Brad yawned, stretched, and pushed aside his upgraded shrink ray. The physics professor usually tinkered with his personal prototype whenever other professional and personal duties didn't demand his attention elsewhere.
He looked at the time and decided to get his mail. He needed to work out some tightness from sitting so long at his workstation. The 39-year-old LatinX man put on some sandals and walked out the front door of his home and down a flight of steps to his mailbox at the curb.
He glanced right to the adjacent yard and saw his neighbor working in his garden. "Morning, Russ," Brad called out.
Russ looked away from his tomatoes and laughed. "It's afternoon now, but no biggie."
Brad blushed. He must have lost all track of time. "Just getting the mail," he said, without much relevance, and continued to the mailbox.
He pulled some bills, advertising inserts and a small package from the box. Russ had returned to his gardening, so Brad made it back into the house without interruption, and without noticing the labeling on the package.
Only when he stopped in the kitchen to sort the mail did he see the logo of TransDem Labs. He knew many of the individuals in the Trans Dem research and development department. He had even gotten a few job offers from TransDem.
Curious now, he opened the package and removed a sleek and fascinating device.
A booklet of instructions for... "Chronivac 4.0," Brad whispered.
He began to browse the booklet and, as he did so, his eyes widened. Could this be the real deal?
As Brad began to realize the potential of the device in his hands, he grew very tempted to try out the device.