AR Central Stories

Chapter 5
Areopagitica

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Chapter Description: High school rivalries plus time machine equals fun.

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The only way to get rid of temptation is to give in to it. - Oscar Wilde

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The only word she could make out on her hastily scribbled notes was "exist." But this would not render the presentation any less spectacular. After all the hoopla surrounding it, who wouldn’t want to see an actual time machine? Of course, "time machine" was a loaded term that carried many connotations, but Susan Madden’s time-bending device was to be of her own imagination, something purely hers...

The students, professors, and scholars were finding their seats in the echo-filled auditorium, as Susan peaked meekly around the edge of the curtain. Susan was confident of her abilities and she had complete faith in the machine, but this did not dampen the fact that she was still horrified at the thought of public failure (especially when it dealt with her life’s work at MIT). The rumble of combined chattering reached even higher levels as the lights dimmed. It was showtime, and Susan hoped she was about to make history... or rather, remake history.

A wildfire of applause greeted Susan as she finally walked onstage, glancing hopefully at her "machine" as it sat under that cover that had been placed over it. God I hope this works she was thinking, while she put on her best face for the spectators. If all went wrong, she would need to remain collected and assured.

"Thank you," she addressed the microphone, "thank you all for coming." The applause died down as people took their seats.

"I know what you’re all here to see, so I will try to make this as brief as possible, also for the benefit of you who are taking notes." Susan’s blouse was particularly bright under the unforgiving auditorium lights. She had the look of a star though; there was a celebrity quality about her. She wasn’t your usual grumpy-looking old professor at all, but she accented her more bookish qualities more by wearing her trademark glasses and hardly ever touching her make-up case.

"Tonight, I hope to show you the first of a series of preliminary tests utilizing my...a-hem... invention. As most of you know, I have been researching the physics of time travel and the theories of Einstein for several years here at MIT. And tonight, I hope to prove to you my hypothesis that indeed time travel is possible," Susan shuffled through her notes, but couldn’t even decifer her own handwriting. The crowd seemed to lean forward.

"I know many of my colleagues feel that I’m barking up the wrong tree when it comes to my research in space-time warping, but I assure you that we have made advancements and the technology is within our grasp. The world has yet to experience anything remotely similar to actual time travel except for movies and simulations of course. But I ask you, doesn’t even the possibility of it wet your appetite?? Just think of the implications if man were able to ride the lines of time and consciously visit the past or the future. This is the fourth dimension, ladies and gentlemen. It’s time to move into it."

Whew, I pulled that off anyway Susan thought to herself, as she lifted her glasses off her nose. A single bead of sweat rolled down her forehead.

"But, since I know what you’re all here for, I’ll dispense with the technicalities and get right to the demonstration," Susan started to walk to her creation, "The machine, by the way, uses an accelerator of sorts to rip a small, temporary hole in the fabric of normal time as we know it. It can send messages through the portal for only 5 minutes before it closes and must be restarted."

Backstage, behind the billowing curtain, was a young Stacey Green, an 18-year-old freshmen at MIT. Prior to the unveiling of Professor Madden’s "time machine," Stacey had volunteered to the the first to experience the effects of time-bending. Susan had at first objected, being as Stacey was one of Susan’s brightest students and she had a real fondness for her. She didn’t want to see some accident (god forbid) rob Stacey of her promising career in science. Stacey was also very attractive and looked young for her age. People often remarked at how "innocent" she appeared with her short-cut blonde hair and soft features, but she shrugged it off. For some reason, the prospect of time travel was overwhelmingly tempting for Stacey, and ever since she had seen a set of full-size model dinosaurs at a museum in kindergarten, she had been fascinated by the changes of time. The experiment tonight was not to be near so extreme though... a small amount of years compared to any pre-historic travel.

Still, Stacey was nervous, although not because of the demonstration (she had complete confidence in Prof. Madden’s abilities), but she hated being in front of crowds. The embarassment factor is always higher when a room full of peers is watching you.

"Now, the demonstration I hope to show today is one of ’past time-bending’ or rather, an example of time travel into the past. It will involve the subject being physically transported into the past, where she will be able to physically experience another time. The machine itself creates a rip in the fabric of space and time, but only for the small area inside the machine. What you will witness is the subject seeming to disappear, although you will see residual images that linger where she sits."

Stacey’s palms were getting wetter with each word. She knew Lisa Doherty was in the audience. And though Stacey was a very easy-going person, Lisa had, for some reason, never missed the chance to rake Stacey across the coals. Stacey could never figure out exactly why Lisa despised her so much, but by her second semester, she had simply resigned to their mutual dislike. Tonight was especially nerve-racking because Stacey knew that Lisa’s mind was capable of nothing short of sabotage.

"The device is ready," Susan said, "and if I may have my willing guinea pig." Susan raised her arm, pointing at the end of the curtain.

From behind it came a meek-looking Stacey Green, whose eyes were wide. The auditorium is COMPLETELY FULL she kept thinking. And there she is Stacey gazed at the 3rd row Lisa Her inexplicable nemesis smiled back at her, looking a tad too happy for Stacey’s tastes.

"Stacey Green, ladies and gentlemen." The room applauded. "Now, what Stacey will do is quite simply sit inside the device as I make all the appropriate arrangements for her travel," Susan noted, motioning for Stacey to enter the device through the round hole on the front side.

