from the parking lot slipped an arm under Kolt’s armpit, and Lurker did likewise on the other side, their expressions blank as they brought the red fox to his feet. It was effortless for the two to drag the fox along, Kolt not giving an inch of resistance as his head continued to bop to the sounds in his ears. If anybody noticed the trio, nobody reacted as they continued on their own routines, Kolt’s body being pulled by his friend and the other gym goer. Kolt’s mind vaguely noticed the interaction, trying to clock how strange it was, but the sounds continued to keep his mind suppressed. All he wanted to do was go along with the motion, his body aching from the constant exercise, but unable to do anything but follow them. Strolling through the gym, several people walked right past the trio, none of them paying any attention or mind to the odd scene. At one point, Lurker bumped into one of the other gym attendees and there was a brief pause in his conversation. “What’s up, man?” his tiger friend asked. “I uh...” the bear glanced back, and his eyes seemed to stare right through the three as they continued to walk on. “Nothin’,” he said, his eyes glazing over for a brief moment before he picked up his conversation right where they’d left it as if nothing had happened. The trio approached a wall in the back, the apparently seamless surface splitting apart to reveal a cold hallway behind it. The trio walked in, the wall shutting behind them once more as they walked down the hallway, their footsteps echoing off of the steel floor. Kolt’s expression stayed blank, his eyes open but his mind hardly registering anything that was happening. As the beats continued to rattle in his head, Kolt and the other two strolled through the hallway until they reached a room where several figures stood off to either side, each working at a terminal. The screens showed video feeds from the gym, and they were busy typing in commands into their consoles, the different members of the gym being subtly directed towards different stations to continue building their bodies up. “Place him in there,” one of the figures said, pointing Lurker and the panther towards a small chamber with a chair set in the middle of it. Neither of them made any response, instead leading Kolt towards the chamber in question, setting him down in the chair before stepping back and allowing the chamber to close. The glass walls enclosing Kolt as he continued to stare forward, expression slack, unable to think with the constant pulsing music. “You may return,” the figure said, waving the two away. Both the rabbit and panther did as they were commanded, turning around and heading back down the hallway they’d entered, expressions not showing a sign of emotion until they were back out on the gym floor. “Where’d Kolt go?” Lurker asked, glancing around the gym, noticing his friend was gone. “Hm, must’ve gone for a shower or something,” he murmured to himself, walking back over to a machine, completely glossing over the minutes he’d lost. As for Kolt himself, the red fox sat back in the chair, starting forward as the surface of the glass came to life with a plethora of pulsing colors and swirls. The binaurals playing over his earbuds only intensified as Kolt continued to look forward, his blinks exceptionally slow as he focused on the ever shifting spirals and pulses. The fox’s eyes reflected the colors as they swirled and danced in front of him, and a new voice came in over the earbuds, layered into the pulsing music. “Listen well, you have been chosen to become one of our newest agents. You will remember none of this, you will allow it all to slide back into your subconscious.” The voice was deep, calm, a fellow mellow voice that Kolt found to be very relaxing to listen to. Settling back into the chair, Kolt sighed as he continued to watch the dancing colors in front of him, the world outside blanketed by the constant visual noise. The figures outside could see the fox, his expression blank, eyes swirling with the reflection of the colors. “He’s taking well to the programming,” one of the others mentioned, typing a few commands into his terminal. “He’s sure to make for a great agent, just as his friend did,” the leader said, chuckling to himself as he sat down at his own terminal and started to type in a series of commands. Kolt’s mind had been perfectly prepared for the past few hours, his conscious self having been shunted off to the side, unable to do anything more than blandly observe the fox’s programming. Kolt himself breathed deeply and slowly, his hands wrapped around the arms of the chair as he continued to be programmed. “Every pulse forms the core of a good agent, one who serves, listens, and obeys. Kolt breathed in a steady rhythm as his thoughts were being coated in the powerful voice and dancing colors. Time slipped him by as the voice spoke into his ears, shaping a new consciousness, one compliant to the gym. “While you are within the gym’s walls, you are as much property as any