After a bit of thought, Mark sighed and said "Right. Since I have to choose one, it's going to have to be age
progression. I was going to make myself a bit older anyway so it shouldn't be too bad".
Simon shook his head and said "Well this is a punishment. You may of had plans to age yourself further, which
I just don't understand, but you're not going to like it. You're not going to be able to enhance yourself if
you don't like how you turn out".
Mark was offended by Simon's comment. "Hey! I didn't even use the Chronivac to give myself muscles, it just
came about from a healthy lifestyle that most of this family doesn't seem to understand!" He crossed his meaty
arms across his chest and flexed them as if to prove a point.
"Well that may be, but you probably won't stay fit forever. Look at your uncle Dan. This morning he was just
as in shape as you were, and now he's even larger than I am. You're going to have to accept that problems can
appear as you get older. I've set the scenario to run when you wake up tomorrow and it should end by midnight.
Now can you send my brother in, I'd like to have a chat with him".
Mark walked off in a huff, if only he'd waited a few more minutes then he wouldn't be in this mess. He saw
Danny in the hall and nodded him towards the door. Danny entered and Simon took in the site of the man. His
long, messy beard that was almost white in colour, his untrimmed fringe of hair that hung around his
shoulders, long enough to tie back if he wanted, his weathered, round face that was partially hidden by his
dense facial hair, his massive stomach that would bulge several inches over his waistband if it weren't
stretching the fabric of his dirty overalls. But despite his messy appearance, he was just as clean as ever.
Danny nervously played with his beard and said "So you wanted to see me?".
Simon gestured him towards a chair and Danny sat down, taking his time so he wouldn't pull something. "So I
understand you used to be my grandson this morning and thanks to Mark, not only have you aged enough to be my
brother but you've gone through tremendous mental trauma". Danny just nodded his head, not sure that to say.
Simon continued "I have decided to punish Mark and, when given multiple options, he decided that getting older
is to be his punishment".
Danny felt sick to his stomach. He didn't want to get his nephew into trouble, even if he had turned him into
an old man without his permission. "Please don't be too harsh on him, it's not his fault. He even showed me
the machine when we came back from jogging and let me use it and I still didn't believe him. If I told him my
concerns earlier than we would of made it home on time and I wouldn't be 55".
Simon rubbed his forehead and said "That may be true, but he hasn't just made you older, he's made the whole
family older. I've practically doubled in age since the beginning of the week. Now I don't really want to
tamper any further with my age but that's half my life gone, even if the memories have filled in. He can't
just change any of us without our permission".
Danny tried to argue but he knew his brother was right. He would of preferred aging at the same rate as a
normal person instead of becoming middle aged in half a day, yet for reasons he couldn't explain, he felt a
bit content with his body, much more so than when he aged into it. It felt like his normal self instead of an
alien body. He shook those thoughts from his mind and said "So how old were you going to make him?".
Simon turned on the Chronivac and said "That's where you come in. I feel terrible that you've had to lose your
youth thanks to him, so I've decided that you will get younger while he gets older. But first, I will let you
decide how young you want to be. I don't want to turn you back into a 12 year old if you don't want to be one.
Besides, we could always use more help around the shop".
Danny stroked his messy beard in thought. Part of him wanted to stay 55 for reasons unknown. Part of him
wanted to be a kid again. Another part of him wanted to stay an adult, maybe becoming his old dad's brother.
Finally he came to a decision.