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Subliminal Advertising

An Instinctual Pull?

By Beau GarlandPublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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Photo by Gerhardus Kotze on Shutterstock

Such a cheerful voice spoke, “Opt out now to stop location tracking. By continuing you automatically agree to share Usage data in the terms set forth in the Agreement.” Jayden briefly glossed over the 146 floating pages scrolling with his eyes and passively swiped his head right to access the needed information. It’s not like he could go anywhere or talk to anyone without complying with some contract anyway. After nodding “Accept Terms”, the coffee machine started brewing. Every new coffee machine was like that for as long as he could remember.

Every morning he woke up to the Feed. And he wasn’t hungry. That didn’t stop the routine. He had to check things, catch up with people, calm the internal slot machine, pinging and whirring, never slowing down. Good thing there was an app for that…..anyway, back to the Stories. The world was apparently imploding even more than yesterday. “Oh, almost forgot to make something.” He reached for the fridge grabbing some eggs and marinated sirloin steak strips. An energy drink didn’t hurt too. Apparently, according to the labeling they were all net-zero foods. It wouldn’t take long to wolf these down.

He relished the Hustle. You hustled, I hustled, everybody hustled, but Jayden HUSTLED for real. He had to do what it takes to MAKE IT in his world, to snatch up every opportunity that presented itself. Anyone who didn’t make the cut had to get out of the kitchen.

He spiked his short blond hair and went out the door, his head barely missing the doortop.

+++++

“Here put this on.” Sierra waved a pair of VR goggles up into her boss’s face. He looked at her with a sideways glance and scoffed. “Fine,” he begrudgingly accepted. They both entered a luxurious co-working space, replete with sumptuous mahogany interior and pillar supports, a perfect surrounding glass window insulating the hum and buzz of the worker bees from the background forest. Some were happily eating lunch, laughing and joking.

“I recorded the initial setting. Please take a table next to these people and…listen.” Sierra lowered with an open hand to a chair, tugging her chin briefly to her left.

The latest in micro-trends, the pinnacle of modern fashion, perched atop both sides of a table booth were faces of perfect, unblemished, synthetic gloss, adjourned with smooth textile clothing patterns of chicano origin. Women and men of a vibe alien to Sierra, yet if she squinted, their faces vaguely looked like some of her friends.

“Oh my gosh this sauce is so amazing. Creamy, spicy with the perfect amount of green chilies.”

Another chimed in, shuttering with flavor with seemingly an orgasm in his mouth, “This has to be the best I’ve ever had, so tender. Where did you get it?”

“From Deliciously. Right now if I refer a friend we’ll each get 20 free meals!”

Men in the spitting image of chiseled golden gladiators entered the far entrance with wetsuits and a brown paper box, approaching an occupied table. “Oh man there were some big ones off Corpus Christie! You should come with us next time. I brought you a treat. Super easy to make.” The group all opened and peered into the box expectantly, as if inside was a newborn baby. “I love chilaquiles!” They obliterated the Deliciously labeled packaging and chowed down.

Sierra had enough. “What the hell is going on?” She rushed to a table and pointed hard to a plate full of tamales. “Do you mind?” The virtual workers acted bothered.

Her boss was hardly impressed, “So you make a fuss over tamales? I have more important things to do here.”

“You know I love tamales and you know what’s weird? Everyone here happens to be eating…my…favorite…foods. They got sloppy this time. Normally they're a lot more subtle.”

He avoided eye contact.

“You know, I’ve caught them knowing things about me I’d rather keep private. Oh and I’ve never told you I surf!” She waved her hand in a sweeping motion around the room. Certainly she’d caught everyone’s attention.

He scanned the room warily. “I think I’ve heard enough.”

Sierra pressed on. “Who did you partner with now? People are entrusting us to link their implants briefly so they can create with their imagination. Don’t you think we have some responsibility here? This is abuse, and I don’t want to train AI to do this b — — s — -!”

He leaned back, holding his hands up to block her piercing gaze. “We’re facing stiff competition from some of the bigger companies who are doing this. This isn’t my decision. The investors and board feel this is the only way to keep our growth. I’m getting a lot of pressure here to go further.”

“You have to do something about this, because I want no part in it,” Sierra held stern.

Her boss stood up abruptly, shadowing over her. “You have already gone way out of line, lady. Don’t you ever approach me about this again or I’ll have you written up for insubordination. I’ve been very, very patient because you’ve provided a lot of value here so far.” He moved his hands in a grabbing motion cupping his eyes, lifted them up, and disappeared.

+++++

Jayden warmed-up and rolled out his trusty old ’21 Ford F-150. He felt proud this real truck was still going strong after over 300,000 miles.

On a fresh, partly cloudy morning, the golden rays and crisp golden fields emerged on majestic forested mountains, peppered with the gray swaths of trees that succumbed to beetles. The long straight highways heading north were normally empty at this time, except for today.

“Play Imagine Dragons,” Jayden paused, scanning the road.

Ahead a quarter mile a little electric car scurried around the lane like a mouse, with two driverless semi-trucks trailing it.

“Come on… really man, go faster.”

His center console flashed. “We’ll be ready to play your song after this short break:”

Jayden heard a deep gravelly baritone voice.

“We work hard to secure your privacy. Every second of every day our trusted partners seal the borders between your information and outside third parties. We stand strong with America. We are with you every step of the way. Brought to you by Strong&Secure and Pure Clean Energy Fund.”

“All these damn cars never go fast enough. Can’t you turn your speed settings up?” He bobbed over to the left edge of the lane, looking for openings.

Another ad with a similar voice:

“Unleash your inner freedom with the most powerful Electric Mustang yet. Explore faster and farther than ever before. We built this country with our hands, preserved it with our values, strengthened it with our communities, defended it with our lives. That’s who we are. Who can you be?” An insane tearing whirr and a sudden burst of wind exploded out the speakers.

Jayden breathed hard, pounded the gas and turned, sensing an opening, but to his astonishment, the little car made like a jackrabbit, closing his window of opportunity. “Oh… now you go!” Still loitering in the left lane, he braked begrudgingly and veered back in line.

artificial intelligence
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About the Creator

Beau Garland

Preserving the future. Improving wellbeing for individuals and communities.

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