Jeremy, A Special Delivery
And here we have part one of Jeremy. I'll be posting each chapter on a regular business for the foreseeable future. I've got huge buffer of chapters already written out in first draft. Expect each one sometime on the weekends.
A Special Delivery
As all stories of this sort, this one starts with a delivery. This delivery however can be said to have been made to the wrong address but that would only be half right.
In some inexplicable way a small but powerful piece of technology found its way to a time it didn't yet belong. What might be surprising to some; the packaging from the future looks much the same as it does today. Thus the little weasel to start our story found himself to be the eager owner of, a thing.
Having battled the shrink wrap into submission Sam popped open the case. With his graduation from school coming up he expected to receive plenty of gifts for the occasion. Picking up one of the objects inside he turned his find over in his paws. He'd never seen anything this simple able to hold any interest for him. To him it looked like a plain but shiny metal loop. Disappointed he dropped it back in the box it came in. It obviously wasn't for him after all. His little brother was more interested in mysterious and perplexing things like that.
Guessing his parents had bought the little twerp a new toy he took it to the playroom. With nowhere other than the table clear enough to put the box he set it on top of the half finished puzzle. If his little brother wanted to work on his stupid puzzle again he could move the box out of his way. Jeremy was always taking things apart and piecing them back together. Sam had no interest in the toys you had to figure out how to play with. He much preferred his video games.
Minutes later Jeremy found the box. Curious he picked up the ring from inside. Turning it over in his paws much like his older brother had he instead looked into the box for any clue as to what the ring did. Finding a glossy booklet at the bottom of the box he started reading through it. On reading for less than two minutes he stopped and looked around the room. Questions whirling through his head he listened for the slightest sound, suspicions plagued him as he stood silent.
Were his brothers up to something? Even if they were, how would they know about his desire to be bigger? Had Sam noticed how envious he was of his older brother's strength? He would had to have enlisted someone else's help in producing a fake instruction manual this good. The more he thought about the situation the less he thought his brothers were involved. He couldn't explain how something like what was in his grasp could even exist. Even if it did, how would anything like what was presented within the booklet could have found its way to him?
After insuring he was not being watched he went to the door and closed it. After testing the lock he snuck back to the table. Taking everything out of the box and setting everything out on the table he picked up the booklet. Carefully reading through the owners manual he took the larger of the rings and carefully examined it. It was large. An inch thick and wide enough to fit around his neck and fairly heavy.
It took a few seconds but he found the indentation the instructions described. Pressing a claw tip to the inside of the ring it uncoiled and became as pliable and thin as a wet noodle. In only a second it had spooled out to more than a dozen feet long. Surprised and excited of the possibilities he quickly stripped his clothes off to aid in the next step. Following the instructions and working quickly he wrapped one end around his left wrist. He smiled as the end soundlessly welded itself around his wrist.
Coiling the soft metal up his arm he managed to make four loops around his arm before he reached his shoulder. Looping it around the back of his neck he then began coiling it down around his chest. He slipped it around his crotch and wound it down his right leg. Clasping the ends together around his ankle he watched was the ends again welded together. Standing back up he looked down his body as the slack was taken up until the metal coil fit snugly over his body. When it was done it fit right against his skin. He could barely see it under his fur.
Becoming excited he looked at the smaller ring. Picking it up and examining it he didn't notice his breathing had sped up. It Looked like a simple thin tube almost two inches wide and an inch long. The metal was slim, maybe as thick as two sheets of paper. He couldn't see any markings. Following the directions he placed it against his right eye. Looking through the ring he took a deep breath before pressing it up against his eye socket.
He was surprised at the stinging sensation around his eye. Thinking he'd discarded the ring he pressed his paw against his eye feeling the pain increase. A moment later he felt the same sting over the areas of his body its larger companion lay. Hissing at the rising amount of pain he knew then he'd been tricked after all. Forced to his knees at the levels of pain coursing through his body he shut his eyes. His hands found the floor as he barely avoided falling in a heap.
He thought little of the humiliation he'd have to endure. He was more concerned about the kind of marks that were going to be left across his body. So, they had known of his hidden desires and used them against him. This was beyond anything his brothers had ever done to him before. Where had they gotten their paws on something so clever?
After a few seconds the pain started to diminish. Soon enough the pain was all but a memory. Standing back up he looked around expecting his brothers to be there ready to mock him. He was still alone in the playroom. Looking down he examined himself. There were no marks anywhere. A few seconds of self examination went by before he realized the metal band was no longer visible. Looking to the floor he couldn't find where the smaller ring he had dropped had gone. Turning he looked under the table when he started blinking at something in his vision.INITIALIZING
Standing he found the image stayed in the same area of his vision. Closing his eyes yielded little change. Bright blue and scrolled across the bottom of his vision the word stayed in the same place no matter where he turned his head.
