Stephanie is too scared to speak and freezes, bracing for her hypnosis, though it never comes.
“Woman, I will spare you on one condition: listen to every word I say.”
“I w-will! I will!”
The man nods and begins to talk. He discusses his pendulum, the Pendulum of Reality, and how it works: when swung it instantly entrances, and when a hypnotic suggestion is offered and repeated, it becomes truth, thus altering reality to correspond to that truth. He says the only way to remain unaffected by the pendulum’s powers are to be the wielder and to be entranced but not spoken to (though one could simply suggest “you change with reality” to negate this, or speak to both entranced people). Aside from that one caveat, the pendulum’s rules are unchanging. The man, named Kurt, was an archeologist who found it deep in a secret temple temple of a lush South American jungle and has been using it solely for his own erotic fantasies. He believes it came from aliens.
“Do you understand?” He asks Stephanie, who he has by now learned the name of.
“Yes I do...” she answers, frightened.
“Do you believe me?”
Stephanie doesn’t hesitate. “Yes, but...why did you tell me this?”
“I wanted someone to listen, and you are a perfect candidate: fearful, a creation of the pendulum, and very attractive at the same time.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, your daughter, moments ago, was a random boy. I made her your daughter and your life was altered in such a way that you birthed her. You were a totally different person 5 minutes ago, with a completely different life.”
Stephanie stares in awe. She has a hard time understanding it, but she’s beginning to understand. She has to understand.
“I...I don’t know what to say. I’m just very scared. And what are you going to do now? Please...spare my daughter and husband and I...I will keep this a secret as long as I live.”
Your mother’s pleas are real...not that you would know.