Still reeling from the Chronivac's latest changes, Josh lifted his upper body off the floor, using both his elbows, then both his hands, to prop himself up. He then groggily called out "Jerry...Jeremy...bro...?"
But just as quickly, he felt his upper body slowly falling back to to the ground. Instinctively, he managed to stop himself, catching himself in a reclined position. Slowly coming to, he asked himself "How...how did I..."
Josh nervously turned and looked to his right, to where his twin brother used to be. Instead of Jerry's head, he saw two shoulders, one behind the other...with a fully-formed right arm attached to each. Following what was now his right side with his front right hand, Josh then saw a fully-formed right leg attached, and leaning forward, he felt under the tattered remains of his shorts and underwear and found a complete set of male genitalia.
Josh slowly staggered to his feet, having seemingly been used to having only half a body. He stood there for a moment, allowing himself to fully acclimate to his new state of being, the remains of his shorts and underwear leaving him completely naked as they slid down his left leg to the floor. He then surveyed the room for his twin, finding only the other half of their ruined clothing.
Collapsing into the nearby chair, Josh then leaned forward and buried his face in his front hands, his rear arms crossed across his naked lap. Moments earlier, he had wished that he and Jerry were no longer conjoined: now it felt as if he had blindly ordered a part of himself to be cut away and wiped from all existence.
Turning to the still-running Chronivac program, Josh, his fears growing, asked "Wizard...where's Jeremy? Where's my twin brother Jeremy?"
"In your anger," the program wizard replied, "...you wanted to be rid of your twin Jeremy."
Josh's heart sank. "Did you...did...I..."
"'...Delete Jeremy from existence completely?' No." the program wizard replied. "As per the most recent agreement between you and your twin before your separation, any and all future alterations made to yourselves could only add or change something, but never subtract anything. In accordance with that agreement, I took the liberty of disabling the 'delete' function indefinitely."
"So Jeremy's..." Josh asked, clearly anxious to know where his twin was.
"'Still alive?' Indeed." the program wizard replied. "A bit distraught from your argument earlier, but still very much alive and well."
Josh breathed a deep sigh of relief, thankful that he hadn't ended a life that he, albeit inadvertently, brought into the world. He than turned to the laptop and asked "Do he and I...have the same body layout?"
"Indeed." the program wizard replied.
Josh's updated organ distribution list reappeared on screen:
List & Distribution of Organs for Joshua Platte:
1 head
1 spine
1 spinal cord
4 arms (one pair set behind the other on separate shoulder joints; all four arms and shoulders fully capable of moving independently of one another)
1 ribcage with sternum
2 nipples (both nonfunctional)
1 heart
2 lungs
1 diaphragm
1 stomach
1 gallbladder
1 liver
1 small intestine
1 large intestine (one colon)
1 navel
4 kidneys: 2 left, 2 right
1 bladder
1 set of reproductive organs
1 sacrum
1 pelvis
2 legs
Alongside it appeared the updated organ distribution list for his twin:
List & Distribution of Organs for Jeremy Platte:
1 head
1 spine
1 spinal cord
4 arms (one pair set behind the other on separate shoulder joints; all four arms and shoulders fully capable of moving independently of one another)
1 ribcage with sternum
2 nipples (both nonfunctional)
1 heart
2 lungs
1 diaphragm
1 stomach
1 gallbladder
1 liver
1 small intestine
1 large intestine (one colon)
1 navel
4 kidneys: 2 left, 2 right
1 bladder
1 set of reproductive organs
1 sacrum
1 pelvis
2 legs
Josh again placed both front hands in front of his mouth, seemingly as if he were on the verge of crying. Even if he and Jerry never wanted to be conjoined twins ever again, it was clear that both boys would go on to live healthy, productive lives - though not necessarily normal ones, given their decidedly unique anatomy. But a part of him fervently wanted to be re-conjoined with his twin, to have the both of them share the same body, the same life, the same future - even if it would always be one of perpetual cooperation and compromise.
Either way, all Josh wanted to do was to find his twin...and wrap all four of his arms around him in the biggest hug he could give.
"Thank you, Wizard." Josh said gratefully. "But...where is..."