Ellie followed one Jess to the back of the store, while the second Jess went back to the cash register at the front. Ellie's basket was full of snack food for the study group and her other hand held onto a bag of Hydra pretzels.
Jess, the clerk working the evening with 2 bodies spoke apologetically, "I know, I'm supposed to remember how much it costs, but I just never can. Plus it's not like we sell a lot of copies. People generally aren't too comfortable with the idea, and everyone who loves it already has a bunch of copies."
She motioned with both right arms towards a metal portion of the wall. Mounted on it were a couple of TV screens with product info on them, and 3 opaque rounded rotating doors protruding from the wall. In the center of the metal portion there was a touch-screen terminal. "Right, here it is. The copier. Weird, right?"
Ellie stepped over and looked at the info on the screens. One screen played an add showing a young woman entering the machine, it blinking, and a second later two of the woman exiting from the other doors. The other screen listed the available services:
Copied Body (Temporary 24 hr) x1 $20
Copied Body (Temporary 72 hr) x1 $40
Copied Body (Permanent) x1 $100
Copy Disposal $5
Separate Consciousness Upgrade $300
Consciousness Merge (Single base) $50
Soulbond $300
Clothing Replication Power $300
"Huh. That's... surprisingly mundane. I thought it would be like a magic box with a wand or something." Ellie tilted her head and touched the metal. It felt cool, solid, and slightly rough on her fingertips, exactly like metal should. She studied the prices for a minute, carefully reading every entry.
"That's... a lot cheaper than I thought it would be. Like.. wow. I thought getting copied would cost some crazy amount like tens of thousands of dollars at the cheapest. But this is... hell, I could actually afford this."
"Yeah, it's very affordable. Wanna try it?"
"Uh... I dunno. I mean I'm already late for study group and uh..." Ellie stepped away from the machine and rubbed the back of her neck nervously. Butterflies swarmed her stomach at the possibility of experiencing what looked like real magic firsthand. She was both eager and terrified.
Jess grinned and stepped over to the machine and poked the touch screen a couple times. A door swung open, revealing a small nook just big enough for her to stand in. She stepped in, looked right at Ellie and winked. "Be right back"
The door slid shut past her. A brief glow passed out from the edges, then it slid open again. "And there we go! In about an hour, I'll have another body. Well, a temporary one."
Ellie peeked past Jill into the nook as the door closed, but was unable to discern any visible hole, scanning source, or anything other than the smooth curved metal wall. "Wait, you just copied yourself?"
"Started the copy, yeah. The scan is effectively instant. Then you come back in an hour and the copy will be ready." Jess playfully tapped on the machine with two of her arms, clearly affectionate of its capabilities.
"What happens when the timer on a temporary uh... copy I guess.. when it runs out?"
"Oh, it'll wait until you're at a safe place and environment, then the copy will evaporate. Just poof. One second it's there, the next it's gone. But it's nice and smart and won't do that if it would endanger you or someone else."
"And I don't need to stay here? I could say... scan and run, then come back later tonight?"
"Sure! A temporary copy to start?" Ellie nodded to the clerk. "Yeah, thought so. Would be a bit heavy handed to start with the permanent stuff. If you scan now, you can come back any time in the next 2 days to pick up the copy. The copy timer won't start until you pick up your copy."
The possibility tempted Ellie. Enough that she decided on an impulse, "Okay, you convinced me."
Jess grinned and reached for Ellie's basket. "I can get you scanned up and checked out at the register back here while you get your copy setup. Oh, did you want to try the pretzels?"
Ellie released the basket to Jess, and handed the bag of Hydra pretzels over. "Sure, why not." Jess walked off to a nearby cash register and started to scan the items. Meanwhile, Ellie poked the touch screen to select the parameters of her copy.
She selected a Temporary Copy with a duration of 3 days. When she selected the temporary option, the other upgrades and options greyed out with a message that they were only available on permanent copies. The machine asked for her card, and after she inserted it, opened the same door Jess had stood in. Ellie stepped into the small nook and was surprised by how quickly the door closed past her.
A glow permeated the air for half a second, then the door swung open.
Somewhat underwhelmed, Ellie stepped out and retrieved her card and a receipt from the machine. The receipt had a timer printed at the bottom showing how long until her copy would be ready. It changed as she watched it - the ink moved to always show the correct remaining time.
Jess waved Ellie over to the cash register where she had rung up all of Ellie's food. Ellie automatically handed over her card over and carefully pocketed her receipt from the copier. "That was not what I expected at all."
Jess nodded, "I had the same reaction first time I used it. It's not flashy at all. By the way, your friends are looking for you up at the front."
"Oh crap. They hate when I make them wait. Uh... did they buy anything uhm, magic?"
"Naw. The punky one almost did but she didn't like the brand. Neither of them seemed to notice my arms either. Sometimes people are just too preoccupied to notice the magic."
"Okay. Thanks Jess. I'll see you in class!"
Ellie grabbed her bags and rushed up to the front of the store. There, Carrie and Tina were waiting for her, next to the Jess behind the counter.
Tina, in true Tina fashion, was freaking out over their impending lateness. "Come on, let's get going already! You get the food Ellie?"
"Yeah. Sorry, got distracted. I knew the girl who was stocking in my aisle." As Ellie spoke, she saw a smile creep onto the lips of the Jess at the cash register.
Carrie sniggered and walked out the store towards the truck, "We saw. Get her number? Should I not wait up tonight?"
Ellie rushed after her girlfriend and blushed a deep crimson, "Hey, it's not like that..."