Jeff Wants To Be Alone, Max Simply Shrugs: “I Can Try Out Some More Stuff With The App!”
Jeff sat on the edge of his bed, arms crossed, eyes red, and voice trembling. “Just go away, Max. I want to be alone.”
Max gave a fake concerned nod and backed out of the room, careful not to let the satisfied grin on his face show until the door clicked shut behind him.
He walked straight into his room and closed the door behind him, locking it for good measure. He pulled out his phone and opened the Chronivac app, which now lived safely on his device. The interface opened instantly—clean, sharp, and full of possibilities.
Max tapped through his user profile first. It still listed him as 14, taller, stronger, with full “Older Brother” authority over Jeff. He grinned at that. Seeing Jeff so small, helpless, and desperate had been better than expected.
But now that Jeff was sulking in his room, Max had time to think bigger.
He flicked over to the scanning tab and let it passively scan the nearby area. Outside, he heard a car door slam. The app pinged—two new profiles detected: Madison Callahan, 15, and her mom Carol.
Max tapped into Madison’s file.
She’d always been kind of cold to him. Older. Confident. Dismissive. Not anymore.
He adjusted her perception settings:
• Max = 17-year-old star athlete
• Max = long-time crush
• Max = always been popular, charming
He hit save. The app confirmed the change, reality adjusting in the background.
Max smirked and leaned back on his bed just as his phone buzzed.
A message from Madison popped up:
“Hey Max! You free later? Wanna hang out? 😄”
Perfect.
Meanwhile, back in Jeff’s room, things were not okay.
Jeff stood in front of the mirror, staring at his eight-year-old reflection. His shirt bunched around his shoulders. His shorts slipped slightly every time he moved. His voice was too high, his hands too small, and no one believed him.
“I don’t wanna be a kid,” he whispered to himself. “This isn’t fair…”
He didn’t know Max had already rewritten Madison’s memory, or that Max was just getting started.
Back in Max’s room, he tapped through options again, now debating his next move.
Choices were endless:
• Alter Madison’s appearance
• Rewrite Jeff’s mind to make him dependent
• Change how their parents saw both boys
• Turn Jeff into a pet, servant, or tag-along sidekick
• Or… just sit back and enjoy being in control
Max grinned and muttered, “Let’s see how far this goes.”
He scrolled down to Jeff’s profile again.
Jeff’s age: 8
Mental maturity: still intact—for now
Perception of Max: older brother
Max tapped “Edit.”
Then stopped.
Maybe he’d wait. Make Jeff sweat.
He locked the screen and tossed the phone onto his pillow.
This was going to be fun.