of the gym’s machines. Once you are finished, you will forget, all of it will slide away and you will standby until called upon again.” Just as with Lurker and the panther and all of the other members of the gym, Kolt’s mind was molded and shaped into a proper sleeper agent. “A proper inductee of the gym should be loyal to the gym, compliant in consistent attendance. Your body is a temple to be built up within the gym’s walls, to build your body, and to keep your mind molded under the gym’s watch.” Kolt slowly nodded, his thoughts leaning towards returning to the gym, he would have to get himself a full membership. “Going to the gym will bring you happiness, you will find yourself happier when inside of its walls.” A thrill of happiness buzzed inside of Kolt’s head, the fox’s face pulling into a dull smile as he continued to stare forward. Kolt’s eyes fluttered now and again, his senses overwhelmed, his thoughts buried deep under layers of hypnotic programming. As Kolt was within the tube, the shadowed figures in the room continued to type away on their consoles, sending small messages to the inhabitants of the gym. Occasionally one of the figures on the cameras would stop what they were doing to move on, their expression growing blank as they complied to the invisible commands. After a couple of hours, Lurker soon stood up from his machine, expression once again growing blank as he complied and followed the directions back into the tunnel once more. Stepping into the room, Lurker stepped into the room and stood at attention, eyes staring forward blankly at the glowing chamber. “You are to keep in contact with Kolt for the next few weeks, making sure that his programming does not slip. If it seems like he is showing any sign of resistance to the programming, you will make sure he returns to the gym for further programming. Understood?” “Yes, sir,” the rabbit said, his voice monotone, his expression similarly blank as he looked forward without an ounce of recognition for his friend. The figure in front of Lurker walked around the rabbit slowly, looking him up and down as he had his arms folded behind his back. “I must say, your own progress is quite impressive. I’ll have to make sure you go in for another bout of programming, just to keep you motivated.” Lurker just nodded blithely, obedient, his eyes glazed with the programming. The figure cleared his throat as he glanced to Kolt once more, seeing that the process was almost finished. “Your outside persona will only think that he is keeping track of Kolt’s physical help, to believe that he is helping Kolt maintain his physical health goals. Do you understand?” Lurker once again nodded, waiting for any further commands until the colors within the tube started to fade away. Moments later, Kolt stood up, his expression blank and his eyes glazed as he stepped out. “Lead Kolt out, you are dismissed.” With a gesture to Kolt, the rabbit and red fox both strolled back in unison until they walked back out the same doors they’d walked in, the doors sliding shut behind them as they blinked several times. Lurker recovered first, slapping Kolt on the back as the red fox nearly fell over. “Good first day of training, don’t ya think?” he laughed. For a moment everything swam around Kolt as he tried to catch up to what was happening, it was clear he’d lost himself in his exercise. “Uh... yeah,” he said, rubbing his head as he glanced around. It seemed like many of the people he’d been exercising with had already left for the day, and he tried to remember any of the faces that were now occupying the gym. Glancing to the windows, the late afternoon sunlight poured into the room making Kolt realize how much time had passed. “Whoa, what time is it?” Glancing at an athletic watch on his wrist, Lurker blinked a couple times in surprise before glancing over to his friend with a smirk. “It’s about dinner time, why don’t we go get a bite to eat?” Lurker asked, slapping his stomach while Kolt’s own let out a small grumble of hunger. “Right...” Kolt said, a smile reappearing on his face as he plucked the earbuds from his ears. “You were right, man, this place is really cool. I think I just may have to get a full membership here after all.” “I knew you’d think so,” Lurker said with a laugh, the pair starting to head towards the exit. Kolt felt like he was missing something, but he couldn’t quite place the feeling. As he walked through the gym, he felt oddly more at ease there than he had just a while earlier, and a strange kinship with the other attendees. Despite his earlier nervousness, he found himself waving at a few of the other gym goers, including the panthress from earlier who shot him a smile. Shrugging to himself, the fox grinned as he and his friend dropped off their devices and picked up their things from the locker room. By the time they were out grabbing a bite to eat, any sense of oddness was gone, and Kolt could already feel himself looking forward to the next time he paid a visit to the gym.