David's POV 8:01 Day 3
My eyes shot open and I knew morning had come. "This is what an android must feel like." I mused. "Powering off and on in the blink of an eye." my voice sounded much the same, maybe a little deeper from sleep.
I swung my feet off the table and my my gown didn't follow my legs. "I think my calf is over half the size of my face" I marveled, my brain is still trying to reconcile the height and weight change from yesterday...
I slid off the table with a loud thump, feeling disorientation similar to yesterday. I bent my knees a couple times, making sure I wouldn't fall, It was a foreign sensation to get feel the muscles under my skin move. "Huh..." I bounced a couple of times using my tippie toes to propel myself into the air a couple inches, feeling the different parts of my body jiggle as I hit the ground. Chest, legs, stomach, sides, I could feel them all, even my cheeks. I laughed a little at the sensation
"I'm acting weird." I said to myself playfully... "Sally! Are you drugging me so I don't Freak OUT and have another... EPISODE like yesterday???" I screamed angrily into the empty room then burst out laughing.
I moved to the bathroom, after shedding a couple tears from the preposterous idea. I was prepared to have gained more weight. what I wasn't prepared for was that I would be bald again. "Really?" I asked a little disappointed. The cool part of it was that despite being bald I had beard shadow. "AwesomeSauce!" I giggled to my reflection.
I'm probably a little bit taller than I was yesterday but most of the change is in my weight, I was much more muscular but no longer had abs. No worries though I can get them back after this. I laughed at nothing a little more.
I took a step back from the mirror and noticed that the extra weight made me look a decade older or more... The extra weight made my neck and head square giving me the look of a 35 year old suburban dad. I stepped closer and made a number of faces. I could feel my face was fatter. I didn't have any wrinkles, on the contrary my skin was unblemished and youthful.
Maybe putting it all together you might assume I'm a beefy yet out of shape 25 year old? Maybe I was a football player in highschool and college and haven't gotten my appetite down to match my lower activity levels?
I looked like a dad but not my dad. My build was now similar to what his used to be but I still looked young and my facial features like eye color and nose were still my own. It was a relief on some level that Sally's hormone manipulation bull shit couldn't mess with. "The aging process is weird!" I blurted out laughing but less maniacally.
I got a large shirt from the closet and put it on my modest belly straining against it... "So now i'm an XL" I sighed grabbing the size XL shirt and feeling like I was swimming in a sea of cloth. I grabbed the watch from the table where I placed it and put it on, it was still a bit loose but I could no longer twist it to make it flip around like I could yesterday.
I went to breakfast feeling less ravenous than usual though my serving was still huge, 8 eggs with american cheese, hash browns, sausage and rather than the black water they offered me coffee which I didn't pass up!
While I was eating my food I felt the light hand of a woman on my shoulder, Confused, I swallowed then turned only to find the ugliest person I ever laid eyes upon. They were shorter than an average adult, and their frame was thin and undeveloped. There was no breasts or body hair. Their skin was hanging from their bones, excess sagging and jiggling flaps of flesh clung in masses to its body. The flesh itself looked wrinkled, and old with clear signs of sun damage and years of exposure. I may have gasped in horror, which may have come out sounding like a gasp of disgust.
"Good morning son", the creature said flatly as it set its oatmeal and lemon bar down on the table, taking a seat. Its voice sounded childish, which matched its frame.
"No way... Dad?" I asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, its me." he said, clearly perturbed that he couldn't be mistaken for handsome by any stretch of the imagination.
"Well, your weight loss shows, that has to count for something." He glared daggers and I just kept eating. That was for that 'they grow up so quick' comment yesterday and it was totally worth it.
We ate in silence until Dr. Markle appeared. "How long until this is fixed?" Dad immediately asked with a slight hint of panic.
"Not to worry. you no doubt have noticed, that with your proportion adjustments nearly complete, the last major visible changes left would be your skin and hair. Yesterday the hair accelerant was activated as a visible test to verify the DNA transfer was effective but as you noticed more work is yet to be done. It will be reactivated after today's break from routine. To expedite the final physical changes, we have a special activity for you today. Meet me in the west wing when you're ready."
"I'm actually good as I am. Mind if I skip this one?" I asked... half jokingly.
"I'm afraid I would mind terribly Frank, sending you home looking 20-30 years younger would violate the confidential nature of the work being done. And you do recall agreeing to keep it confidential don't you." Dr. Markle said with a cold smile.
