Simon's breath caught in his throat as the now teenage Jay stirred somewhat in his sleep. His much larger, muscular body filled a lot more of the couch that it did previously. Simon briefly worried his friend would fall off and wake up, and Simon wasn't ready to explain to his friend why he had suddenly aged into a rather sizable teenager.
In a moment of panic Simon thought about turning his friend back, hiding the remote Chronivac and pretending this never happened.
But it did happen. Here Jay was, old enough to be a high school sophomore, sleeping on the couch. Simon knew he wouldn't get this opportunity again anytime soon.
He glanced over at Bryan, to make sure he was asleep, then turned back to the remote device. Looking over the settings, he saw many opportunities for changes, but one setting caught his eye. There was a little option simply titled "ARF - Altered Reality Field." And, unlike most of the options, this one had an option for more information.
"The Chronivac 4.0 is capable of folding space and time," read the description. "Using this technology, the user can generate an ARF, or Altered Reality Field. This creates a pocket reality of time and space separate from the user's normal reality. This ARF's properties are under the complete control of the Chronivac device. The ARF is useful for testing world-changing reality alterations or study a subject's long-term changes in a condensed time field. The Chronivac user may enter any subjects within range of the device into the ARF. Any changes the subjects undergo in the ARF may not transfer when the subject returns to normal reality. WARNING: The Altered Reality Field is experimental technology. Should you have any issues as a result of use of the ARF, please consult a TransDem representative."
Folding of space and time? Pocket realities? Condensed time fields? Every other word flew right over Simon's head. But, he thought he understood the gist of it. It would let him make a fake reality that his Chronivac could control. It wouldn't hurt to try it, at least. He selected the option.
"Choose subjects to enter ARF," requested a message prompt. There he saw the names of himself, Jay, and Bryan. He selected all three.
"One or more subjects has undergone changes via the Chronivac device. Shall the changes be integrated into the ARF's new reality?" Simon selected yes.
"Generating ARF. Please wait..."
The remote device began to hum and vibrate. Simon quickly stuffed it under his shirt to try and silence the sound. He felt a strange pickling sensation over his body. He also felt an odd lightness to his body, as though gravity didn't affect him as strongly as it did before. The room around him distorted, as though he were looking at the world through a very strong fish-eye lens.
The world suddenly snapped back into focus. Simon pulled the remote device back form out under his shirt. It had ceased its humming and vibrating.
"ARF successfully generated. 3 subjects currently in field," read a new message.
On screen were now dozens of new settings, including rate of time passage, time of day, global awareness, and much more.
Looking up from the screen, the world around him looked the same as before. They still seemed to be in his parents' finished basement. Simon could see Bryan was still sleeping on the ground where he'd been before, and there was Jay, still a 16-year-old, on the couch.
Then Simon noticed Jay's clothes weren't torn to bits anymore. He was wearing a sleeveless white tee that hugged his muscles, as well as a pair of gym shorts. His new beard had been trimmed, leaving him with just a soul patch and some chin scruff.
A thought popped into Simon's head. No, a memory. Jay was a high school sophomore. He was staying with Simon's parents while his own were out of town. Bryan came over and the three of them had a sleepover. Despite being three to four years older than Simon and Bryan they were all still good friends.
So, that's what an ARF was...