The Exchange Device part 2

“This is awesome,” Mark exclaimed as he stared at the two foot tall hologram of himself.

“My QSD is going to revolutionize the medical industry,” Dr. Harwen told him proudly.  “With this device, all you need is one scan to cover all of your medical tests.  Thank you for helping me test it.”

“My pleasure, Doc,” Mark responded with a grin as he accepted a small stack of twenty dollar bills from her.  “Anytime.”

Dr. Harwen nodded said, “Then I’ll keep you in mind should I need to hire volunteers for any other tests.”

“Sure thing,” Mark agreed, then looked to Elizabeth who was busy sweeping up the lab.  “I’ll see you later, pipsqueak.”

One Mark was gone, Elizabeth set down the brook and blurted out, “I didn’t think you’d ever be able to get him in that thing…”

Dr. Harwen chuckled at that.  “It’s my experience that most college students are short on funds and are usually interested in quick and easy money.”

Elizabeth went to the console which displayed the image of her brother, then stared at it for a moment before hesitantly asking, “Do you really think you can do it?   I mean, can you really make me and Mark switch ages?”

“I haven’t tested the QSD effects on that particular trait before,” Dr. Harwen responded.  “But that’s what we’re going to determine.”

“Good,” Elizabeth said firmly.  “I’m sick and tired of being his little sister and having him pick on me all the time.  It should be fun having him as my kid brother for a change.”

“Then let’s see if this actually works,” Dr. Harwen said, going to work on the computer console and bringing up the hologram of Elizabeth.  However, she focused on the screens in front of her and barely glanced at the two holograms.

Elizabeth watched her, curious as to how this all worked, though her mind was still on the changes she’d gone through the day before.  As Dr. Harwen had warned her, her reality had indeed been altered.  Her bedroom was decorated a little differently and she had an entirely new wardrobe that fit her new body.  Her friends and family all thought that she’d always been this curvy, and there had even been a few surprise changes in her past.

Elizabeth had discovered that last year in school, she’d actually been more popular than she’d been in the previous reality.  That wasn’t too surprising since she had these new assets, but what did surprise her was David, a boy that she’d had a crush on for the last year, though he’d barely noticed she existed.  In this new reality, David not only knew she existed, he was also her ex-boyfriend.  The two of them had dated for a couple months, until he cheated on her with another girl.

“And I missed the whole thing,” Elizabeth muttered, feeling just a little disappointed.

“What was that?” Dr. Harwen asked.

“Nothing,” Elizabeth quickly responded, blushing at the realization that she’d been talking to herself aloud.

“Okay,” Dr. Harwen said a moment later.  “I’m about done…”

With that, Elizabeth watched her hologram change as well as Mark’s.  She grinned as her image grew few years older while her brother’s became a few years young, but then she gasped at the realization that the holograms had changed more than she’d expected.

Elizabeth was startled for a moment, then she felt her body beginning to change just as the hologram had a moment earlier.  She gasped as her body began to stretch, growing taller and developing more as she became older.  Her breasts, which had already been nice, grew even larger as a late growth spurt hit her.  And as she was taking this in, she also felt a tense pulsing through every muscle in her body.

Before Elizabeth could fully absorb all these sensations, she was caught in the growing pressure that made her gasp out again.  The pressure continued to build until she felt as though she was about to be crushed, then there was a popping sensation as all the pressure suddenly vanished.

Elizabeth staggered for a brief moment until she regained her balance, then she took a deep breath to stabilize herself.  She could already tell that things had changed a great deal, even more than they had the first time she’d gone through this.  Perhaps that was why the pressure had seemed even more intense, because reality was having to go through an even greater alteration.

“Incredible,” Dr. Harwen exclaimed, standing up and staring at Elizabeth with an expression of excitement.  She grabbed a note pad and quickly began writing notes down.

For a moment, Elizabeth just stood there staring back at Dr. Harwen, then it suddenly struck her just how short the doctor was.  Elizabeth and Dr. Harwen had been about the same height, but now that was obviously no longer the case.

“You didn’t just give me Mark’s age,” Elizabeth said in realization, looking at the holographic image of her and then down at herself.  Her body was noticeably different from before.  “You also gave me his height and muscles.”

Elizabeth took a deep breath, suddenly feeling very large and powerful.  She nearly towered over Dr. Harwen, and when she flexed her arm, she could see a very noticeable bulge.  Her body was solid and muscular, yet she still had all her curves over the top of the muscles, including breasts which were now nearly as large as what Dr. Harwen possessed.