Being called by my dad's first name stung but it felt infinitely harder to refute than two days ago. I smiled saying, "I guess so." and finished my coffee.
As we followed Dr. Markle to the west wing we were greeted with two person sized tankards of black water, Dad and I exchanged glances.
"Vince, would you explain, I'd like to review the diagnostics" Dr. Markle said. He was an older man in his late 20s or early 30s came up, He had a thin frame and his dark hair made a clear line which it did not cross, giving significant ground to his forehead.
"Hi guys," he said with a smile, "Today is going to be really simple, and really fast. We are going to need you to climb into the vats, that bar is going to come down from the ceiling into the water, you will grab onto it hold your breath and go under the water for 30 or so seconds." Vince paused for questions. "While you are under water, holding the bar, a current will draw the nanobots to you through your skin. it may sting but I assure you, it will only be temporary. Don't let go of the rod and do not come out of the water or the procedure will need to be reproduced. This is the best way to infuse your skin, Intravenously and ingestion is great for your insides however..." he gave a weird smile and just walked off. All I could think about was how glad I was that dad had a full head of hair.
We both understood and followed. With a strange disconnect from normality we both undressed easily and got into the vats. It was a very strange "I may have this body, but its not my body, so I don't care if you judge it." feeling.
As expected metal rods descended and I actually had to use the rod to keep myself under the water. I'm guessing its due to me now being fat and fat's buoyancy, maybe the nano particles increasing the water's density, maybe both.
I kept my eyes closed and a second later I could feel a buzzing, there was a heavy click and a tingling on my skin that rapidly intensified to the point of beginning to hurt, and then it was done. I stayed under for a few more seconds just to make sure, and then I came up for air.
"Congratulations, you both succeeded." Vince said.
"Sting is a little bit of an understatement." I said, a little annoyed that I wasn't properly prepared.
"My apologies. its hard for us to gauge what your experience will be. For anyone else this process would have been excruciating and their body would be going into shock. The top several hundred layers of skin had trillions of particles force their way into them in the matter of a few seconds. This includes the nerve cells that make your nerve endings. each one fired that it was in distress nearly simultaneously. Sally blocked most of your pain receptors and some of the signals but some got through. You may exit the vats and relax the rest of the day."
I realized as soon as I let go of the bar that I could see through the water now, and my skin is black. Looking at dad's vat there was a black blur swimming in slightly cloudy water.
Dr Markle gathered us after we had put our clothes back on. "The discoloration will fade soon, This process will make your skin and hair more closely resemble what the other looked like when you arrived. This is actually significantly more complex than simply replacing your DNA. Each cell is attached to a number of other cells and structures. You may find it of interest, but biologically, you are both around the same age. Structurally David is a man in his late forties, Cellularly so is Frank, and the opposite is true as well, which makes you both around thirty. This next phase will be an arduous task of truly capturing the essence of another being and transferring it. Today has nothing more scheduled, you may read, write, play games or otherwise do as you please. Tomorrow will be much more involved so enjoy your time off."
With that he left us to our own devices. We meandered about more or less at a loss, They had taken our phones during the first night and refused to return them the next morning citing security clauses, I opted to spend some time in the gym both enjoying my new strength and getting a head start on the new workout regimen I had committed my dad's body to. I realized that I would gain a ton of fat overnight to complete the physical transformation but maybe I could prime the muscles to grow and make them ready to consume Dad's excess fat.
At lunch most of our black water infused skin had returned to normal and we were just beginning to regrow our hair. Come dinner the effects of the procedure left my hairs turning white, and Dad's was all brown at the base, additionally his skin was clearly tightening. Close inspection in the bathroom showed when I raised my eyebrows my forehead wrinkled. I don't recall that being the case before, is that normal for a 14 year old?
Before bed I looked closely at the beard I was now growing, Most of it and much of my hair was now coming in gray or white at the base interspersed with black strands. The tips were all black from the time before this mornings process aged my hair. I felt something, very strongly, but I couldn't tell what. I know I am disappointed to say good-bye to my 20's 30's and most of my 40's. Even thinking about that is exhausting or maybe the right word is depressing? Suddenly becoming over 3x my age is soul crushing. I am sure I don't want to gain the last 35 pounds tonight which I am sure will all be fat... Despite all this, I also know I am excited to try beer and wine, drive, and boss Lucas around. We only have 2 and a half weeks left and I haven't begun learning any of the things dad knows, It will be quite a challenge impersonating him, but I am a little excited about it. I just hope I'll be able to remember everything....