Today was the day, and Jacob was beyond excited. He had, of course, neglected to tell his parents and elders where he was going and what he was doing today, as had all of the other teens that he had introduced to the masked man in white and red. After all, his parents and the elders of the community would no doubt throw a petulant, childish hissy fit if they knew that anyone was inviting their precious children (whom they were obviously hoping would stay naïve and docile) to a political/ social debate.

Thankfully, the current President had at least somewhat obeyed the people who voted him in. Ironically, after the catastrophe that happened during the last president’s tenure, the electoral system had to be heavily reworked and, unfortunately for the powers that be, that allowed for a so-called ‘man of the people’ to be elected.

Of course, there were still interests involved that neutered a lot of the attempted reforms, but Jacob was sure that wasn’t actually the case. He and so many others of his generation were positive that the current president was in the pocket of those groups, and all that he had achieved was merely a show. After all, when the next president came around, all of the minor changes would be undone one the same day.

So, while he had a day off, he wanted to make the most of it. He and his close friends of his gathered together and then broke apart. They each would take different routes to reach the place where the debate would be held, all to make sure that their nosy elders wouldn’t be able to trail them. They had spent enough time out here that they knew how to lose a tail, and while none of them knew whether they had one or not right now, they assumed that they did. The elders were too determined to see them return to the soul-crushing ways before the reforms to not notice that he and his fellow teens wanted radical change.

The gang split up as soon as it gathered, and Jacob took a winding path that led through places that no adult could easily pass through. He was sure that he was being followed by something or someone, but he never could catch a glimpse of whatever apparently had eyes on him. He just felt like he had eyes on him, but there was never anyone around who seemed to be watching.

Anyway, he was about to run late, so he made a break for it and managed to reach the location just before the doors closed. The eyes that had been on him seemed to have lost him before he got here, so that was a positive. Jacob wondered what exactly the debate would be like, but at least the food and drink would be good if you went by the smell alone.

…

Vaile had set all of this up. He had sent a few birds to watch the disaffected people as they made their way to the hall, using his ability to see through the eyes of entities who allowed it to give each and every attendee the feeling that they were being watched and followed. It was a bit of a gamble, one that would hopefully make the affected people believe that they were being stalked and that this cult that they were being introduced to was the only place where they could feel safe and surrounded by like-minded individuals.

If his gamble paid off, the people attending would believe that there was a conspiracy to try and stamp out their desire for change. All they needed to do was to speak up about the feeling, and from there the dominoes would begin to fall. A single person going to a clandestine meeting feeling like they were watched did not a conspiracy make, but if all of them had the sensation of somebody stalking them up to a certain point, then the only real answer for such a coincidence would be that there are people trying to catch them in the act.

Cults thrived off of paranoia and the ingrained belief that everyone not a part of the cult was both out to get you and trying to destroy a hidden but perfect truth. This would be the test that would shape how the operation would continue from now on, he just needed someone to speak up. It didn’t take long before one of the attendees did voice their feeling, and this caused the chain reaction that Vaile had been looking for.

The snowball of anxiety and paranoia began to roll, and now Vaile just needed the third part of today’s plot to take center stage. It would not take long after that before the wheels would begin to turn ever faster, and from there the pieces would fall into place. Sure, a few people would slip through and fall away, but once a cult got its recruitment rolling and had enough people in it, the number would only begin to grow from there. As the ‘religion’ grew in size and power, it would begin to attract more people, which in turn would add more power and reach to the cult, which would in turn, well, you know.

He waited as the paranoia began to reach a fever pitch, and then he struck.

“Everyone, everyone!” he said with a voice commanding attention. “I hear what you’ve been saying, and I must thank you for bringing this to our attention.”

Vaile paused for effect with his whole body positioned in such a way that it gave off clear feelings of concern for the people in front of him.

“As I am sure you are aware, there are those who think that men and women of greater intelligence and observational ability such as yourselves should simply obey the original status quo. We all know people who think that things should be as they were prior to today, that change should not be implemented, that people like you should be held down and prevented from being all that you were meant to be.”

Vaile walked up to someone and put a hand on their shoulder and acted like he was an old friend, which was a traditional method by which a cult would groom a potential new member. Two of the best ways to bring someone into a cult were to either ‘Love Bomb’ them and/ or convince them that they were special and that only the cult could help them unleash their true potential. This was the case for any cult, for when everyone else doesn’t seem to see the potential greatness that the cult sees, and when the cult showers you with affection, why would you not want to join?

A typical cult made full use of the tribalistic nature of their quarry to draw them into the ‘tribe’, and from there the tribalistic nature would prevent the new member from easily escaping. When a cult had its claws deep into someone, the cult would become everything for them; their family, their friends, their community, their life. Nothing outside the cult mattered, no one outside the cult mattered. And when that point of a member’s initiation was reached, well, there was little chance of them breaking free without some major intervention.

“Now, despite the trouble that such people wish to cause true prodigies like yourselves, why don’t we talk together about how to overcome the limits that these… people try to impose upon truly gifted individuals?”

Vaile watched as his charisma score and the basic template for cult recruitment began to work their magic. A smile once again formed on his face from beneath the mask, and while those attending only saw the faint impression of someone who was smiling because he was glad that they were safe, the truth was obviously far from what they envisioned. There was no camaraderie in Vaile’s smile; just the face of a man who was glad that the template that the current Spider Cult could follow had turned out to be such a success.