"I'll try changing her into a chicken. Or rather parts of her into a chicken, just for fun. To test the machine..." Jessica thought to herself.
The Chronivac's instructions, for all their supposed potential, were quite easy to figure out. It was basically point and click, with some room for data entry, and in no time Jessica had input all of the surprises she had in store for her friend. She initiated the Chronivac's program. After about a minute she was extremely surprised to hear an angry cluck coming from the kitchen.
***
Nikki was in the middle of putting a second slice of bread onto her sandwich when she felt an electric buzz, like the tingling of static electricity. Her fingers stiffened, causing her to drop the bread onto the floor. But it was soon forgotten when she discovered she could not move her fingers at all. Although the sensation was painless, Nikki's nervousness increased when she saw bright white hairs sprouting all over her arms and hands.
Nikki turned abruptly to call her friend, but her mouth would not make any words. Her lips had stiffened, just like her fingers, and began to pucker, pointing outward from her face. Her soft pink lips hardened and turned a dusty yellow. Nikki stuck a bony finger into her mouth and was able to feel her teeth slowly recede into her gums, disappearing completely. All of Nikki's attempts to hold onto her teeth were futile; they were gone. Her gums decided to go along with her teeth and flattened out.
Meanwhile, the white hairs on Nikki's arms had lengthened and fluffed out to form feathers. The feathers grew to varying lengths, completely covering her arms. Her fingers bent into fists as she, almost as a reflex, stuck them under her armpits.
"What is going on here? It has to be that stupid machine! It actually works?" Nikki thought.
White hairs began to sprout on her chest, chin, and face. Nikki let out a loud, short, angry cluck.
***
Startled by her Nikki's noise, and deeply shaken by the realization that she had been basically toying with her friends entire being, Jessica frantically tried to cancel the changes, but the system was locked. It appeared impossible to interrupt it. Jessica clicked a few more things, but stopped abruptly when she read the message on the screen. She had accidentally advanced the process.
***
Nikki turned to run to the computer room, to tell Jessica to stop the machine, when she felt a stronger electric buzz go through her body. Nikki tried to walk, but her legs would no longer bend properly. Her short shorts left her entire leg exposed; she could see her pale white skin turning bright yellow. Her kneecaps flattened out, and were sucked back into themselves. The joint had become reversed.
The white hairs on her face and chest erupted into more feathers, although these were shorter than the ones on her arms. Nikki's eyebrows seemed to drop out and blow away, as they too were replaced by blinding white down. Her red hair began to join together and solidify. Nikki suspected, had it been brown or blond, it would have ended up red anyway.
Not even Nikki's bare feet were spared the changes. Her outermost toes fused together, as did her middle two. Her toenails extended to form talons, and her entire foot became longer and bonier. She was able to bend her leg UP now, while her ankle joints shifted slightly to accommodate this. Small spurs broke through the skin and settled above her now pointed-and-taloned heels.
Nikki's hair had finished fusing together, gathering in the middle of her feathery head to form a comb. Nikki wanted to continue to the computer room, but instead found herself looking at the piece of bread she had dropped earlier through round, completely black eyeballs.
Nikki bent over the bread and began to peck at it.