Stacey ducked her head inside the shiny machine. "Oh, let me help you with that," Susan said, noticing that Stacey’s sweater had caught on the opening of the machine.

"Thank you." Stacey pulled her last leg inside, as Susan closed the circular glass hatch. It was very plain inside the device... no frills for sure. But Stacey could still see the audience through the hole, and it made her feel even more alone onstage. It was only now that Stacey started to be frightened of the actual experiment.

The size of the interior forced Stacey to hunch over while she sat on a makeshift ledge of sorts. Not a comfortable position, to be sure. Added to that, through the glass that was beginning to fog up she could still see Lisa in the 3rd row, looking as devilish (and sexy) as ever. All of the emotions started swirling in her stomach and she started to become quesy at the mere thought of facing the crowd any longer. But she held it in, for Susan’s sake.

"Now, this demonstration will have our subject experience a different point on the timeline of Earth. She will be transported via quasi-worm hole 12 years into the past. Why not the future some of you may ask. As of now, this device is only capable of reversing the flow of time. Traveling to the future would involve far more calculation and study. But without further ado..." Susan pressed a key on the keypad situated on the left side of the machine.

Inside, Stacey could feel her insides churning, and all she could think of was catastrophe. All of her confidence in Susan was being washed away second by second. Something about the circumstance. Something about about confined spaces. Something about crowds. Something about Lisa Doherty’s grin.

The machine began to glow a bright white as streams of light flew around it. It wasn’t unlike a sight in a B science fiction movie. The machine also started quaking violently. Susan assured the crowd it was nothing to be afraid of. Meanwhile, inside, Stacey’s thoughts were running wild. She could no longer see the crowd through her tiny hole but just what appeared to be a laser light show. It was all much too ethereal. In fact, she could no longer see the walls of the device, for they were also cloaked in the flaming lights. It almost felt as if she were floating on air, with nothing but clouds below.

But the machine eventually halted, and the shaking stopped, and the lights dissipated. For Stacey, the room felt both the same and yet, different somehow. To her surprise, she peered through her hole and saw the crowd, exactly as it had been, waiting in breathless anticipation of what would come out of the machine. Had she not gone back in time? What’s wrong? she thought to herself, as a hand slowly reached down and started opening the door in front of her.

Soon, Stacey saw Professor Madden’s face peer into the machine. Her expression of hopefullness turned, nearly instantly, into one of complete shock. The machine had not worked, of course, but even that didn’t warrant such an amazingly perplexed expression. Stacey wondered why Susan had such a confounded look on her face. With that, Susan reached her hand inside, and Stacey grabbed a hold of it. Something still seemed off...

As Susan helped Stacey out of the time machine, the crowd made an audible gasp, staring in a strange awe at her, including Lisa. When Stacey stepped out, she realized exactly what the crowd had realized. She was much shorter! In fact, the sleeves of her sweater were now hanging off her, and she barely reached Susan’s waist!

"What?" was all that Stacey tried to say, but got no further, noticing her voice. The mere change in frequency shocked her enough that she couldn’t utter another word. She glanced down at herself, and saw that she had become a kid again! The ends of her sleeves were now touching the ground, and most of her clothes had fallen off as she tried to get out of the machine. Her hair had grown longer as well, just as it had been... when? she asked herself... when I was six years old!

Then, it all clicked. The machine had taken 12 years away from her, but left her with her 18-year-old mind. Her brain was not affected at all by the change, but her physical body had been reduced to kindergarten age. Stacey’s mind could almost be read from her expression alone: I’m not here... This isn’t happening... I’m not here... This isn’t happening...

In stunned embarassment, Susan quickly guided little Stacey offstage, as the crowd began to roar with conversation. Somehow, above all the racket, Stacey swore she could hear the demonic laugh of Lisa Doherty; it rose above all else in the room. Stacey shuffled her feet, tripping over her ridiculously large clothes. It felt exactly like that day in first grade when she peed in her pants and the teacher had grabbed her little hand and marched her down the hall in front of everyone. Still, Lisa’s piercing laughter echoed in little Stacey’s head. The long walk offstage seemed to take a millenium...

Both Stacey and Susan were mortified. What possibly could have triggered such an enormous error? With the multitude of tests that had been run prior to the demonstration, Susan had no clue why the machine would have malfunctioned in such an odd and embarassing way. But more than that, Susan felt immense sympathy for Stacey and what the device had done to her. My God, I hope this isn’t permanent she mumbled to herself, walking the little girl past the students backstage. Stacey could feel their eyes on her and all she could think was Why in God’s name did this have to happen??

For speed, Susan bent down and picked little Stacey up, and rushed her to her office. She quickly set Stacey down inside and locked the door. Susan could see that Stacey was crying...

"Stacey, I--" There were no words to say. "I -- I don’t know what went wrong!"

There were only more tears.

Stacey managed to calm herself slightly. "I know." She burst into tears again hearing how high her voice had become.

"We’ll start work on it immediately. You’ll be back to normal before you know it," Susan tried to console her.

"It’s not fair," Stacey belted out, her little 6-year-old cheeks were turning beet red with anger/confusion.

