Conquest of the Mind

Chapter 18

The Santa Claus Project.

So how are you going to secure and maintain our shields?

We have established bypass corridors, check them once a year, set checkpoints and back them up.

You know that past experience ended in failure and we had to destroy an entire city by triggering freaking Vesuvius.

Yes, past experiences were bad, but we have since refined the techniques and approaches by contacting our suggestion agency.

We provided one of our agents with a recipe for a drink, which we passed on to the Earthling who helped him. This recipe inspired the image of a kind old man in a red suit, handing out gifts for good behavior and punishing bad behavior.

Over time, this image has become ingrained in people's minds, and now when we send out the Drone Collector once a year, people greet him with milk and cookies.

Isn't that nice? We've been successful: 99.9% collection efficiency.

You guys are really good!

As for Alli, were you able to break the curse?

You make it sound like a curse.

She has been possessed by the black Santorinian shield, and we have no diplomatic ties with them to remove it.

Her mother made a pact with them a long time ago, and they took the girl as collateral by "cursing" her.

Alli came from a highborn family and was the victim of a secret deal between her mother and the Santorinians. They gave her everything for a successful career, but took her soul in exchange.

The girl grew up aggressive and unruly. She became the leader of the "monkey" girls' club. Her character was unpredictable and she often turned from a beautiful girl into an ugly "monkey".

Modern medicine did everything possible, but could not help. Everyone blamed Gamperson's law, according to which the probability of getting the desired result depends on the strength of desire.