“I must have accidentally transferred more of his code than I intended,” Dr. Harwen responded with a slight frown.  However, she was continuing to watch Elizabeth with a curious expression.

Somehow, Elizabeth found that difficult to believe.  Dr. Harwen wanted to test out this reality alteration aspect of her QSD, so Elizabeth suspected that she’d done this intentionally so that she could not only prove that age could be transferred, but that height and muscles could be as well.

“I can always reverse the transfer,” Dr. Harwen commented thoughtfully.  “But I would like to observe this new reality a little more first.”

“Me too,” Elizabeth admitted with a grin.  She couldn’t wait to see Mark.

Dr. Harwen pulled out a cigarette and then lit it.  “Please let me know what changes you discover in your reality,” she said, taking a drag of her cigarette, then blowing the smoke aside.  “I’m quite curious to discover what the limits are on these reality adjustments.”

After this, Elizabeth went back across the street, though she was startled to see a truck parked in the driveway instead of Mark’s muscle car.  For some reason, she felt certain that this truck actually belonged to her.  And as she stared at the truck, she could almost even remember buying it.

When Elizabeth went inside the house, she found Mark was in the living room, sitting down in front of the TV.  Elizabeth needed to do a double take as this was most definitely not the Mark she knew.  Instead of her intimidating and obnoxious big brother, there was a short and skinny sixteen year old boy.  He looked so…puny.

For a brief moment, Elizabeth could only stare at her former big brother in awe and delight.  They’d not only switched ages, making her twenty and him sixteen, they’d also switched heights and muscles.  Mark was now only 5 foot 4 while Elizabeth was 6 foot 2, towering over him by 10 inches, though the fact that she was wearing high heels added even more height, making her more than a foot taller.  And then there were the muscles which she now possessed instead of him.

“Hey pipsqueak,” she greeted him.  She chuckled to herself as she saw him go pale.   Then she picked up the TV remote and casually said, “I think I want to watch some TV…”

“Hey,” I was watching that,” Mark protested, trying to grab the remote from her hand.

She held it above her head and had to keep from giggling as he jumped for it but couldn’t reach it.  “I think I’m starting to like this game,” she mused, deciding that playing it this way was much more fun.

Mark grew frustrated and tried shoving her, but it felt almost as though she was being pushed by a kid.  Elizabeth pushed Mark back and was surprised how easily she knocked him over.

“I can’t wait till school starts up again and you go back to college,” Mark muttered as he left the room.

Elizabeth laughed at this complete and total turnaround in their relationship.  She couldn’t resist flexing her new muscles and grinning at how big and strong she’d become.  She sat down on the couch to watch TV, but she just couldn’t get into it at the moment.  The reason she’d taken the remote from Mark had less to do with her wanting to actually watch TV and everything to do with wanting to test her new power over him.

After a few minutes, Elizabeth got up and began heading to her room.  She was hallway there when she realized that she wasn’t heading to her old room but to the one above the garage which had been Mark’s room.  She smiled at the sudden understanding that as the oldest, she was the one who’d been given the bigger room.

Elizabeth’s new bedroom was twice the size of her old one and only had a few of the same things in it.  Her bed was larger, she actually had a makeup desk sitting next to a work desk, and about half the room was filled with a weight bench and various dumbbells.  Even though this was completely different from what was used to, she couldn’t help but feeling a certain sense of familiarity.  She’d felt something similar when she saw her new wardrobe after her first change.

“So how strong am I now?” Elizabeth asked herself as she looked over the weights.

With that, Elizabeth got onto the weight bench and began lifting the weight, amazed by how much weight was on it and how she was able to still lift it.  She somehow knew she could lift more than this, but that it wouldn’t be safe to do so here without a spotter.  Still, she was able to do a couple nice sets, then she got up and grabbed another bar to do some curls with.

Elizabeth felt a strange sense of pride as she lifted the weight and felt her muscles tense and bulge.  She’d never really wanted to be so big and muscular since she’d never thought muscles would look good on a girl, but she definitely found herself enjoying them now.  She felt so big and strong…so powerful.  She loved the way she felt.

Once Elizabeth was done lifting weights, she looked at the full length mirror that was set up in her bedroom, positioned in such a way that she could actually watch herself as she exercised.  She looked herself over, deciding that she really liked the way she looked as well as the way she felt.  Not only did she have these new muscles, but she kept all her curves…and even gained a few more from the growth spurt she’d had during those extra four years she’d gained.  It made her look strong and sexy at the same time.

