Jase asked, "What's this?"
Glen and Byrd happened to be by for a visit at Storm and Hilary's home. Glen said, "We have no idea. We think it's some gimmicky thing like
how perfume companies will send out free samples. However, it's a very large package for perfume."
Jase asked, "You aren't even curious about it?"
Glen said, "Of course we're curious about it. But your almost a man so we all agreed that you should be the one to open it since it is addressed
to you after all. We've even agreed that it's your decision whether you share it or not."
Byrd said, "Now quit stalling and open it."
Jase tore into the package as quickly as he could, "It's some kind of computer equipment."
Byrd said, "It looks like a game. You put the software into your computer and plug this controller in. Looks strange for a game control though."
Storm said, "It looks more educational to me. Perhaps it's meant to give you access to an online college."
Hilary said, "Are you all men and never think to read the instructions. Where are the instructions anyway?"
Jase looked through the box.
Byrd said, "Perhaps it fell on the floor."
They all did some searching.
Hilary said, "Well that's odd. You be careful with whatever it is. Without instructions, it might just contain a virus that destroys your computer."
Byrd said, "I don't think it contains a virus. It's too well made. Whoever sent it put too much money into it for it to contain a virus. Still, I agree
with Hilary. Since we don't know what it will do, you should be careful. What if this thing brainwashes you and turns you into a breeder?"
Jase rolled his eyes, "Dad!"
Jase took the package to his room and started the setup. While it loaded, he had supper with his huge family. He told his family about Mark's
threat.
Artemis said, "I'll kill him first. He should feel complimented that you're attracted to him, not offended."
Jase whispered, "I'm not attracted to him."
Glen said, "Now, now Artemis, we need to do things the legal way. You can't go around beating up jerks all the time. We'll figure out
something."
Storm asked, "Like what, sending Mark a strongly worded letter? I hate to say it but maybe Jase need to visit one of his grandfather's. They'll
teach him self defense."
Glen protested, "We're not sending him to my dad. I don't want my son abused."
Hilary said, "I'm not convinced that your father is abusive. He may be a little harsh but did he ever spank you without explaining to you exactly
what the spanking was for?"
Glen commanded, "We're not sending Jase to learn self defense from my dad."
The conversation continued to be lively but no decision was made. Jase checked on the computer and found that it was loaded. He sat down
and opened the program.
"Welcome to the Chronivac. Adventure awaits" appeared on the screen followed by a long list of stats. At first, the stats were empty but slowly
they began to fill themselves in.
Name: Jase Stevens
Age: 17
Species: human
Gender: male
Nationality: white
Height: 5"11'
Weight: 178 lbs
Eye Color: blue-green
Hair Color: sandy
Body Fat: 17% -- 34 inch waist
Hairiness: light
Mental Age: 17
Mental Species: human
Sexual Orientation: 72% heterosexual 18% libido 93% homosocial
Correct Self Perception: 79%
The list went on and there were links for a page two and a page three. There were also links to other options such as changing to a metric
system instead of English measurements or a link called "package options".
Jase wondered, "How did they know all that about me? Has someone been spying on me? Why would they spy on me?"
As Jase watched, he noticed some new links appear. First there was a link for Byrd, then Storm, then Glen. Jase kept watching as one by one,
each member of his family got his or her own link. Except they didn't all appear. His eldest three sisters: Helen, Aurora and Cassandra, did not
get their own links. But Mark did and so did other members of Mark's family. That's when Jase realized it was providing links for people that
were nearby and his three oldest sisters were in their own homes with their own families.
"But how does it know who's nearby?" Jase wondered.
Curiosity got the better of him and he clicked on Mark's link. Another long list of stats appeared.
Name: Mark Anderson
Age: 17
Species: human
Gender: male
Nationality: white
Height: 6"2'
Weight: 184 lbs
Eye Color: brown
Hair Color: brown
Body Fat: 18% -- 36 inch waist
Hairiness: medium
Mental Age: 15
Mental Species: human
Sexual Orientation: 70% heterosexual 39% libido 99% homosocial
Correct Self Perception: 46%
"Wow." said Jase rather loudly. "What exactly is Correct Self Perception?" Jase scrolled over and found he could click on it. When he did, it was
like a text box giving him the option to change the number.
"Hm, maybe it's designed so I can correct any errors. 46% self perception seems very high for Mark. My guess is that Mark's self perception is
2%. He knows he exists but that's all he knows." Jase typed in a 2.
"Whatever this program is, it's not much fun. It scares me. I'm done messing with it tonight."
He clicked to close the program and it asked, "Do you wish to save your changes?" and Jase thought, "Sure, why not."
-------------------------------------------------------------
The next day, Jase went to school dreading a confrontation with Mark. But soon he overheard people saying, "Did you hear about Mark? He's in
the hospital. He suddenly got a severe case of amnesia last night. He doesn't even recognize himself in a mirror. He talks to the mirror as if he
was talking to someone else. The doctors are baffled."