"The Reward" by Bill Green (wgreen@netcom.com). I usually prefer to wait until multi-chapter stories are finished before posting my review. This author asked for a review now rather than later. Since this is an excellent story, the author deserves a Reward; and so here is the review.

Until now, my favorite mind control story was Backrub's "Wet Dreams," which I ranked as the Number 43 story of 1995. This story is even better. To be honest, I HAVE enjoyed other mind control stories, but in the back of my mind I always get the feeling that they are simplistic. That is, they suggest that a college sophomore can read a book on hypnosis and thereafter have his way with any woman he wants. This one is different; it is genuine science fiction. The Power goes beyond mind control; the explanation for the power sounds like it's based on an esoteric application of quantum physics. The beginning of the story delineates the rules that the recipient of the power must follow. The results are delightful!

The hero accidentally releases from captivity a mysterious being and is rewarded by the Power to control thoughts and actions within a restricted range. He initially tries the Reward out on his spoiled-brat step-sister with remarkable success. Then he tries it out with a traveling companion during a two-hour plane flight. As he uses his power, he learns about his Reward and modifies his guidelines for using it. I can't wait to see the next chapters!

I suspect that the author is a person with some background in computer programs. His instructions to the Power appear to be mini-scripts containing commands that typically might become computer programs in a language like C++. However, this is not C++. It's easily an A.

My only problem with this story (and it's not a significant one) is that the narrator's fantasies often do not correspond with my own. All that means, however, is that if you get off on the idea of fantasizing about a woman with basketball-size breasts dressed only in corset and a set of leather boots with six-inch stiletto heals, you'll probably enjoy the story even more than I did.