Jake sat down on his bed, his face flushed red. This was not a conversation he had ever imagined having with his roommate.
"Dude," he began, his eyes flickering towards Aidan. "I have something to tell you, but, well…"
Aidan, sprawled across his own bed, raised an eyebrow. "Does it have something to do with the banana scent in the room?"
"Um well, sort of," Jake said, trying to control his nervous laughter. "You see that disk over there?" He pointed at the lightly gleaming blank disk lying innocently next to his laptop.
"The porn?" Aidan asked with an amused grin on his face, mistaking Jake's nervousness for embarrassment.
"Not exactly," Jake said, letting out a sigh. He continued, his words tripping over each other as he tried to explain. "It's a...program. The Chronivac. It...it changes things."
"Changes things?" Aiden asked, sitting up, his gaze intensifying. "Like how?"
"Like, physically!" Jake managed as he stood up and, with a shaky hand, unzipped his jeans once again. It was one thing to explain, but another to show his current predicament. As he revealed the banana transformation, Aiden's expression moved from amused to surprised to dumbfounded.
"Dude..." Aiden stood up and walked over, carefully keeping his distance. "That's...you...you weren't joking."
Jake zipped up his jeans again, a strange mix of relief and awkwardness washing over him. "No, I wasn't. I know it's...weird, but I was just testing it out!"
The room was silent for a moment before Aidan finally said, "Testing it out by changing your... into a banana?"
Jake bit his lip, suppressing the laughter at the absurdity of the situation. "In hindsight, it sounds ridiculous, I know."
Aidan broke out into peals of laughter. After a few moments, he turned serious again, "We should find a way to fix this." He pointed at the Chronivac. "This should have a 'undo' option, right?"
Jake nodded, his heart pounding. "That's what I'm hoping."
Aidan was always the tech-guru of the room, so it was no surprise that he found the "revert" option quickly. Jake felt a glimmer of hope as his roommate swiveled the laptop around to show him the option, hidden neatly under advanced settings.
"See, it's right here," Aidan announced, his finger hovering over the peculiar button on the screen.
Jake leaned in, examining the menu. The "revert" option was paired with a green, circular arrow icon which somehow radiated a sense of comfort and safety. Like going back in time, undoing what was done.
"Do I click it?" Aidan asked, already getting ready to transform the room back to normal, unaware of how intensely Jake was experiencing the situation.
"Wait," Jake said, a hint of worry lacing his voice.
"What is it? This will fix it. Unless, you want to keep…" Aidan's voice trailed off as he gestured to Jake's lower half.
"No, no. I don’t," Jake quickly reassured him. He took a deep breath, steeling himself, "Okay, do it."
As Aidan went on to click "revert," Jake again felt that familiar warmth, creeping this time from the absurd banana back into his abdomen. The transformation was under way. He watched himself in disbelief as his anatomy started to reshape itself back to its natural form. The smooth yellow skin of the banana peeled away, not all at once, but gradually, as flesh reformed underneath, curling back into the natural shape of his penis. It was an almost hypnotic process, the changing colours and textures oscillating between the ridiculous and the real.
Jake could feel the change, a sense of normalcy returning as the unusual warmth dissipated. The banana scent began to vanish from the room, replaced by the more earthly scent of humanity. He looked at Aidan, who wore a look of utter astonishment.
"Dude, that's...that's insane..." Aidan trailed off, his eyes wide. A moment of silence passed before he finally managed to scoff out a laugh. "You went from banana to, well, not banana."
Jake zipped up his jeans, releasing a deep breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "Yeah, not a banana anymore. The Chronivac...it actually works."
As the reality of his new, incredibly bizarre situation began to fully sink in, Jake couldn't help but wonder what it meant for their lives.
"Man, if this thing can really do all that," Aidan began, his gaze scanning the myriad of options on the screen. His eyes held a glimmer of curiosity and desire. "I mean, think about it, Jake. The possibilities are endless."
Jake eyed Aidan skeptically. "Aidan, we just dodged a banana-shaped bullet. Maybe we should be a bit more careful."
Aidan dismissed Jake's caution with a wave of his hand. "Where's your sense of adventure, man? Think about it. We could turn into superheroes, rock stars ... hell, anything we dream, basically."
His eager gaze darted back to the screen. There were endless categories and shape-shifting options ranging from the most mundane fruits and vegetables, to wild and exotic animal parts. Aidan’s mind buzzed with thoughts of transformation.
"How about wings? Like a bird. Imagine being able to fly, dude!” Aidan mused, his finger tracing a bird icon on the screen.
"Or fruit could be... interesting. Like instead of biceps, you get a pair of nice, watery watermelons?" Jake joked, trying his best to lighten the weighty curiosity that had filled the room.
Aidan grinned. "Or.... Or what about animal senses? Like... a canine sense of smell, or eagle vision! We could become superhuman."
Jake sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Aidan, we've already seen what can happen. This isn't a game."
Their laughter faded as they both realized the gravity of the tool they had. Superhuman powers, watermelon biceps, banana privates - it all seemed funny, but it was a powerful and dangerous tool they had in their hands.
"Right," Aidan nodded slowly, seemingly understanding the ramifications. "But it doesn't change the fact that we are sitting on the possibility of...well, anything."
The two friends sat in silence as they contemplated the implications of the Chronivac. Their eyes darted between the seemingly innocent disk and the life-changing program it contained. The tension was broken as Aidan finally spoke again.
"Jake, this is a bit scary, yeah. But it's also fantastic. But let's be thoughtful and responsible about this. After all, with great power... comes great responsibility, right?" Aidan joked.