Jeff was surprised to receive a package in the mail. He'd never heard of TransDem Labs. He'd been known to order computer games and
volunteer to beta test new games but this was the first time he'd been sent a package that he hadn't known about. He thought that maybe it
was just a new game that this company wanted him to beta test.
He took it inside and began installing it on his computer. Although there were no instructions, which was very unusual, anyone who'd beta
tested games could easily figure out how to use the different parts. So once the install was complete, he opened the program to see what kind
of game it was. He expected the program to ask him his name and registration information but he was surprised when the program instead
said, "Scanning . . ." and then began listing his name and registration information. Then the program started listing other information such as
his height and weight. Jeff wondered where the program was getting such detailed information. Then he looked at the emitter and thought that
the emitter must be scanning him. Then the program listed stats about his room size, the decorations on the walls, and had even listed his
parents names.
The computer went on like this for hours. It was a very fast program but the amount of information it was processing was so vast that Jeff got
bored and left the program running while he watched t.v.
When he came back to the program, it had finished and showed a 3-D image of Jeff and his room on the screen. Jeff had already realized by
this point that this was no ordinary game. He noticed that the trash can in the room on the screen was full of garbage just like the trash can in
his real room. So He decided to test out the program by emptying the garbage can of the 3-D simulation. As soon as he did, the trash can in
his bedroom also became empty. He realized that this device just might have the power to change reality. He did a few more simple tests to
confirm this: changed his walls to green, repaired the drawer knob that had broken off three days ago, added more light. Jeff was afraid to try
any major changes yet.
He began looking through all the options. Most of the options were ways that he could change himself, not just the room around him. He
thought about changing his body to make himself more attractive to the ladies but thought if that was all he was going to do with such a
powerful device, it would be a waste. He looked at the options of becoming an adult or reliving the fun of being a kid again. He thought this
program could be so much fun when he saw the options where he could turn himself into an animal temporarily. He even contemplated some
of the inanimate options he could change himself into and thought inanimate would certainly be an exotic adventure. To go inanimate might
be too much of an adventure with too great a risk but then again, Jeff might just be brave enough to try it. But he couldn't make a decision. He
went back and forth looking through all the options but not deciding what to try.
Then a tiny window popped up. This window only had three buttons. The first button said, "Let Chronivac Read Your Mind". The second button
was a question mark that looked like a help button. The third button was just so Jeff could close the window. This program was designed so
that if anyone spent fifteen minutes exploring options without making a decision, this window would pop up.
Jeff selected the help button and a larger window appeared that read, "If you are having trouble deciding, it is probably because you want many
things and some of the things you want can't be done at the same time. You can't have your cake and eat it too. This program comes with an
option where, based on the stats that our emitter has collected, this program will attempt to predict what you would want. If you are short, this
program may predict that you want to be tall. This program is much more sophisticated in it's predictions as it also takes into account other
factors such as your room decor. If you have a bunch of baseball posters on your wall, this program may predict that you want to be a major
league baseball player. Letting this program predict your desires automatically provides you with a unique package custom tailored to you but
you don't have to spend hours answering questions in order to customize it yourself. Just push the button and this program will fill in all the
options for you. WARNING: any mementos of your old life that you wish to preserve should be taken more than twenty feet away from the
emitter before activating this option."
Jeff looked around his room and wondered what the program might predict. He did have a baseball glove but it was sitting right next to an old
science project of his. His room showed a variety of different interests but there was no overall theme. His room was full of generic odds and
ends. Jeff decided that he wanted to see what the computer could come up with based on the decor of his room. He pushed the button.