“Like some kind of super hero,” Elizabeth exclaimed proudly.

When it was the normal time for dinner, Elizabeth went out to join the others.  She was amused at how small her mom looked as well as the fact that she was now taller than even her dad, though only by one inch.  And of course, she couldn’t resist staring at the tiny Mark.

“Hey pipsqueak,” she greeted her brother as she sat down at the table.

“How many times have I told you not to tease your little brother,” her mom said, giving Elizabeth a warning look and not seeming intimidated by her size in the least.  “It’s not his fault he’s small for his age.”

“Sorry,” Elizabeth told Mark, resisting the urge to reach out and pat him on the head like a little kid.

She’d never liked it when Mark patronized her like that and felt just a little guilty for doing it to him now.  It probably would have been different if he actually remembered being a jerk, but as it was, he didn’t remember treating her like that and merely thought that she was being mean for no reason.

The rest of the dinner was calm and polite as Mark didn’t make a single teasing comment as he normally would.  Several times, Elizabeth found herself about to make a similar comment to him but bit her tongue and managed to avoid doing so.

After dinner was over and everyone began getting up from the table, Elizabeth looked down at her little brother and grinned.  This wasn’t quite what she’d asked Dr. Harwen for, but it had probably worked out even better than just switching ages would have.  Elizabeth definitely liked her new status in the house and knew that she would definitely have to thank Dr. Harwen the next time she saw her.

--------------------

When Elizabeth woke up in the morning, she was delighted to find that the events of the day before hadn’t just been a dream.  She climbed out of bed and looked her body over, feeling quite pleased to she was still the amazon college student that she’d gone to bed as.  Then as she stood in front of the mirror flexing, she shuddered at the thought of what she would have done if she’d woken up as a scrawny teenager.

“And I certainly wouldn’t want to lose these either,” Elizabeth mused as she cupped her breasts.

Once Elizabeth was dressed, she went out to the living room where she saw her little brother.  “Morning pip…Mark,” she said, remembering the promise she’d made to herself last not to be a little nicer to him.  It was strange though because she wanted to call him pipsqueak and shorty…as though it was an old habit that she was trying to break.

Elizabeth went to the kitchen for breakfast, but instead of her usual breakfast cereal, she found herself mixing a protein shake while simultaneously grabbing a banana and yogurt from the fridge.  She realized that this wasn’t what she’d done for breakfast before, yet she was also certain that she did this every morning.

While Elizabeth ate a healthier breakfast than normal, she also sipped a cup of coffee.  She considered what she was doing and how perfectly normal this all felt, realizing that this was all part of that reality alteration that Dr. Harwen had caused.  Even though she remembered the previous reality and the way everything been before the QSD changed her, she was definitely a part of this reality now.  This was who she was now, and a large part of her felt as though she’d always been this way.

As soon as Elizabeth was finished eating, she called out, “I’m off to the gym.”

Elizabeth went out to her truck and began driving to the gym, feeling rather smug yet again as she considered the fact that just yesterday she’d been trying to save up for a car and now she had her own truck, which she’d owned for the last year.  She couldn’t resist chuckling at Mark, who’d lost his transportation at the same time and was now the one having to save up enough money to buy a car.

“Too bad he can’t remember,” Elizabeth mused.  On one hand, the fact that Mark didn’t remember the previous reality made things a lot easier for Elizabeth.  But on the other hand, it would have been a lot more fun showing off in front of him if he did remember.

A short time later, Elizabeth was at the gym and working on her upper body.  This was the first time she’d ever been to this gym and the first time she’d ever done any real weight lifting, but as with everything else, it felt perfectly normal to her.  She instinctively knew what her routine was and how to best work on her different muscle groups.

Elizabeth was well aware of the fact that people were watching her as she worked out.  After all, there were a couple guys here who were bigger than her, but not a single woman came close.  She was impressive looking and she knew it.

Then Elizabeth spotted a teenage boy who was staring at her from halfway across the gym, though he tried to look as though he wasn’t.  He looked vaguely familiar, though it took Elizabeth a minute to remember where from.  She remembered him from school…from before her improvements and the new reality.  This boy was Rick Lawrence, one of the top football players in her old school.  At one point, she’d been as attracted to him as every other girl in school, though with her new perspective he just seemed too young, though he did have some potential once he grew up a little more.

Elizabeth turned her attention back to her workout and was pleased that she could lift more than she had last night at home.  Of course, here she had a spotter so she could push herself more safely.  That meant when she got on a bench, she was able to really push herself and see what she could do.  When she was done, she was even more impressed by her new body.  She grinned, feeling even stronger and more powerful than before.

