Jeff's mind lingered on memories of that day he had dressed up as a bull at school for Halloween. Reflecting, Jeff realized part of him was envious of their lax lifestyle and lack of responsibility, hence his curiosity. Sally and the Chronivac had offered Jeff the chance to satisfy that interest… this time, without anyone making fun of his costume. The thoughts about having a big bull's cock, or even an udder, turned him on.
“I think I want to be a cow,” Jeff admitted. "Don't get me wrong, Sally, I love dogs, you're the best pet I could ever ask for, but cows were always my favorite animal growing up."
"Why a cow?" Sally questioned.
"I wish I could explain it better, but they're so different from us. And I just think the life of a farm animal would be so interesting to experience for a bit.”
“But… no offense, I don’t think a cow, even a calf, would fit in this room,” Sally observed. “And even if you did, I doubt you’d be comfortable here. Maybe you want to pick something small?”
Jeff peered at the floor, embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Sally. You’re right. Guess it was a dumb idea after all.”
Sally, noticing Jeff’s distress, cupped Jeff's cheek.
"It's okay, Jeff. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. If you want to be a cow, you should be a cow. I’m just saying that… if that is what you want, I don’t think this is a few-hour trial. We'll have to rethink things a bit to accomodate.”
“What do you mean? Do you have a plan?” Jeff interrogated.
“How about we use the Reality Alteration feature?"
"Reality Alteration?"
Sally guided Jeff to the computer. "See that option right there?”
Jeff nodded.
“If we use it, then the whole world besides us will think you were always a cow. Nobody will judge you for anything. I think we can even make it where you’ll be taken to your new life with the flick of a switch instead of me needing to sell you to a farmer or something.”
"But what if that makes it so my parents never had me, and the Chronivac is lost forever?"
"I'll just make it so that I was your twin sister first before we change you. That way, I slot perfectly into your place in the family and life when you join your new one."
Jeff wasn’t entirely convinced but nodded anyway. "I'd love having you as a sister, even if only for a few minutes."
Sally hugged Jeff. "And I'll love you no matter what."
The now-human girl hit a few buttons on the computer. Jeff barely noticed a thing until the computer dinged. "Done."
"Really?"
"Yep, I'm now officially your twin. Cool, huh?"
"But things don't feel any different."
That's when the second set of memories flooded Jeff's mind... memories of him and Sally growing up together. And the room, which previously supported only a single bed, now has two.
"What? The wall between my room and dad's office is gone!" Jeff noticed.
"How about now, little bro?" Sally teased.
"Hey, you were only born five minutes before me!" Jeff complained before realizing the implications.
"See? And the rest of the world only remembers things according to our new memories."
"Wow, this thing is insane."
"Okay, let's go over some basic details," Sally suggested. “As I said, becoming a cow is a bit more complicated than, say, a dog or cat. I didn’t think you’d want to jump into the deep end immediately, but I’m not complaining. Still, I recommend setting up this little experiment for a few days rather than a few hours.”
“But why?” Jeff asked nervously.
“If you were a domesticated animal, you’d be my pet. You wouldn’t be human, but we’d still have each other, and you’d still be a member of this family.”
Realization dawned on Jeff’s face. “And if I’m a cow….”
“You'll be far away, in an environment you’re not used to, with no familiar faces to lean on and no way for us to communicate. A new home with new owners and a new body. Maybe you could get the gist of ‘pet life’ in a few hours, but getting situated as a farm animal would take time.”
“Okay, okay, I get it,” Jeff retorted. “I guess a few days isn’t all that bad. Besides, you seem… happy as a human. And part of me wants you to enjoy this time without worrying about me.”
“Jeff, I’ll always worry about you. There’s a reason they call a dog a man’s best friend. I have half a mind to join you simply so we wouldn’t be apart.”
“But the Chronivac,” Jeff reminded Sally.
“I know. But I’ll love you unconditionally. I’ll tell you that as many times as I need to.”
Sally sighed, clearly wanting to change topics. “So you want to be a female bovine?”
Jeff was surprised. “What gave you that impression?”
“You said ‘cow.’ Yeah, ‘cow’ can be a generic term, but I remember you calling your Halloween costume a ‘bull.’ That means you weren’t using it generically.”
