Test Subject

 What luck! Just as I was wondering how to discreetly test my latest, ingenius invention, the perfect test subject happened to board the bus. He was your typical, defiant teenager who had decided that long, greasy hair, spiked accessories, and a liberal usage of eyeliner really stuck it to the man. He trudged to the back of the bus, dumping his bag covered with band buttons in the seat next to him. He was completely oblivious to the world around him, oblivious to me and my wonderful invention.

I swung open the device in my lap and aimed the transmitter at the goth, smiling as a list of attributes ran down the screen. Phase one worked perfectly. Now to put it into action... I decided to start with something subtle. Those unsightly ear gauges would do perfectly. I tapped in my desires and held my breath, trying not to stare as I waited... Then it happened! I stifled a squeal of glee as the large, plastic hoops melted and dripped out of his enlarged ear lobes. The liquid glided effortlessly around his ears and joined above his forehead, forming a standard pair of sunglasses. Meanwhile, his droopy ear lobes rolled back up, tightening and molding until there was no sign he'd ever pierced his ears, let alone stretched them out.

I couldn't believe it, my invention worked! I mean of course it worked, I am a genius after all. But to show such promise in its initial test run? I couldn't hope for any better! That goth brat was entirely unaware as well, even when he reached up to touch the sunglasses, only to adjust their position. He didn't notice a thing!

Of course, that was merely a small test of my invention's abilities. Now for something bigger. I stroked my chin in thought, what would be suitable... That's it! I tapped in my command and this time, the change began almost instantaneously. I watched as his stuffy black shirt and raggardy, torn jeans began to shift. The sleeves of his shirt constricted up his arms, rolling up until they reached his shoulders. Meanwhile his jeans rose upwards to expose his gangly calves and kneecaps. The demin shimmered slightly as the holes patched up and it thinned into a nylon fabric. His shirt lightened in colour, its dreary black fading away as the name of the local college emerged across his chest. I rubbed my palms together in delight. Instead of a moody goth, my subject looked more like a very pale, gym wannabe. But that wasn't enough...

Now for the real tests. Time to start making physical alterations to the test subject himself. So far, it appeared he was none the wiser to my meddling. Whether his mind was also altering to accept these indiscrepancies or he was merely oblivious to a fault, I couldn't tell. At this point, even the threat of exposing myself couldn't stop me. I tapped my options in and held my breath. 

First to go was the sleek, black hair that draped his shoulders and framed his slender face. It shriveled up into his scalp until all that remained was a close buzzcut. Next up was his frightfully pale skin, which darkened and mellowed into a uniform golden tan. His gangly limbs shortened and his head bobbed down as he lost half a foot in height. But what he lost in stature, he more than made up for in the muscle department as his twig-like arms moulded into lean logs, and his calves and thighs bulged with awoken potential. To top it all off, a thin, patchy goatee surrounded his lips. I smiled at my handiwork. There was no denying he looked the part of a typical jock. And with all this change, either my hypothesis was correct or this was the most oblivious person on Earth.

Having so much power over such a simple minded individual was intoxicating. There was one last test I wanted to try. Just what would happen if I were to... I tapped in my desire and waited. His patchy beard thickened up almost immediately, growing to a bold and dense thickeness that covered his lower face and harshened his formerly delicate features. This was followed by more hair sprouting across his upper arms and shoulders to match the hairs currently sweeping across his bare chest.  His agile, athletic body thickened up considerably, his arms pumping to proportions that would take years to achieve. His stunted height rose slightly as his ass rounded into a beautiful bubble butt, his thighs growing to the point his nylon shorts looked ready to burst, not helped by the bulge that adorned the front of them. His pecs pushed out into beautiful globes that balanced atop the slight bulge of his taut belly, thick with muscle. All this testosterone pumping through his body lead to the shadow of his buzzcut to sweep backwards in one fluid motion, leaving him truly bald. As his beard acquired some grey hairs and his youthful features began to turn rugged in the sunlight, he finally stopped changing. 

I couldn't believe my eyes as I stared at the hulking muscle bear ahead of me. I had to pry my eyes away, lest I drew attention to myself... But who knew a simple command as doubling someone's age could lead to such drastic effects? There was no trace of the former goth left. In his place was a buff, hairy, bald man in his mid thirties. With his tight fitting clothes and duffle bag slumped in the chair to his side, he looked like he was heading for or returning from a well deserved work-out. Of course, I knew the truth. But what a fine illusion I had conjured up. I must jot down my findings immediately!

I closed my device and propped my handy journal on top, making sure to capture every detail while it was fresh in my mind. However, I'm ashamed to say I let myself get a bit too distracted. It wasn't until I felt the the bus slow down to a halt that I realised my mistake. 

I glanced up and gulped. My test subject had vanished! I spun my head round just in time to see the brutish man step out of the opening doors, calling out a thank you to the driver in a gritty bass of a voice. I scrambled with my device to set it up, but it was too late. As the bus pulled away, I watched as the man slipped his sunglasses down from his enlarged forehead, slung his bag over one shoulder, and walked away.

This had dire implications for my invention, of course. I hadn't planned on leaving him utterly changed, even if his new form was far more desirable. Who knew what sort of havoc could come from this... Yet even as he left, he didn't have the stance of a cowardly, timid teen struck with the knowledge that his whole life had changed. He held the presence of a confident, powerful man who knew exactly who he was.

Perhaps my invention was more powerful than I predicted. If it could alter a person's mind, memory, their entire level of reality... It was almost too frightening to contemplate! Maybe I should think about installing a tracker of sorts... Ah! Enough of the man that got away. It appears another test subject has boarded. An obese man who looked one greasy hamburger away from a fatal heart attack squeezed through the aisle and plopped down right where the muscle man once sat. A smile crossed my lips as I opened my device once again.