“I almost wish I could challenge the old Mark,” she mused to herself.  The idea of having a weight lifting contest with the old Mark was amusing and she began chuckling aloud as she imagined doing so with the younger version.  “That wouldn’t be much of a contest.”

Once Elizabeth was done with her workout, she realized that it was time to actually go to work.  One of the things that had come to her about her new life while she was working out was the fact that she actually worked at this gym as well.  She was a personal trainer, which was how she was able to save up money for her tuition.  It certainly paid better than cleaning her neighbor’s house, but when she looked at her new body, she had to revise than decision.  Working for Dr. Harwen had paid off very well indeed.

Elizabeth’s first client was a woman who was even shorter than what Elizabeth used to be.  Elizabeth towered over the tiny woman and suddenly feared of accidentally hurting her while helping her exercise.  The tiny woman kept staring up at Elizabeth, as though unable to believe she was really a woman.

“Do you think I might ever get as big as you?” the woman finally asked.

“Not as tall as me,” Elizabeth answered wryly.  “But if you train hard and eat right, you should be able to put on a bit more muscle.”  Then she thought about Dr. Harwen and joked, “But I’ve seen stranger things happen and wouldn’t say anything is impossible anymore.”

Elizabeth had been putting this client through a light workout to start with, but she was pleased to note the look of determination that she had by the end of the session.  Elizabeth rather liked the idea of inspiring someone to work out hard and improve their body, though she also felt a little bit like a hypocrite when she thought of how she’d really gained her new body.

The next client was a middle-aged man who was trying to get back in shape after years without much activity.  He was obviously uncomfortable with a woman being taller and so much more muscular than him, though he didn’t say anything to Elizabeth about that.  Instead, he kept sneaking looks at her breasts so he made him do a few extra reps because of that.

When Elizabeth finished with all of her clients for the day, she went to the locker room to take a shower and clean off.  There were a few other women there, one of which gave her a look of dark jealous that almost made Elizabeth laugh out loud.  Instead, she pretended she didn’t notice the woman but made sure to walk into the showers as proudly as she could.

A short time later, Elizabeth was dressed again and was just leaving the locker room when she came face to face with Paul, the guy who’d been working the sign in desk at the gym.  She’d never met him before today, but the sight of him brought forth the knowledge that in this reality, they used to date.

“You’re looking pretty hot today,” Paul said with a faint smirk. “I take it you had a good workout.”

“The best one of my life,” Elizabeth answered honestly.

“I was thinking we might go out,” Paul suggested, looking pretty certain of himself.

For a brief moment, Elizabeth thought about accepting his offer, though memories of their time together slid into place. She frowned and then shook her head.

“We tried that already,” she reminded him. “Remember, you couldn’t handle dating someone stronger than you…”

“Well, I’ve gotten a lot stronger,” Paul insisted, flexing his bicep which wasn’t quite as large as Elizabeth’s

On an impulse, Elizabeth grabbed Paul and surprised him with a kiss. She was excited since was only the second kiss she’d ever had with a guy, the first being with a casual date in her original reality.  Paul definitely kissed better than that teenage boy had, and her new memories told her that he could do a lot more than just kiss.

“Not bad,” Elizabeth admitted when she let Paul go. “But we’re not going out again.  I had more than enough of your jealousy and sniping the last time.  Not to mention, you were the one who dumped me.”

With that, Elizabeth turned and walked out the gym.  She couldn’t resist grinning at the kiss since it had made her feel more feminine and in control.  However, she knew that she needed someone other than Paul in her life.  Hopefully she’d find a nice guy who’d appreciate her without being intimidated or threatened.

Elizabeth returned home a short time later and let out a sigh of relief upon pulling her truck into the driveway.  She liked working out at the gym and even helping other people get into shape with her personal training, but it had taken up a good bit of her day.  When she’d switched ages with Mark, she hadn’t considered that being older meant she’d have to work.  Still, it was a small price to pay for everything that she’d gained.

Elizabeth went the house and started for her room, but as she passed the living room, she stopped and turned to stare at Mark.  He was sitting on the couch and watching TV, but that wasn’t what had caught her attention.

“What happened?” Elizabeth demanded, staring at the rather obvious black eye that her little brother had.

“Nothing,” Mark responded defensively, turning his head so she couldn’t see the bruising.

“What happened?” Elizabeth asked again, this time more gently.

Mark glared at her and spat out, “I got beat up…okay.”

