James watched his son head back to his room with a frown. The two of them had a rough time these last few years, losing first his wife then his other son. He had to remind himself it was just as rough if not harder on Andrew.
He pulled out Luke's desk chair and sat, only then noticing the computer was on. Had Andrew been checking for something on his brother's computer? He turned the monitor on and was greeted by a program already running. "Chronivac?" He muttered to himself. There was only one option up, which was to scan, so he clicked it. A moment later a fully 3-D model of himself appeared on the computer screen. A fully naked model.
"What sort of weird program is this?" He thought to himself as he looked over the stats that listed his every attribute in excruciating detail. He even frowned at the slight paunch around his mid-section the model showed. Sure, he had been having trouble going to the gym these last few months, it was something he used to do with his sons and now it felt.. off.
Then he noticed he could change things on himself. Idly he shifted his age back to twenty, watching with a bit of surprised as the model reversed in age back to a perfect image of what he remembered looking like at that age. Almost identical to Luke, but a bit furrier. He tried to think of what it was like being that age, going through what Andrew was.
Without thinking, or know what he was doing, he clicked to confirm the changes, just wanting to shut down the program he didn't even read the screen on altering reality before clicking through. It felt like the world was spinning as he stood up. His suit jacket disappeared along with his tie, and his work shoes. The buttons on his shirt disappeared as the front melded together, the sleeves disappearing and collar lowering as his oxford shirt became a tank top.
Muscle that had started to become a little soft with age as he neared his fifties suddenly firmed up again, the layer of fat that had formed over his muscles melting away, his shirt getting looser in the stomach as his gut suddenly retracted. The legs on his dress pants shortened up to his knees as the fabric turned from fine wool to nylon mesh shorts.
What was going on? He grabbed the edge of the desk as the world seemed to lurch around him again, then settle. He looked down at his body in surprise, lifting his shirt to reveal a hard six pack covered in a neatly groomed layer of blond fur. He hadn't been able to keep a six pack since his thirties. But memories were flooding into his head. He was only twenty, a far cry from anywhere in his thirties.
He stumbled a little as he went over to the dresser to peer into the mirror there, going wide-eyed as a face he hadn't seen in thirty years stared back at him. All the lines and wrinkles were gone, his once bushy beard was trimmed short and neat like Andrew's. He moved to the bedroom door. His bedroom door his brain now told him. Peeking out. Something must have caught Andrew's attention because he was suddenly standing in the doorway across the hall.
"You alright, bro?" Andrew said, sounding concerned.
Bro. Right. Andrew and him were twins. No, Luke.. who was Luke? He shook his head again. No, he was in Luke's bedroom in his house. No, he was in his bedroom in the two bedroom apartment him and his twin brother shared while going to college. He could remember both, but the memories of being a twenty year old were stronger, overwriting his old memories unless he concentrated on them hard.
"Let's get you some water." Jim felt Andrew take him by the shoulders to guide him towards the kitchen. "I think you need to sit down."