“But how would you remember that? Don’t dogs have awful memory?”
Sally pouted. “I’m human now, and don’t you forget it.”
“But you were a dog when that happened.”
“Yes, but… it’s like I can see my life more clearly now, like a haze has been lifted.”
Jeff shrugged. “Fair enough. But… yeah, I’d rather be a cow than a bull.”
“Not judging you or anything, but I thought you’d want to keep your manhood.”
“I mean, part of me would prefer it, but being a cow is smarter. Knowing my luck, I’d end up a steer. Not only would I frankly prefer the freedom to have sex whenever I want, but I don’t want to accidentally be butchered before the time limit is up.”
Sally shuddered. “That’s a fair point. I’d rather be milked daily than fear being put down at a moment’s notice too.” Sally went back to the computer. “There, female and heterosexual.”
‘Heterosexual?”
“Duh. You don’t want to be turned into ground beef, right? At least you’ll enjoy the sex like that.”
“Can’t I at least be bi?”
“There’s no point to it,” Sally reasoned. “You’re not a bull or a bison. Cows only typically mate once a year. Besides, the more you stray from the perfect cow, the more at risk you are of not being used for milk and breeding.”
“That’s fair,” Jeff begrudgingly replied.
“Speaking of, what about the breed?”
“Holstein. The classic dairy cow breed.”
“Makes sense,” Sally nodded, going down the list.
Jeff had to admit there was still something spooky about watching his former pet using his computer. It was even freakier to realize he was letting her use his new software and accessories to change his species. She didn't even have her nudity left to remind a casual observer that she had ever been a pet. On some level, it was really starting to sink in that he was effectively being replaced.
"Um, Jeff? You might want to get out of those clothes of yours. Technically, they're my clothes now, and I don't want a fully dressed cow, even if it is just for a few minutes. We don’t know when you’ll get moved, after all."
Her request took Jeff off guard. Sure, he'd been naked in front of Sally before, but that wasn't when she was human. Of course, he wasn't going to be human much longer.
As Jeff stripped his clothing, his face became redder and redder. Sally, on the other hand, smiled playfully. Seeing his former dog biting her lips, Jeff tried to cover his privates with his hands.
“Hey! Stop looking at me like that! You may be a human now, but you're still a dog on the inside. Don't get any funny ideas.”
"It's okay, Jeff, I don't bite. Still, it would be interesting to see what it's like to have sex as a human, and I wouldn't trust anyone else to be my mate than my best friend."
"I know. It's just embarrassing. All of this."
"Don't worry; I promise all those thoughts will go away soon."
Jeff wasn’t sure if those thoughts were meant to be reassuring or not.
Finally, Sally got down to the final option and paused.
“Age?”
“What’s wrong, Sally?”
“I’m… scared for you,” Sally admitted. “I’m not sure what to do.”
“Go on,” Jeff said.
“The reality alteration setting rewrote history so that your parents had another child. I think it might be possible then the Chronivac could create life.”
“Where are you going with this?”
“I know being a dairy cow is for your survival, but I’m not sure how I feel about temporarily bringing a child into this world only to delete it from existence. I’m not sure you’d be comfortable with that, either.”
“But I can’t produce milk without a child.”
“Exactly,” Sally pointed out. “I’m not going to force you into anything, but I think it might be wiser to make you a calf.”
“A baby?”
“Think about it. There’s a very low likelihood that you are killed. You wouldn’t have enough meat on your bones to butcher, and they’d obviously give you a chance to bread when you’re older. Plus, calves are close to their mothers, so you’ll have someone looking out for you and caring for all your needs, teaching you everything you need to know about being a cow.”
“I’m not sure about this,” Jeff explained. “I mean, we’re only setting the time limit for a week, right? Is that enough time to truly experience cow life when I'd be a baby?”
“Maybe we could make it longer?” Sally countered. “A month? Even a year?”
“That’s way too long. A few minutes ago, we were talking about a few hours. No way am I doing a year.”
“Forget I asked then,” Sally apologized meekly. “I just wanted you to be happy, Jeff. If you want to be an adult for a more traditional experience, then we can do that, and whatever happens, happens.”
“Sounds good.”
…
“Well, Jeff, what do you want?”