Elizabeth’s first thought was, “What a wimp,” but then she reminded herself that this was only because of what she and Dr. Harwen had done. A part of her wanted to mock Mark for being so small and weak that he couldn’t defend himself, but she pushed that back.

“Who did it?” Elizabeth asked him calmly.

“What do you care?” Mark responded angrily.

“Because no one picks on my brother but me,” she answered, half teasing and half serious.

“I ran into one of the guys I know from school,” Mark finally said.

Elizabeth nodded at that as her new memories slipped into place.  In her original reality, Mark had always been athletic and something of a bully, but in this new reality he was smaller and weaker than the other boys his age.  In this reality, he had a problem with bullies.

For a moment, Elizabeth closed her eyes, trying to decide what to do.  She knew that the Elizabeth from this reality would just chuckle at her little brother’s misfortune, but she had the perspective from her original reality and didn’t want to do that.  She actually felt sorry for Mark, especially since it was her fault he was in this position.

“If you want,” Elizabeth offered carefully, trying not to offend Mark.  “I can help you get into better shape and build up some muscle.  I also know some guys who teach jujitsu and aikido, which are really good for defending against bigger opponents.”

Mark gave Elizabeth a look of surprise, though she was just a little surprised herself.  While she was talking to Mark, new memories had slipped into place, indicating that while the old Mark had been into football and wrestling in high school, she’d been more interested in kickboxing and martial arts.

“I can teach you a couple moves too,” Elizabeth added.

Mark just continued staring at Elizabeth in surprise, as though expecting her to suddenly laugh and begin mocking him.  When she didn’t, he said, “Okay…  I think I’d like that.”

--------------------

Elizabeth sat in the living room of Dr. Harwen’s house, sipping a cup of coffee as she described the details of her new life.  It had been two days since Dr. Harwen had given her this new life and she had a lot she wanted to talk about.  Fortunately, Dr. Harwen was patient and listened attentively as Elizabeth described her job as a personal trainer.

“That sounds quite interesting,” Dr. Harwen said once Elizabeth was done.  She stared at Elizabeth for a moment and smiled before saying, “You seem to be a lot more confident now.”

“I feel more confident,” Elizabeth admitted with a grin.  “I mean, I’m older, taller, stronger…  I feel like I can do just about anything.”

Dr. Harwen laughed at that, giving Elizabeth an amused look.  “You seem a lot more mature as well, which isn’t at all surprising considering your new age and experience.  I know that my own attitude and perspective changed after my alterations.”

“Really?” Elizabeth asked curiously.

“I know you don’t remember the way I was originally,” Dr. Harwen explained pleasantly, pulling out a cigarette and then lighting it.  She had a thoughtful look on her face as she blew a stream of smoke out to the side before continuing.  “I was a lot less confident as well, at least when it came dealing with people and my own sexuality.  I used to be quite plain looking and had gone my entire life without any kind of…romantic relationships.  Then after my change, I not only had these new assets but all the attention that they’d brought me for my entire life.  I also suddenly had the experience of having worked as an exotic dancer for a few years, which altered my perspective further.”

Elizabeth nodded at that, easily imagining what that must have been like for Dr. Harwen since she’d gone through a similar change after her first alteration.  She’d gone from being plain to curvy, though admittedly, she hadn’t become as busty as Dr. Harwen at that time nor did her life change quite as much.  Still, between that and her more recent changes, she could definitely understand.

“It’s amazing that your QSD can change things so much,” Elizabeth said, taking a sip of her coffee.

She absently ran her finger along the side of the coffee table, noting the dust in the side.  In this reality, she’d never cleaned house for Dr. Harwen, though Mark was now the one who had that job as he tried saving up to buy a car.  Elizabeth smiled faintly, thinking that Mark wasn’t quite as good at it as she’d been.

“Actually,” Dr. Harwen responded thoughtfully, “I’m just amazed that things haven’t changed more.”

Elizabeth stared at her for a moment before asking, “Okay…  Why?”

“Have you heard of the butterfly effect?” Dr. Harwen asked.  Before Elizabeth could answer, she explained, “In time travel theory, it refers to the idea that creating even a small alteration in the past could result in a chain reaction of unexpected alterations which could create a drastic alteration of the present.”

“Like going back and killing Hitler?” Elizabeth asked.

