There I sat in my home office, staring at the computer screen, trying to decide which of my Spotify playlists would best match my mood. Did I feel like listening to rap? Rock n’ roll? Nah, neither of those genres tickled my fancy. Ah, but how about some techno? Yes, please. My heart raced, and my hands quivered. What an excellent idea. I pressed the start button, cranked up the volume and stood up.

Not even 20 seconds into the first song, the techno gods took control of me. They seized my body and forced me to move in ways I never thought possible. I threw my arms up in the air, rolled my hips and shuffled my feet in rhythm with the music – and there was no stopping me. As Steve Martin once said, “Uh oh, I’m getting happy feet… When it happens, I have no control over it!” My eyes widened, my jaw dropped. I couldn’t believe my body’s movements could flow so effortlessly.

The beats grew louder and louder, without me touching the volume. It seemed the techno gods not only ruled my body, but my mind too. I could no longer think on my own. The beats replaced my thoughts. I was in a trance, a techno trance.

I felt sweat dripping down my forehead. The feeling brought me back to reality, though only slightly. I laughed, and the techno gods laughed too, knowing full well that I was their puppet. They had all of the power. I started to wonder. What if I am stuck in this techno trance forever? What if the gods never release me from their control? I shook my head and laughed even louder. Living the remaining part of my life in a techno trance would make me the luckiest person on earth.

The beats grew louder once again, replacing my thoughts. The techno gods were still very much alive inside of me. I jumped up on my desk and gyrated every inch of my body. I remained in a trance for what seemed like forever before I heard a different beat, something unlike the blaring techno. There was no rhythm to it. What could it be?

Finally able to collect my thoughts, I realized my friend was knocking on my door. No, not knocking, but pounding. I stopped dead in my tracks and just stood there, trying to comprehend what just happened. My friend’s continuous pounding pulled me out of my funk. Still breathing heavily, profusely sweating, I jumped down from my desk and turned off the reality-threatening techno. I answered the door and greeted my friend. The trance had officially been broken, the techno gods had fled… only to return again the next day.