This was beyond anyone's capabilities. He realized there was no trick involved. Technology like this was like nothing he'd ever heard of before. For several seconds he stood in the middle of the family playroom not able to think beyond the single word across his vision.
About ten seconds later it changed.INITIATING INTERFACE
Heart beating fast enough to sound in his ears Jeremy picked up the instruction manual and quickly found the necessary page. As per the instructions a few seconds elapsed before the next step started.OBTAINING SUBJECT PARAMETERS
Furiously paging through the manual Jeremy sat on one of the chairs as the process continued through the many steps. Finally it stopped.TUTORIALEDIT EXTERNALEDIT SUBJECT JEREMYCURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE 0HISTORYHELP : UNABLE TO CONNECTFAQQUIT
Jeremy read through the owners manual through the distraction of double vision. Having finished the manual he stared at the opposite wall unseeing. Sixteen pages told him little. Looking back at the cover was just as confusing.
P.A.T.O.M.E.S. What did that stand for?
He wondered how anything this powerful could have been dropped in his paws. Would someone come looking for it? It was a part of him now. He had no idea if it could be removed.
He gathered up everything. The wrapping and manual he stuffed back into the box and closed it up. Quickly putting his clothes back on he picked up the box. Unlocking the door he stepped out looking around for anyone else in his family. Still by himself for the time being he made his way outside. Standing on his tip toes he stuffed the box as deep into the trash as he could. Turning from the trash can he looked around the neighborhood. No one was watching him.
As he understood it, he'd need to add to his account before he'd be able to use it. Three of his neighbors were out in their front yard kicking a soccer ball back and forth. He would have to take from someone. He decided to run a quick and simple test. Nothing too extravagant lest he draw some unwanted attention. Opening the tutorial with a thought he went through the steps to target the oldest tiger sibling.
Two years older than the weasel's oldest brother, Stan was a constant undeclared threat. The tiger was already twice the size of Jeremy's father. They were still new in neighborhood terms, they'd only been across the street from Jeremy three years. The tiger family had the entire neighborhood on constant edge, then again most of their neighbors were prey specie.EXTERNAL TARGET 001 ACQUIRED
Now he needed to decide how much he could take without anyone noticing.SUBTRACTION OF 1% ORGANIC BODY MASS
He guessed nobody would notice a drop that small in a tiger Stan's size. It seemed there were more options. Jeremy thought about his next choice.
TIME OF TRANSFER 20 SECONDSREADY
Smiling to himself he was seconds away from what he'd always dreamed of being able to do.
He took a deep breath and activated the command. He didn't want to be noticed staring at the tiger the same time he shrank. Turning he went around the house to go back inside.TRANSFER COMPLETEACCOUNT BALANCE 67 UNITS
So one percent of Stan equalled sixty seven units. Surprised, Jeremy made his way through the kitchen and to the living-room. His family was in watching the television. He sat at the end of the couch next to the window. From the safety of his house Jeremy watched through the window looking to see if any of the tigers had noticed anything. The three tigers continued playing not knowing the oldest was now just a bit smaller. Now he could take the next step. He waited for what seemed an appropriate time.
As a commercial started he made his move. Heart racing he went to the bathroom. Locking the door he stripped his clothes off. He wanted to see the effects of the next step for himself.
Going through the proper selections he paused and readied himself before the mirror.30 UNIT ADDITION TO SUBJECT JEREMYTIME OF TRANSFER 10 SECONDSREADY
With an eager smile Jeremy selected the activation prompt.
He watched constantly looking over himself. The seconds went by and he failed to notice anything. The completion signal came up and he didn't see any changes to his still thin body. He'd been sure half of what he'd taken from the tiger would have shown itself on his much smaller weasel body.
Disappointed he put his clothes back on and made his way back to the living room. He sat with his family as they watched the television. Jeremy paid little attention. He was going through the tutorial of his new toy. It seemed he had successfully added mass to himself from Stan. He'd made the mistake of expecting what was really a fairly small quantity to show.
Still, it was probably for the best. He didn't want anyone to notice anything. He did resolve to surreptitiously add more to his account. There were plenty of kids at school who could do without just a bit of mass. He also needed to learn just what he was capable of with PATOMES. He also wondered if it had limits.