"Jacob!"
Startled, Jake recognized the voice as belonging to his father, Joseph.
"Yeah?" Jake called back downstairs.
"Come here!"
Judging by the tone, Jake didn't think he was in trouble. He opened his door and made his way downstairs, a little reluctant to leave the Chronivac behind. When he reached the bottom he saw his father, now six years older than when he last saw him. The difference was a little startling, even though Jake had faint memories filling in the new gaps. His father's hair was a bit grayer, and had receded somewhat. In person, Jake was able to see his father had put on a bit of a paunch, but it wasn't really noticeable unless you were in person and up close. Jake was also surprised that he was able to look his father was eye level with him, rather than towering over him.
"What do you need?" Jake asked as nonchalantly as possible, still a little unnerved and strangely excited by the whole thing.
"I just wanted to know who was at the door," his father replied. "Are you okay? You look a little pale."
"What? Oh. No, I'm big. Fine! I'm fine."
His father merely quirked and eyebrow and frowned. "Okay." There was a pause between the two. "Well? Who was at the door?"
"Ah, delivery man," Jake said, trying his best to get his mouth to reconnect to his brain. This was exhilarating. He'd begun to notice little changes around the house. The family portraits around the house had updated, showing himself, his father and his mother and their new ages, though his mother didn't seem to look any different. He could see the refrigerator through the door into and kitchen looking less colorful, as the old crayon drawings and school projects he'd brought home had vanished. Everything was alien, yet oddly familiar.
"Delivery man?" his father asked. "What'd he deliver?"
"Just some stuff."
"Hun!" Jake's mother called back from the living room. "Your show's back on!"
"I'm coming!" Jake's father turned back to him. "You wouldn't be hiding anything from me, would you, Jake?"
Jake shrugged. "Hide? Why would I hide anything?"
Jake's father sighed. "Forget I said anything. Go back up to your room with whatever you've got up there."
Jake's father left him alone again. The now-eighteen year old quickly made his way back to his room. Since when had conversations with his father gotten so... awkward? Well, he was still technically a teen, even if he was legally an adult. And, though College sounded like fun, he knew there would be a lot of work involved. If only he could skip ahead to where things weren't so complicated.
Jake glanced over at the Chronivac... his Chronivac and grinned. Maybe he would do just that. He accessed his profile and saw the little model of him, still spinning. He selected his age and thought for a moment as to what a good age would be, before settling on 25. It was after college, but still in his prime. Perfect! Without further delay, he clicked "Go!" and confirmed the world alteration option.
He felt the warmth suffuse through his body again and he stepped in front of the mirror to observe the changes. He watched as what little baby fat he had melted away, leaving his face fairly angular. This struck Jake, as he looked nearly exactly like his father, save for being a decade or two younger. What body hair he had thickened somewhat, until finding it's final, adult spread, leaving a faint trail going midway up his abdomen before petering out, as well as a faint smattering a hairs fanning over his chest. He was still slim, which, again, was to be expected. A decent scruff covered his chin, as well as a pair of sideburns. Jake grinned as he touched his facial hair, reveling in the novel, if oddly familiar, sensation.
Again, his surroundings blurred as they altered to match the updated reality. The college textbooks and posters vanished, only to be replaced by novels, manuals for electronic devices, and artistic looking books. Jake looked at the picture on his corkboard of his father, marveling at its changes. There was now a man in his mid-twenties, himself, who had his arm around a man in his early-fifties, his father, whose hair had turned mostly grey and was balding on top. His paunch and become a noticeable gut, probably the first time in his father's life where he wasn't scrawny.
Jake checked his new stats on the Chronivac:
Name: Jacob Mark Williams
Age: 25
Gender: Male
Species: Human
Race: Caucasian
Height: 6'00"
Weight: 155
Build: Slim
Occupation: Graphic Designer
Misc Options:-
Again, the whole thing was strange, and a little mesmerizing. He found himself poised over the keyboard, ready to change something new!