Susan took a Kleenex from the box on her desk and handed it to Stacey, who promptly wiped her nose.

"Look at me!" she screamed, feeling her own body from the toes up. "This wasn’t supposed to happen! I can’t...*snivel*...go back to school now. I just can’t. They’ll make fun of me!" Tears were flowing heavily now. Susan could only sit and listen to the regressed 18-year-old. "LOOK at me!"

Students and professors alike were now crowded around her door, pounding mercilessly at the glass. Susan unlocked the door, and stuck her head out:

"PLEASE, ladies and gentlemen, I can’t talk right now. Have some damn courtesy, will you? She CAN’T TALK right now." With that, she slammed the door shut in their faces.

Susan had to take a moment and marvel at the pint-sized girl kicking her legs off the edge of her chair. It was amazing. Even with the obvious mistake, she had to sit back in awe of what had just happened. Stacey Green, who was a slender, admitedly sexy, legal age blonde just 10 minutes ago was now under 4 feet tall and looked no older than pre-school or kindergarten. But Susan’s mixed feelings of triumph were whisked away the second Stacey spoke up again, in her jerky muffled little voice.

"Wh -- What do y-you think we should do?" she asked, looking sheepishly up at her favorite professor.

"Well, Stacey, we just have to look at the machine and try to find a way to reverse the flow. There isn’t much we can do while the mob is still waiting outside the door."

"PLEASE don’t make me go out there!" Stacey pleaded innocently.

"I won’t, Stacey. I wouldn’t make you go through that again." Susan could see more tears forming in the 6-year-old’s eyes. She walked over and knelt down to hug her. As Susan wrapped her arms around Stacey, the only words she could think to say were "I’m so sorry... I’m so sorry..."

Meanwhile, in the auditorium, Lisa was talking with Ryan Matthews.

"My God, did you see her?" Lisa chuckled.

Ryan was not so jovial.

"Yeah."

"Oh..my..God... this is like so weird. I can’t believe that thing turned her into a little kid again!" Lisa sounded too delighted for Ryan’s taste.

"I need to go," Ryan said, as he stood up and nudged by Lisa.

Lisa could only sit there, steaming inside. Because inside, she knew exactly what was going on. Ryan and Stacey. Ever since the first grade, Lisa had had a silent crush on the undeniably cute Ryan Matthews. Sadly, Ryan had never reciprocated Lisa’s advancements. Rather, he had fallen for a certain Stacey Green. The mere sight of them together made Lisa’s eyes well up like geysers. She thought she had made it so obvious, so clear... that any guy would get the message. So, the lord of the flies had whispered into Lisa’s ear about a month ago when she heard of the upcoming time machine demonstration by Professor Madden. She also knew, by her copious sources, that Stacey had agreed to be the first to experience the machine, and the light bulb that went off over her head could not have been any brighter if it were nuclear lit. Sabotage the machine. Get Ryan for herself. The part that was hazy was what exactly would happen to Stacey. After all, Lisa had no idea how to work the machine or what her switch of wires would do. She only knew it would embarass her arch rival in front of LOTS of people. But, as the night wore on, it appeared she had driven Ryan even farther away. He still cares about that bony little bitch! Even now that she’s REALLY little!

But on the other hand, Lisa was thrilled at what the machine had done to Stacey. In a way, it was even better than her simple disappearance or the machine smoking and falling apart. It had quite definitely taken Stacey out of the dating circuit at MIT. Ryan will come around Lisa mused he can’t stay infatuated with her if she’s younger than his little sister! But the thought was lingering: What if he didn’t back off? What if he still loved her just as much even though she was a mere child? The thought led Lisa to begin forming a new plan, one to put everyone in their place.

Outside the auditorium, Ryan squeezed his way through the mob in front of Professor Madden’s office. Inside, he could just barely see the outline of his 6-year-old girlfriend through the translucent glass.

"It’s no use," one of the spectators said to Ryan, as he tried to make his way to the door. "She’s not letting anyone inside."

Ryan reluctantly gave up the fight for the door, and let the excited mass of people close back in, pushing him out. Ryan admitted he didn’t know what to do about this. What does one do when a machine shrinks your girlfriend down to a little girl? The realization of what had happened sank into Ryan’s head. If Stacey has to stay like this, her old body will be... well, years away. Her voice wouldn’t drop back down for a long time to come. And forget about breasts. She wouldn’t have breasts for another 7 years or so, Ryan thought to himself. Maybe it would be the more sensible thing to do to extract himself from the situation altogether. After all, there was nothing he could do about it, but wait.

In Professor Madden’s office, Stacey continued sniveling:

"I know who did it," Stacey said, quiet plainly.

"You think it was sabotage?" Susan almost felt strange using the word "sabotage" around a 6-year-old, then quickly reminded herself that this was the same old Stacey, just significantly shorter and immature.

"I know who it was... Lisa Doherty."

"The junior who’s in your physics class?" asked Susan.

"Yes," Stacey tried to gather her thoughts, "Yes, she bugged me my whole first semester; I don’t know why though. She just doesn’t like me."

"And you think she would go this far?"

"I know she would," Stacey wiped her eyes, now puffy and red.

"We’ll fix it, Stacey."

At that, Stacey stopped rubbing her eyes and looked up at Susan with her incredibly irrestistible little face, saying "What if you can’t?"

Silence followed as both Susan and Stacey were at a loss for words and ideas.

"We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. You’ll be fine, Stacey. Don’t worry. We’ll get you out of here and some better clothes."

Stacey surveyed the crumpled mass that was her clothes. She looked like a child playing dress-up in her parachute-like sweater. It was altogether like a dream... except, of course, it was real.

LATER THAT EVENING

Eventually though not completely, the stentorian mob drifted away, one by one. Some had lingered, hoping to catch another glimpse of Stacey. most likely to plaster on the front of some newspaper the next day. Susan had opened her window and fed Stacey through it, noticing that the few still remaining were still around her door. Susan then managed to fit herself through the window, with considerably more effort than it took to lower Stacey out.

"Im freezing," Stacey said, with her multi-colored sweater still draped over her tiny body.

"We’ve got to get you out of here," Susan tucked her clothes back in after closing the window. "Good, I don’t see anyone around. My car is right around that corner over there," Susan pointed.

Someone was around though. Lisa was not about to lose this battle, and the only way to ensure that Ryan wouldn’t run back to Stacey was to take her completely out of the picture. Love now turning to obsession as it often does.

Lisa was hidden in the black shadows on one side of the auditorium waiting for the right moment. She could see Susan and an overdressed little girl follwing close behind her. As Susan made her way past the edge of the auditorium, Lisa grabbed Stacey, covering her mouth and thus making the transaction virtually silent. Susan wouldn’t notice for another 30 seconds or so...

Stacey tried desperately to scream out, to let Susan know, but Lisa had a firm unforgiving grasp over her mouth. She could only kick and squirm madly.

"Shhhh, you little bitch," Lisa whispered, as she crossed the lawn at the rear of the auditorium. "You’ll have a reason to scream when I get done with you, baby."

Stacey’s sweater nearly touched the ground as Lisa made her way to her car. Once inside, she quickly looked over the panorama and saw no sign of Professor Madden. Oh yeah...

STILL LATER THAT NIGHT

Lisa’s driving was "inconsistent" to say the least. Stacey felt each turn and swerve like it was a roller-coaster. Then again, she reasoned, everything feels bigger now. Lisa was also bigger, much bigger. She occasionally shot a wicked glance at little Stacey, still wrapped in her formerly well-fitting attire. The shock of having seen an 18-year-old reduced to a child had now mostly worn off and Lisa felt comfortable enjoying the fruits of her labor. She let out a billowing laugh (or at least it seemd so to a frightened Stacey) and remarked:

"So, how does it feel like to be small and insignificant?"

Stacey didn’t know what to answer.

"Don’t wanna talk? That’s fine too. Probably just getting used to your new body, eh? I’ll bet you just love it. Think of all the little places you’ll able to fit into now!"

Stacey was far from thrilled.

"And I guess Ryan isn’t going to accompany you to the dance now is he? No, I guess he wouldn’t be now. I think one of his primary requirements was that his date have boobs." With that witty (for Lisa) remark, Lisa laughed again, making Stacey’s stomach sink even lower. "Pubic hair. That was another requirement I think." Lisa chuckled louder. "Plus you just don’t seem to be his type, ya know? He generally goes for, ya know, older types like 2nd or 3rd grade."

The frustration in the car was almost palpable. Stacey only had one question:

"Why?"

"Oh, what was that? Did you say something?" Lisa sneered.

"Why are you doing this to me?"

"My, my, you aren’t a bright little one, are you? You know damn well why I’m doing this. I’ve been in love with Ryan ever since I met him."

"He never mentioned you," Stacey noted.

"Why you little lying bitch! I’ve been putting out signs for years now! And he was just starting to open up to me when you had to show up, with that innocent little smile and those perky tits of yours!"

"I never--"

"Don’t try to deny it, you little whore. I know you act all nice and sweet, but you were trying to steal my guy! I had to do SOMETHING before he fell for you like a drug. He had no clue what he was doing -- typical guy I guess."

"Lisa, I never meant to hur--" Stacey tried to speak, but her airy childish voice was easily drowned out by Lisa’s rant.

"Well, you won’t be in the game anymore! Now you’re just a little kid, so you can go back to kindergarten and draw crayon pictures for all I care. Just leave Ryan to a real woman like me."

One could hear a microscopic pin drop for the remainder of the trip.

THE NEXT DAY

Professor Madden had spent the night searching, not finding, and then worrying about Stacey. So much so that her eyes hadn’t closed for longer than two seconds the entire night. It must have been this Lisa girl she reasoned. But I have no clue where Lisa would be. This was because Lisa had not gone back to her dorm room the night before. Unbeknownst to anyone, Lisa had taken little Stacey to a nearby hotel.

AT THE HOTEL

"Rise and shine, Stacey!" Lisa said, not knowing Stacey hadn’t actually slept at all last night. "Today, we’re gonna visit Ryan! Won’t that be fun?" It was a Saturday, and Lisa knew exactly where her beau would be.

"Get dressed. Here, I went down to the gift shop and got you a little yellow T-shirt. Cute, eh?" Lisa held up the pint-sized shirt for Stacey. "Take off that stupid sweater."

Stacey crossed her arms, refusing to voluntarily humiliate herself. But Lisa was going to persist...

"Take it off now, Stacey. What? Are you afraid I’ll see your flat chest? Ha ha."

Stacey had to admit that that was the reason she was refusing. Even though she had been a child for at least 10 hours now, it still felt wrong to take off her top in front of anyone, especially Ms. Doherty.

"Take it off or I’ll make you!" snarled Lisa.

Stacey finally capitulated, and yanked the massive sweater off. She was now completely naked, without anything to cover her underdeveloped privates. That didn’t stop her from at least trying though, as she used both hands to block Lisa’s view of her crotch. Stacey had to concede that there was nothing to hide on top.

"Good girl. You’re just adorable in your birthday suit, you know it?" But Lisa noticed something different about Stacey, other than her nudeness. She seemed slightly taller today than she had been last night. Right after the experiment, she had looked about six years old or so. Now, she looked more around seven. But no matter, Lisa still had the upper hand and she intended to use it.

Lisa smiled a Grinch-like smile as she put her hands on her hips and gazed down at her rival, now nothing but a naked quivering little girl, who was trying with all her might to sheild herself.

"Yeah, quite a rack you’ve got there, Stacey. Ryan will just love your new look I’m sure. Here’s your shirt," Lisa flung the light blue thing at Stacey. "We’ll just see who he chooses this time."

RYAN’S DORM

Lisa knocked three times on the unadorned door to Ryan’s room. It didn’t seem like Ryan’s door to Stacey though, who had never viewed it from such a low angle before. She could barely read the number at the top, "114". Stacey dreaded, more than anything, having to arch her head up so far just to look at her boyfriend. The door seemed to almost sqeak open in slow-motion.

When it did, Ryan didn’t even notice Lisa had anyone with her.

"Hi... Lisa. What’s up?" Ryan said, noticing Lisa was not alone. Before Lisa answered, Ryan bent down to Stacey’s face and looked into her eyes. "Oh my God."

"She look familiar, Ryan?" Lisa smirked.

"Oh my God," Ryan’s eyes didn’t even blink, "is that you, Stacey??"

"Ding, ding... we’ve got a winner!" Lisa said sarcastically.

"Stacey?" Ryan asked again, still not quite believing.

"Yes," Stacey meekly answered, hanging her head.

Ryan stood back up, with a confused expression painted on his face. "Lisa, why are you--?"

"Oh, we just thought we’d come for a little visit," Lisa cut him off. She pulled Stacey into the room and set her down on Ryan’s bed. Her head immediately fell into her hands.

"I don’t understand," Ryan said.

"Of course you wouldn’t, Ryan. I know this is almost too much to grasp, but I just thought you’d like to see your girlfriend, that’s all. Now, all I want from you is to pick. Go ahead. Look at Stacey. What’s it gonna be then, eh?"

Ryan, now even more confused, reluctantly turned his eyes toward the crying girl sitting on his bed. And he felt nothing but sympathy and love for her. She was a victim of things beyond her control. Ryan moved toward Stacey and she slowly raised her head, red streaks running down her soft face. Ryan said nothing, but instead put his arms around her. Suprised, Stacey didn’t know how to react. Did this mean Ryan still loved her? She gingerly wrapped her short little arms around her boyfriend, not believing what was happening. "I love you," Ryan whispered quietly in Stacey’s ear. She closed her eyes, and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"What is this?? Are you fucking crazy? Look at her! She’s practically a baby!" Lisa screamed at Ryan’s backside.

Ryan cautiously turned around and, in a shockingly casual manner, said:

"Stop this, Lisa."

Lisa was steaming. "OK, that’s it. I made it clear to you for the past three years that I really liked you. I put out every sign I possibly could. Hell, I’ve known you since WE were six years old! But instead, you choose this... this baby-faced little harlot? You still in love with her, eh? Good luck having hot sex with that little cherub!"

With that, Lisa pulled a gun from her purse and aimed it at Ryan.

"Whoa, Lisa, easy... easy," Ryan backed off and covered Stacey, "Just put that thing away, all right? We can work this out."

"I gave you a chance to ’work this out’ a minute ago and you picked wrong, BABY." Lisa held the gun firmly, her sweaty finger rested on the trigger.

"Please, you don’t have to do this. It’s not worth it, Lisa. Just give me the gun, ok?"

Stacey spoke up from behind Ryan. "Please, Lisa. I never meant to hurt you."

"Shut up, baby Stacey," Lisa yelled, seeing that Stacey was looking older again... more like eight years old now.

Lisa continued: "No can do, loverboy. But don’t worry. I’m not gonna shoot ya. Just pick your girlfriend up and let’s take a little trip."

BACK AT THE AUDITORIUM

Ryan and Stacey walked into the building, an angry Lisa Doherty following. Lisa knew the auditorium would be locked on saturday, but having been a member of the drama club at one point, Lisa knew an alternate point of entry. There was a quasi-hidden door to the right side of the stage that you could get into with the code to the door. When they reached it, Lisa thought for a second and punched in three number. The door opened, and she waved the gun at them to step inside.

The auditorium was cold, and austere without the lights and people. Still, the hollow echoes of last night rang in Stacey’s head; she shivered thinking of how it felt to be accidentily rejuventated in front of her classmates and teachers. She secretly hoped that Professor Madden would be waiting around the bend... but sadly, she was not.

The machine was still sitting in the center of the stage, now dormant and lifeless. The implications of Lisa bringing them here was not good, and Stacey knew what was going to happen.

"Now Stacey, I know you’re only a wittle kid in body... but you still have your memory," Lisa growled.

Stacey nodded, knowing Lisa was right.

"And so, I would like you to tell me how to work the machine. And don’t tell me you don’t know. I’ve seen you in here for months with Professor what’s-her-name working on this thing."

Were it not for the gun, Stacey would have, of course, refused, but the butt of a revolver in your face will make you lose your convictions fast. Stacey knew full well how the machine worked, and she assumed from the fiasco surrounding last night that no repairs had yet been made to it either. So, it appeared Lisa was going to have her fun...

"Scoot," Lisa said, brandishing the gun. Stacey complied. "The keyboard is up too high for you."

Lisa motioned toward Ryan. "Lift her up, Ryan." He walked over and picked up his girlfriend, holding her high enough to reach the buttons.

"That’s it, I want you to set the controls for 19 years in the past," Lisa said, pacing the perimeter of the stage.

Stacey glanced up at Ryan with a you-know-I-don’t-want-to-do-this face. But Ryan nodded. It was the only way to appease Lisa the Tyrant and so she must. She nervously punched in the settings and Ryan lowered her to the floor again.

"Now for the fun, you two. You thought it was bad now, eh? Why don’t you step inside, Ryan?" Lisa said, coercing Ryan into the chamber by way of her pistol. "You like Stacey’s being young, huh? Well then I guess you won’t mind taking a little trip back through memory lane yourself."

"Lisa, just be reasonable--" Ryan made one last attempt at diffusing the situation.

"The time for reasonable has passed. You could have chosen me, but you didn’t. Now you’re going to join your little friend in childhood!"

The air of anticipation was intense. Lisa’s plan was taking on more water with every second. Ryan, now entirely distressed at his imminent fate, ducked his head and made his way into the machine, shaking as he did so. Why had Lisa suddenly gone AWOL? Sitting in the machine, he started to think of all the times Lisa had sat next to him in classes, how many times she’d called him on the weekend, and it all became so painfully clear. He had fallen for the "we’re just friends" fallacy; Lisa had been after him since Day 1 and he was just too close to her to see it. Now, it appears any friendship that was there before had now morphed into a feeling of serious revenge.

Stacey, again appearing slightly older now, observed as her boyfriend settled into the machine, and consequently, what might be a new life for both of them.

"Start it!" Lisa yelled.

"I can’t reach it now," Stacey moaned, streching as far as her legs would go.

"Oh, all right," Lisa said, walking over and picking little Stacey up. She timidly pressed the button for "execute" and the machine began its all-too familiar rumbling. Ryan was being jostled inside, as the lights began to swirl like ghosts around the outside of the device. PLEASE, let Professor Madden have fixed it Stacey repeated like a Buddhist mantra. But the machine appeared to be working just as it had always worked. The brilliant colors surrounding it looked just like the Stargate sequence in 2001. Stacey fear the worst was yet to come.

"You’re just gonna love your new boyfriend, Stacey," Lisa mocked the worried child. "If all works as planned, it looks like Ryan’s gonna be too young for dating though."

"Please, stop this! What are you trying to accomplish?" Stacey belted out, strangely unafraid of Lisa and her gun.

"I’ll tell you what I’ll accomplish. I’m making you both into babies! How about that? So you and Ryan can live happily ever after, in diapers."

The machine raged on, and Stacey couldn’t see inside or what was happening to Ryan. From the looks of the machine though, the prognosis was not good. The activity of the device was just as it was last night when she was regressed. Finally, the machine fizzled out and the rumbling subsided to a dull, almost inaudible hum.

"Well, it looks like it’s time to check on your beau. Let’s see big he is now," Lisa said as she opened the glass door and bent down to look in. She laughed, reaching her arms inside and pulling out a baby no more than a year old in appearance. "Ta da!" she said, as the previously-fitting jeans fell off the infant.

Stacey couldn’t believe what she was seeing. No, ti couldn’t be possible... it couldn’t! Ryan was only a baby now, being cradled in the arms of Lisa Doherty. His hair had been reduced to dark peach fuzz on the top of his head, and his limbs shrunk to chubby useless appendages which he flailed madly. Ryan had gone past the point Stacey had, for he could no longer talk but merely gurgle and spit and cry. It didn’t seem to be him at all...

"Well, well, well, how do you like being young again, Ryan? Is it all it’s cracked up to be?" Lisa poked at the baby, who was now without a stich of clothing. Of course, it didn’t really matter. Thee wasn’t much to see anymore anyway. Stacey had never been intimate enough with Ryan to have seen him completely naked, so it was jarring the first time to see him as a infant with a nearly microscopic penis.

"Maybe you’d like to visit Stacey, eh? Your old grilfriend? Yeah, you remember. The one you picked over me," Lisa said, handing baby Ryan to Stacey, sho gazed down at him in utter awe.

"Ryan... Ryan, can you hear me? Do you understand?" Stacey asked, seeing something in Ryan’s eyes that indicated "yes, I can hear you."

"Awww, what a tender moment," Lisa said sarcastically. "You two will have a lot of fun together I’m sure. Stacey can play with little Ryan and diaper him and wipe off his poopy little butt."

Lisa was not finished though. She knew the potential for payback was even greater. It makes perfect sense Lisa thought. If the machine can make you younger, it can also add years! She hastily questioned herself: How old do I want to be? After all, Lisa was only a junior, and looked as if she had some more growing to do. 25 sounds nice Lisa decided, looking at her 19-year-old frame.

"Stacey!"

"Yes?"

"Set the machine for 6 years in the future!" Lisa shouted.

"Lisa, I don’t know. Professor Madden said--"

"I don’t care what the fuck Professor Madden had to say about anything. Set the control for the future. I mean, it goes into the past right? It has to go into the future!" Lisa’s reasoning wasn’t all that stellar when it came to physics and time travel.

"But we haven’t even test--" Stacey objected.

"It’ll work fine. Set it for 6 years, and make sure baby Ryan gets a good view of this."

Stacey walked over to the control panel, but she she still was nowhere close to being able to reach it.

"Oh, right." Lisa picked up Stacey (who was still holding Ryan) and elevated her high enough to maneuver her way through the sets of suprisingly complex entry codes. After it was completed, Lisa set the two down with a satisfied grin on her face. She leaned over to get another good look at Ryan’s pathetic member.

"I’m gonna be old enough to be your mom. How’s that sound, Ryan?" taunted Lisa.

Realizing she would have to abandon her control of the situation for a moment, Lisa made sure there were no chairs around that Stacey could use to get up to the controls. Wouldn’t want that scrawny little bitch making me a toddler thought Lisa.

The scene was set and everything was in place. Stacey stood by with Ryan cupped in her arms. Lisa hesitated for a moment. Stacey looks older... what the hell is up with that? Is it wearing off? Lisa was right; Stacey was regaining her age slowly but surely. To look at her now, you might guess 9 or 10. Her features were gradually getting back their maturity, although she still looked like a kid for sure. At least she won’t be back to her old age for a day or so Lisa thought. I’ll deal with that when I have to.

With that sentiment, Lisa pressed the "execute" button on the control pad and quickly locked herself in the chamber. The machine began to glow intensely with an almost neon effect surrounding it completely. It had not appeared this way the first two times; so, something was different. As traveling to the future goes, there are fundamental differences that have to be accounted for. Now, the device was attempting to rip a hole through time into something and someplace that hadn’t occured yet. The humming noise got louder and louder as the machine intensified its operation. Watching intently on the sidelines, Stacey could do nothing but watch the magnificent box light up like a firework.

As she watched the event unfold, the world now seemed completely upside down, at odds with nature itself. It had become horribly clear that time-bending was a technology now yet compatible with human nature. It only caused disarray and hurt, at least when in the hands of someone who is mad with power. The machine’s journey into the future took much longer than its journey into the past, most probably because of the massive amount of power needed to push an object ahead in time.

Stacey had one shimmering last hope... because she knew she was getting older. The growth had been slow compared with her regression, but she was slowly reaching equilibrium again. Apparently, the machine’s effects didn’t last because once the subject is placed back in its normal time and space, it must re-conform to its surroundings. In other words, the Stacey of 12 years ago could not continue to exist in the year 2000. Likewise, she hoped Ryan would have the same passage back to his adulthood. Stacey was getting older again, but it would take time for her to reach her former age.

But the room fell silent once again, as the machine grinded to a screeching halt. What would Lisa look like now? Stacey wondered. Did it actually move her into the future? Stacey’s worst fears were confirmed when out stepped:

Lisa, now a ravagingly beautiful twenty-something. Her clothes had holes where she had grown and her body had undergone more of a change than any had expected. Toned legs, gorgeous thighs, silky dark hair, and a face that belonged on the cover of Cosmopolitan magazine. It was a sight even she was not prepared to believe. Her figure was nearly perfect, with womanly curves running from her breasts to her ankles. 6 years had done amazing things for Lisa, and she gazed down at them, enraptured at the sight of her own physique. She had been pretty before, to be sure, but this was something entirely different. The additional years had increased Lisa’s sex appeal by leaps and bounds: her breasts were rounder and more full, her face had worked its way into certain maturity, and Stacey only stared at the sight, now feeling terribly inadequate and awkward. Lisa was now super-model material, and she... she was a mere 10-year-old with not even a hint of bumps on her chest, and her boyfriend was ready for Pampers.

"No!" Stacey yelled, unable to comprehend that the machine had worked.

"Yes!" Lisa said in the deeper, sexier voice she now owned. She sauntered over to the tiny pair, more of her clothes tearing in the process. "Well, what do you think?"

Stacey hung her head and looked once again deep into Ryan’s little blue eyes, hoping to pry her eyes from the goddess Lisa had become.

"I like it very much. In fact, I’m never going back to 19 again. I think this suits me much better than that B-cup rack I had before. Of course, you wouldn’t know about that, would you?" Lisa was electrifying, as she spun and strutted around as if the stage were a walkway. "Having boobs is really fun. You’ll like it once you get ’em."

Then the fashion she she was putting on for herself turned into a strip show, as she began involuntarily losing her old clothing (and voluntarily as well). Lisa wanted Stacey to see the whole picture, the entirety of what she had lost. She wanted Ryan to see too. And see it, they did. First, she lost her pants, which fell to the floor in a pile, leaving only her sensual legs. Her top quickly followed, leaving her in her underwear, which had now become revealingly tight.

"Like what you see, Ryan?"

She then walked up face to face with Stacey and reached around her back, and unfastened her bra. Somehow, Stacey couldn’t take her eyes away as she slowly pulled the bra down off her shoulders. Lisa was now fully possessed by her power over them. As the bra unhooked and fell to the stage floor, Lisa dangled her ample delights in full view of Ryan and Stacey.

"Bet you’d like to touch them, huh Ryan? Why don’t you reach out with those little baby hands of yours and do it. Go ahead and do it, Ryan!" Lisa demanded, moving even closer to the reduced duo. To Stacey’s surprise, little Ryan reached out his pudgy hand and touched Lisa’s left breast. But it was more out of an inexplicable baby instinct than anything else.

"Yeah, guess he changed his mind now, you little lying bitch!" Lisa scolded, standing up. Stacey craned her head to see a towering image of Lisa almost blocked by her beautiful breasts. To turn the knife even more, Lisa stuck her thumbs in the sides of her panties and proceeded to lower them to the ground. Stacey was about eye-level with Lisa’s belly button. Lisa was more intimidating than ever. And Stacey had to stare straight into Lisa’s slender midriff.

"See? That’s what a real woman looks like," Lisa said, making sure Ryan got to see everything he was missing. "Give him to me," Lisa ordered. Stacey handed Ryan to Lisa.

Now, Ryan felt Lisa’s smooth flesh against his soft baby skin. He could feel her breasts against his legs and stomach. Conversely, Lisa felt his hairless crotch against her, with his miniscule member poking about 3/4 of an inch from his body. For a moment, Ryan was transported back to his actual childhood and he felt, just for an instant, like he was home. But Lisa was not his mother; he knew that.

"You could have had me, Ryan. Any time you wanted. This could have been yours. Can you feel it? Or are you still in love with that kid over there?" Lisa fiddled with Ryan’s squirming toes, and turned to look at Stacey. "I love you. Or I loved you. But, as you can see, now I’m interested in other things. Namely sex. But you won’t be having that for a loooong time, buddy. No, no, you’re going to be walking around in diapers for a while. Don’t worry. Your girlfriend will take care of you, change your poopy pants, and wipe your little pee-pee. I’ve got more important things to do," Lisa lectured the baby.

Just then, the auditorium doors busrt open and several police officers, guns in hand, barged through.

"Hands up!" one of the yelled, aiming his pistol directly at Lisa.

Lisa quickly put baby Ryan down and raised her hands. My gun she thought is just... right... over... there. Lisa sidestepped ever so slightly toward the machine, where she had placed the gun.

Professor Madden rushed in behind the cops, and pointed to Lisa. Before Lisa could reach the gun, the cops had her subdued.

"You’ll need to put your clothes back on, ma’am," the middle officer said, as he threw them to the cop who handcuffing Lisa.

Susan ran to Stacey and embraced her.

"I thought I’d never find you!" she said. "And... and.. I found out that--" she looked Stacey in face. "Well, you already know, don’t you?"

Stacey nodded in agreement.

"The effect doesn’t stay. You’ll be back to normal soon, and so will he," Susan pointed to the rejuvenated Ryan.

"I know," Stacey sighed, "I know."

==================================

The following days were ones of peculiar delight. Stacey, still a kid herself, and Ryan took advantage of their temporary youth. They could be found jumping on beds and making mud pies outside their dorms. Now without the pressure of having to remain children, Stacey, in a strange way, enjoyed watching her boyfriend grow up again.

"You know, you make a cute kid," Stacey told a 7-year-old Ryan the next day.

"Shut up!" Ryan laughed, still embarassed about being so much shorter than Stacey.

"You be quiet, shorty!"

"Oh yeah... well, I’ll show you mine if you show me yours..."

In a silent way, they grew even closer than before.

They eventually returned to maturity and their old lives, but the time they spent together as kids, in some small way, seemed to make up for their lack of time together. Lisa had been right; Stacey and Ryan had only known each other for a year or so, but being able to play and talk like children gave them the feeling that they had, indeed, grown up side by side.

Lisa, on the other hand, was doomed to a fate she never imagined. While Stacey and Ryan both returned to their prior ages and thus, equilibrium in time and space, the future was another matter altogether. Since the machine had not been tested and little was known about travel to the future, Lisa continued to age. She grew to 26, 27, 28... About a year a day was the rate. In about a month, she turned 60. Her ravishing body fizzled into flabby skin and bones, leaving her to wonder when it would stop. Day by day, her once impressive boobs hung farther down on her chest. Her saging facial skin lead people to believe she was even older than she actually was. Gone was the tight midriff. Gone was the toned butt and thighs. She had become a senior citizen. She was old. And worst of all, she was alone.

-----------

And crawling

on the planet’s face

some insects

called the human race

lost in time

and lost in space

and meaning...

 

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