"Hello?" Cindy answered the ring of her control booth's phone, "Yes, he's here... is that so? Yes, I'll tell him!" she hung up with a giggle. "Randall, change of plans!"
"What's up?" Randall stopped and turned back towards Cindy.
"Congratulations, you've been transferred to field work! Looks like you'll be going to the Chronivac units in person to help me with those glitches."
"Why should I have to do that? Isn't fixing units the whole point of your control panel?"
"You know why" Cindy pointed an accusatory finger at Randall, "There is only so much that I can do from a distance. This unit is so screwed up, we'll need to tackle it at the source. Besides, it'll be easy!"
"That's easy for you to say, you get to stay here" he glared.
"Don't worry, I'll be watching you the entire time!"
"That doesn't make me feel much safer" Randall thought to himself as he exited. He wasn't worried about fixing the glitch, Randall was confident in his ability to repair the unit once he had reached it. He was more concerned about leaving the lab. Trans Dem Labs Headquarters had a barrier that protected it and all those inside from any reality changes that a chronivac unit may cause. Leaving the lab to conduct field work would expose Randall to the possibility of being changed.
***
"That was hot" Jay sighed with a smile, rubbing the curly pelt of black hair which covered Jamal's muscle gut.
"And with that computer, there's still so much more we can do" Jamal grinned.
"Yeah... about that" he grabbed his glasses from the nightstand and walked to the computer while braiding his beard back into its rat-tail fashion. Jamal stared at the sway of the still-naked Jay's hips, "Let's call truce" he sat down and started typing into the Chronivac, turning his and Jamal's awareness up to 100% "now whenever one of us makes a change, we'll still remember who we are now."
"Sounds fair" Jamal followed and leaned over to look at the screen, his mustache brushing against Jay's shoulder "You'll let me do whatever I want with it now?" he wrapped his arms around Jay from behind and softly groped a moob in each hand.
"As long as you change me back if I don't like it" Jay blushed. Jamal simply nodded and tied a bandana over Jay's bald head.
***
Downstairs Rajesh was sitting on the living room couch while his wife, Maria, sat on his lap and tied a turban over his bald head.
"Honestly Rajesh, you have a lovely head."
"Yeah? Why don't you go see the boys with a bald head?"
"It's different, I'm a woman. Do you think I should grow a beard too?" Maria glared at her husband with a cute pout and folded arms, "What were the boys up to anyways?"
"I can't remember" he twisted his black mustache before stroking his salt n pepper beard in thought, "I don't even remember why I entered Jaya's room. It was all fuzzy when I left" he shrugged. Their conversation was interrupted by the ring of the door bell, prompting Rajesh to answer the door. There stood a tall man of average build and Japanese ethnicity, probably in his 30s. He wore a white button up, black tie, black slacks with leather dress shoes and wore his hair in a bun.
"Can I help you?"
"Hello, my name is Randall Hirohito. Is Rajesh Williams home?"
"You're speaking to him."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Randall offered a handshake, "I'm here on behalf of Trans Dem Labs, a software development company. I understand that you're an engineer, and I'm impressed with your work. You would make a valuable asset to the company, so I'm here to discuss your career options." Randall was able to access to all the information that the chronivac had recorded about scanned individuals, allowing him to tailor a lie to grant Rajesh's trust.
"I see! Ah, I would have dressed more professionally if I had known you were coming. Please, come in, sit down." Rajesh blushed. Randall's arm was shaken violently by the firm grip of Rajesh's hand shake. The two men sat down on the living room couch while Maria fetched some tea. Even with Rajesh sitting on the opposite edge, his wide form was well within Randall's personal space. "So, Trans Dem Labs? I don't recall hearing of this company."
"We target a very... eccentric audience. Maybe your son is familiar with our product line. I hear he's also an up and coming engineer."
"Yes! Maria and I are so proud of Jaya's accomplishments in school. We can't wait for him to enter the industry" he smiled with pride. In the midst of Rajesh's distraction, Randall pulled a tool out of his pocket which looked like a handle with a USB at the end.
"And your other son is quite the athlete" Randall said and then thought to himself "Once I separate this man, the chronivac should readjust and remove the glitch."
"I've been training Jamal ever since he was just a boy. At the rate he's growing he may even grow stronger than I ever-" Rajesh fell silent as Randall planted the tool into his chest. A light spread across Rajesh's body like a circuit board until he was but a blinding silhouette. Randall then yanked at the handle of the tool as one would a crowbar. Maria was still with shock at the sight she saw. As Randall pulled his tool, Rajesh's silhouette was in the process slowly splitting into that of two men.
***
Upstairs, the fully dressed Jay and Jamal were watching the chronivac screen as new stats appeared for a man named "Randall".