Chapter 1
Countdown Downtime
Chapter Description: Don't mess about with the countdown
“So”
“Yeah”
“You
had to, didn't you?”
“I couldn't resist, it was so
inviting and I thought why not, what could go wrong, right?”
“And
that's when you tampered with the, uh, the clock settings?”
“Yep,
it was pretty easy. I just thought what could the harm be by slowing
the countdown for the New Year”
“But you didn't slow it
down, did you?”
“No, I thought I had, it did go slow at
first so I just kept adjusting it”
“You do realise what
you've done, right?”
“Yes but it was just within a small
area!”
“A small area, yes, with at least twenty people
within that small area, correct?”
“Yes, I believe
so”
“Twenty people, yourself being one of them, affected
by your tampering with a very intricate clock based on still very
unknown technology within a small area where your intention was to
slow the countdown as a joke. Only it didn't go that way, did it?
No, something else happened”
“I didn't mean to”
“It
doesn't matter if you meant to or not, you still did it! Twenty
people, think about it, twenty. Ranging from their late twenties to
early fifties, no children thankfully. Well aside from what happened
to those twenty people”
“So I got a little
carried away with the adjustments, what's the harm?”
“What's
the harm? Look at yourself and tell me what the harm was to you and
the other nineteen who were affected”
“Do I have
to?”
“Yes, you do, what happened? Tell me”
“Well
I, uh, I ended up causing a localised reversal of time of a sort. No
effect on the mind just the body”
“Go on”
“And
in the process I caused myself and nineteen others to get younger
physically”
“How young would you say?”
“Oh
about, well...heh. Young enough for a good number of those twenty to
wind up back in nappies and the others in childhood”
“Explain
the effects this had on the body exactly”
“Loss of muscle
control in everyone, shock and, uh, crying”
“All twenty
are in nappies, those returned to childhood lost a considerable
degree of muscle control and are undergoing training to restore that
muscle control while you and at least eleven others are a tad young
for that”
“We'll grow up again”
“You're about
three years old or younger, I would say younger, and sitting there in
a thick nappy with a very cute play dress on”
“Thank you!
I picked it myself! Oh, wait, you're not complimenting my fashion
choice”
“I am but I am also disappointed in your actions”
“I didn't mean
to!”
“Tell that to those who are currently very young and
those having to undergo toilet training”
“At least nappies
are comfortable”
“I don't think it's the comfort that's
bothering them, it's the fact they're having to wear them at all and
may have to grow up again the slow way as they're not sure if they
can undo what you did even once the clock's settings are
restored”
“I guess one way of looking at it is that they
don't have to worry about bills and going to work”
“You've
screwed up their lives and yours”
“Well yeah when you put
it that way”
“You screwed up”
“I...yeah, I did.
Oops”
“Oops as in your sorry or you need a nappy
change?”
“Both?”
“I'll go get a nurse to tend
to you”
“Tell them I'm sorry about their kids”
“You can tell them
yourself”
“Ooo yeah, I can. My bad”
“Yes, very much your
bad”
“New year baby at least, a fair few of
them”
“Indeed”
“Oops”
