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Prototype

Hannah frowned as she knocked on her brother's door. Three times with no answer. She had made sure to knock according to the rhythm of The X-Files theme, so he could distinguish her from others. Brushing her hair back, she pounded and called through, "Reid, dammit! Open up! It's Han!"

She'd last seen him a week ago and he'd been slow to answer then as well. She always checked in on him once a week ever since he got his own place. