Self-Perception, by ChrisMyst

Chapter 2
Perceptometry

Chapter Description: By ChrisMyst. Ben and his family try out the transmitters.

“Okay, your turn, Chris,” Ben said, pulling up his sleeve and pressing the implanter to his bicep.

With a small amount of pressure, the implanter beeped.

“That’s it?” Chris asked, “There wasn’t even a pinch! No gas puff, nothing. I didn’t feel a thing.”

“Pretty good, right?” Ben said, chuckling, “Okay, everyone set up?”

Ben looked at the small crowd in front of him, all of them looking slightly concerned at what had just happened. Each one had received a small perceptometry chip and the corresponding transmitters. Now, with his briefcase touchscreen, all he had to do was select which chips would experience what, and what they would experience. He selected the fourth chip on the listing. He scrolled down the list to height and set the height at 6 feet tall. He pressed “SYNC” on his touchscreen and looked into the crowd to see his cousin Cara suddenly rocket up in height by a foot.

His family audibly gasped and jumped back from Cara, who had little to no idea what was happening. An eruption of laughter came from the crowd as they looked her up and down, astonished by her sudden growth spurt.

“You’re a giant!” someone yelled.

“How’s the weather up there?” another quipped.

“Hey! What’d you do?” Cara asked, not in on the joke.

“Here, I’ll show you!” he selected the fourth chip again, and set it to “SELF-PERCEPTION.”

Suddenly, Cara looked unsteady on her own two feet. She put her hands out as if to stop herself from falling, and then looked confused as she remained standing. After a moment, she balanced on her own feet again.

“Holy crap,” she remarked, “I’m huge!”

Ben smiled and then selected the tab on the tablet “PAST MEMORY” and toggled it to off. He selected all the chip devices except his own and hit “SYNC.”

Suddenly, even though his cousin was a foot taller than she had been, no one seemed to notice or act as if it was strange. Everyone, his now-tall cousin included, carried about the party as if nothing was wrong or out of place in the slightest.