This choice: "I'm not sure the machine will work predictably, it might do something strange." • Go Back...Chapter #8"I'm not sure the machine will work pre... by: CassieG   "I'm really not sure the machine will work predictably," Farley said with a concerned look on his face. "It could swap the two of you back, or, it could swap you both with two other people... or, it might alter you both further. There seems to be something odd in the way the machine is behaving...."
"Odd?" Nina asked, sitting down in front of the table and looking at the disassembled remote. "What do you mean odd my love?" Her voice trembled a bit, concern in her voice mirroring Farley's expression.
"Well, there are two things really.... or, I guess three. The first is that targeting doesn't seem to be controlled well. It let me target you, but instead of the other target being me, it hit Sophia... I think I know why, but I'm not 100% sure. I think it can only accommodate so much difference, and that it would take more power than the machine has to actually swap between a man and a woman. But at this point, that's just a theory."
"Okay," Nina said, trying to get over the strange feeling of watching Sophia move across the room in her body, the different way that she sat and moved.... "That's one, what are the other two?"
"Well, the ripple effect that it's created. Clearly, you have both exchanged bodies, as intended. Well, close to. But the fact that the only people who realize that are the people who were either holding the device, or affected by it.... that is extraordinary. Every piece of empirical evidence suggests that nothing has changed and only our own experiences say otherwise. One could very easily argue that no change occurred at all. That rather than swapping heads, you may have simply swapped memories or bodies entirely." Seeing Nina's furrowed brow, Farley quickly began to back pedal. "Not that I'm saying that's what happened! Just that it is unexpected and strange."
"Oh my gawd," Sophia said from a sofa across the room. "That would be so totally weird though! If I was, like, really your wife and stuff, but I just remembered being a teenage hottie? Like, way beyond strange!"
"Well, um, like I said," Farley spoke up quickly, before Nina had a chance to respond. "That is unlikely. Nina's parents are both from Spain, and dark hair runs in her family. It would be beyond unlikely for a blond haired daughter to be born to them, and we can take that as evidence that a physical transformation has occurred. But, that still leaves the third part..."
"Go on Farley," Nina said, setting a hand on his hand and leaning forward to listen to him.
Farley swallowed visibly, more than a little discomforted by the impressive cleavage that Nina now possessed, on a body that was not only under age, but not truly hers. "Well, um... I built the device to do more than swap heads. It has other features that weren't yet ready for testing.... I'm afraid that if I amp the power enough to swap you two back, it may trigger another feature, unintentionally, having even more chaotic results."
"I see," Nina said, thinking carefully. "What do you think we should do?"
"Well, if I have some time to refine my research, to study the changes and the results, then I could probably undo everything within two or three weeks. A month at the most..."
"A month!" Nina exclaimed. "A whole month? Are you sure you can't just put it back together and give us a zap? I know you're smarter than you give yourself credit for some times and..."
"Nina, wait," Sophia said, standing up from the couch. "I know you really want to get back to normal, and I totally get it. I can totally see Farley checking you out over there, even when he hides it, and that's really me that he's checking out. But what if it doesn't work right? I mean... I feel like I can trust you with my body. And with my life. Like, you'll take good care of it and stuff. But what if his machine misfires again? What if it puts someone else on my body? Someone that doesn't like me? I could wind up pregnant, or fail out of school, or... something really bad. But you won't do that, I just know it! Won't you think about it for a little bit? I promise, I'll take good care of your body, and of Farley. And you can take good care of my body for me.... and when he's sure it will work, he can totally swap us back!"
"Nina," Farley said softly. "It's up to you sweetie. I'll do whatever you'd like...."   indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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