Another 10 minutes went by and the traffic wasn't clearing. Danny had reached 50 years old now, his beard a
mixture of grey and white hairs that had grown longer than Mark's own impressive facial hair, the tip now
touching the bulk of his ever expanding belly. He looked ready to break down into tears of frustration and
anger. Mark couldn't take it any more and grabbed his phone to call home. He might get in serious trouble, but
he couldn't leave Danny in this condition. Just as he was about to dial the number, an familiar shiver went
through his body. He looked at Danny and he was completely different. He was still a hairy, fat man, but his
body language was no longer tense and fragile. He was a lot more relaxed and gave off an air of calmness
despite the situation they were in. Mark was confused yet relieved. Maybe someone had gotten to the Chronivac
after all.
Back home, the Chronivac automatically started up, the sounds unnoticed by the three men downstairs. As soon
as it booted up, it changed to Danny's profile and a message appeared. "Safeguard mode. Subject's stress
levels due to transformation reaching peak levels. Adjusting subject's "awareness levels" to lowest setting:
Unaware of transformation. Adjustment complete". A pulse of energy spread out, only vaguely felt by Simon who
assumed it was a cold shiver, and the machine switched itself off. Downstairs, Simon thought about the work he
had to do, mainly taxes and finances. The stuff he didn't have to do back when he was 13. He could probably
put it off as it's not due for a few weeks and this simulation was only meant to last another few days, but he
hated to leave it. He was even thinking of extending the simulation for another week or so as they all seemed
to be enjoying their new lives, but he'd have to let everyone in on the decision. He didn't feel comfortable
making such drastic changes without everyone else knowing. He'd get a start on it later.
Mark was waiting for whoever used the Chronivac to then turn everyone back to their original ages, yet his
muscular, hairy body stayed the same as it was. In fact, he could see that his nephew-turned-uncle was still
getting older, as he rolled over to 51. He glanced at the man and said "so how are you feeling? Are you still
having those weird memories about being younger?".
Mark thought he saw a look of confusion under the old man's hair covered face and said "Weird memories? I
haven't had any memories like those recently, no. I'm feeling quite fine, maybe a bit annoyed at myself for
taking the highway again".
Mark tested the waters further. "So you don't remember the panic you had this morning during our jog?".
Danny shook his head and said "Maybe you're the one with the weird memories. I haven't been jogging since I
was your age. Not since I broke both my legs in that skiing incident. I'd love to get back into shape but once
the fat comes, it doesn't seem to stop in our family. I hope you keep it away as long as you can, don't let
your grandpa get you down". He adjusted his seat slightly as his stomach grew out a bit further.
Mark was about to dispute him when the appropriate memories came to mind. He even remembered that Danny would
sometimes drive him to and from the gym. He'd occasionally come in with him to attempt to get back into
exercise, but he always gave up after about a week. Today was one of those days. They hung about in the
traffic for a further 45 minutes before the traffic started moving. Mark watched as his uncle aged to 60 years
old. He was looking a lot like Santa now. His beard was completely white and grew out in a messy fashion,
sticking out in various directions. He'd occasionally pat it down to a respectable look but it would just get
messy again. His horseshoe fringe of hair was also white and was starting to lengthen slightly. If his beard
were shorter, you'd see the thick hair sticking out of his shirt was a mixture of black and white hair. He had
to sit in an uncomfortable position to reach the steering wheel without his belly pressing against the horn,
and he'd grumble to himself about his back pains and how he needed to lose weight. Although he was now Simon's
twin, if only for the next 5 minutes, they looked nothing alike, much like Jay and Mark. His eyes lit up
behind his glasses as the traffic started to move. He grinned at his nephew and they were back home within 10
minutes. Mark helped the man get out of the car and into the house, he needed a cane to get around due to his
leg injuries and excess weight, yet luckily for him it didn't seem to affect his driving. After saying hello
to his brother and grandfather, Mark ran up the stairs and into Simon's bedroom, ready to stop this once and
for all. He opened the door and froze when he saw the man at the computer, his shaved scalp shining under the
light and a bunch of papers spread out around him. Simon turned to see who entered and gave him a look of
suspicion. "Hey Mark. What's the matter?".
Mark tried to compose himself and said "Oh, I came up to let you know me and uncle Dan are back now. Say, what
are you doing".
Simon scratched his white beard, and rubbed his forehead with his fingers. He looked stressed out. "Just some
finance stuff for the shop. I thought it wouldn't take that long but it looks like I'm going to be here a
while. If you want to use the computer, I'd suggest you ask your brother to borrow his".
Mark sighed and left the room. Coming downstairs, he saw Danny taking a nap in his recliner. He was 62 years
old, and looked every bit his age, maybe even older. He'd calculated that the man was aging just under 1 year
every 5 minutes. He knew Simon could get frustrated easily when put under pressure. He didn't want to risk
angering him in case he did something rash like break the Chronivac. He just had to hope Simon finished before
Danny ended up even older than Bryan.