The Chronovac monitored the subjects and their reactions, and then decided its next intermediate step. Subject Simon had noted he had impregnated Amy too early, which would have occurred currently when Simon was 22 and Amy was 18. This required adjustment.
When Amy had been 25, she had been babysitting to make ends meet after getting getting a pre-med degree and wanting to go to medical school, but not being able to afford it despite living at home with her parents. But now, Amy had never gone to college at all, having been knocked up straight out of high school.
Kim wasn't as motivated as Amy had been. She had never really settled into anything long term, and was taking odd jobs to make ends meet.
"I wonder what he forgot," Amy mused.
As Simon went upstairs to investigate, the Chronovac initiated another change to fix what it saw as a problem. It initiated another transfer, adding four years to Amy's age, making her 34. That would mean she'd have been 22 when she had her first child. Simon could no longer have thought he'd knocked her up.
She looked surprising similar, no change in clothing or demeanor, the 4 years having only minor changes on her figure, but massive effects on her otherwise. She and Simon had met at 18, but they hadn't gotten married till she graduated from college. This Amy hadn't given up her dream for her family...she may not have ended up getting her doctorate, but she had a good job as a dietician.
Meanwhile, Kim lost four more years, some of the maturity she had fading. Her hair shifted into a messy ponytail, her clothes looking a bit disheveled. Kim now worked as a waitress and was babysitting to make ends meet.
Amy was the first again to come out of her trance, "You...know...Nichole really looks up to you. I think she'll be upset when you stop babysitting her," she said...unaware that they'd had this conversation before.
Kim's mind restarted. "She's a great kid," said Kim. But this Kim wasn't anywhere near thinking about motherhood and Nichole was only 9 years younger than she was. "Like the little sister I never had. But she's getting a bit old to need a babysitter."
"You're probably right, but she's not old enough to be left alone with Johnny,' Amy said. "Things are different than when I was a kid....my parents wouldn't think twice about leaving me home at her age."
Kim nodded, politely.
"I wonder what is taking him so long," Amy said.
Simon had gone to check the Chronovac screen, but halfway down the hall, and paused when he felt a charge in the air...and suddenly, things changed. The walls looked like they'd been repainted, and when he entered the den where the Chronovac sat, he found it had been given a massive upgrade. He thought about it, memories coming to him. With Amy having a good career, they'd had more money in the bank...it had even given him the chance to take some career risks without worrying about his family.
He sat down at the newer laptop that the Chronovac system was now running on, unlocked it, and looked at the information.
Program in Progress:
Subjects: Simon (34), Amy (34), Kim (21), Nichole (12), John (10), Stored years (13)
Program objective: Kim role change to child, role reversal with Simon. Gradual change initiated, testing optimal configuration.
Simon couldn't exactly complain...it seemed like things got better with every adjustment. Better wife, better life...He wondered if he should intervene or just let it run on its own.
He tried to decide if he should do anything