“Think smaller,” Dr. Harwen told her, smiling as she watched Elizabeth.  “Imagine going back in time and stopping a dog from being hit by a car.  Later, that dog bites a man who is on his way to a date.  Because of being bitten, he misses the date.  The baby that he would have conceived with his date that night is no longer conceived so a person who would have existed is no longer born.  Now imagine if that person would have grown up to be a doctor who saved the life of a little boy, and that boy would have then grown up to invent cell phones.  Because you saved that dog, cell phones no longer exist and you would have changed the entire world.”

“It sounds like science fiction,” Elizabeth pointed out skeptically.

“Indeed,” Dr. Harwen responded with a chuckle.  “But this is an idea often discussed by those who are interested in the concept and theoretical consequences of time travel.”

Elizabeth blinked at that.  “So your QSD is a time machine too?”

“No,” Dr. Harwen quickly assured her.  “I think we’re getting off track.  What I mean is that when the QSD altered reality and our own histories, I would have expected the changes to our current lives to be even greater.   For example, I graduated with the same specialty, have created the same patents, have worked for the same employers, followed the exact same line of research to create the QSD, and I even moved into the same house.  Any of those details could have been altered quite easily but weren’t.”

Elizabeth nodded as Dr. Harwen lectured, though she didn’t understand exactly what the doctor was getting at.  Still, it was interesting to watch Dr. Harwen get so excited about something like this.

“Reality has already shown that it doesn’t change merely by editing the QSD scans,” Dr. Harwen continued, seeming to be thinking aloud more than explaining this to Elizabeth.  “There seems to be a conservation of energy effect in that it can’t merely alter code, but it can exchange code from two subjects.  I believe that this is a further example of reality being resistant to alteration.  Reality appears to alter the least amount necessary to institute these code changes, though admittedly, this is mere conjecture at the moment and would need much more study.”

“Speaking of study,” Elizabeth said, not wanting to bring up the subject but knowing that she had to.  “I believe you were already studying me.”

“Of course,” Dr. Harwen said, giving Elizabeth a strange look.  “The experiment that you’re helping me with relates to that as well.  But if you’ll come down into my lab, there is something else I’d like to test.”

Elizabeth sighed and stood up, noticing that Dr. Harwen was still watching her carefully.  She really hoped that Dr. Harwen wasn’t about to make her switch back, though Elizabeth suddenly realized that there wasn’t anything she could do to stop it if that was the case.  Dr. Harwen could switch her and Mark back at any time and the only way she’d even know about it afterwards was if she was actually in the lab and near the quantum processor when it happened.

When Elizabeth reached the lab, she was startled to see that the holographic image of her was already up and on display.  She glanced to Dr. Harwen, who was looking back up at her with a thoughtful expression.

“What?” Elizabeth asked.

“I wanted to try something else,” Dr. Harwen said, quickly looking away from Elizabeth and going to the console.  “I intend to transfer something a little more subtle this time, something that should have a lesser impact on reality.”

“Okay,” Elizabeth responded, giving Dr. Harwen a curious look.  When Dr. Harwen didn’t say what it was she wanted to transfer, Elizabeth became suspicious.  “And what is it you want to do this time?”

Dr. Harwen looked a little uncomfortable for a moment, the turned her full attention back to the console.  “I’d rather not say just yet.  I’d rather see your reaction to the changes without it being biased by preconceived expectations.”

Elizabeth hesitated a moment, not liking the idea of being changed again without knowing what kind of change it was going to be.  However, it didn’t seem that Dr. Harwen was going to remove what she’d already been given, so she nodded her agreement.

“I already identified the area of code we need to exchange,” Dr. Harwen said, bringing up the image of another woman and then typing on her controls.

A moment later, Elizabeth felt a faint tingle through her body, though she didn’t feel herself changing like she had before.  She did feel the pressure building, but it wasn’t nearly as strong as either of the other times she’d gone through this.  She suspected that this meant Dr. Harwen was right about this being a much smaller reality adjustment.  Once the pressure popped, Elizabeth stood there, not feeling any different.

“What did you do?” Elizabeth asked, looking down at herself and not seeing anything different either.

“You’ll have to wait and see,” Dr. Harwen responded with a faint smirk.

For a moment, Elizabeth and Dr. Harwen stood there staring at each other, then Elizabeth looked away, feeling embarrassed.  She shook her head and said, “I’ve got to get going.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow,” Dr. Harwen said as Elizabeth began to leave.  “And I expect a full report on what you notice.”

Elizabeth just nodded as she left the house, pausing when she stepped out the door and scowling.  For some reason, she had a feeling that she’d accidentally left something behind or had forgotten to do something, though she couldn’t quite remember what.  Then with a sigh, she began walking back across the street.