The deception lasted about four months. It took a few days to get Beth to take Max in the first place. Richie had to type a lot into the Chronivac
to alter people's memories and histories in order to explain where the dog came from and why they couldn't keep him anymore. Richie even
had to go through with moving to a place that didn't allow dogs but since he had the Chronivac, he decided to at least make his new home a
nice one, more to his own tastes.
Then it took time to get Beth interested in dating. Richie thought about how he could use the Chronivac to get Beth to instantly fall in love with
him but Richie decided against that. Using the Chronivac would work if all he wanted was a one night stand but Richie really did want to be with
Beth so he decided to do the slower and more natural way of attracting her attention. But he did at least use the Chronivac to make himself
look more attractive.
Overall, Richie didn't use the Chronivac much. He made minor changes here and there. He took care of a few bullies and made a few other
people friendlier but he didn't want to drastically change the world. He liked his life as it was for the most part so all he wanted from the
Chronivac was to make improvements to what Richie already had.
He even felt a little regret about what he did to his brother Jeff. Richie told himself that Jeff wanted to experience life as a dog. Richie knew his
brother Jeff had a fascination with transformation and experimentation so Richie hoped that Jeff was enjoying himself. The only regret that he
felt was that he had to pretend to give his brother away. This regret worked toward Richie's advantage though because the more Richie missed
spending time with the dog that Beth was keeping, the more attracted Beth became to Richie.
From Jeff's perspective though, Jeff had more regrets. Yes, he liked the idea of transformation and experimentation but he wanted to have more
control of the experience. He didn't like being surprised by his transformation into a dog. He didn't like how casually his brother gave him away
to his former girlfriend. He didn't like the attention he got from Bruiser several times a day. On the other hand, he enjoyed playing fetch with
his brother and life as a dog was fun. He also enjoyed spending more time with Beth although he would have preferred to spend the time with
her under different circumstances. Besides, Jeff's awareness of himself was vague. His mind had been so altered that his thoughts were mostly
the thoughts of Max the dog: thoughts about food and cats and playing fetch. Jeff's thoughts about Jeff were very few.
Four months after transforming his brother into a dog, Richie finally went on his first date with Beth. After the date, they went back to Richie's.
Beth did not want to rush anything and Richie did not want to force her but she agreed to come in for a drink.
Beth said, "Max and Bruiser are getting along. In fact, they're getting along too well. They're going at it so often that I might have to take one of
them to the vet to calm him down."
Richie said, "No, don't do that. That's inhumane."
Beth said, "I don't want to do it but the two of them are so extreme about it that something has to be done. I could use a chance to freshen up.
Where do I go?"
Richie said, "Second door on your left."
Beth excused herself and as she walked past Richie's room on the way to the bathroom, she noticed something.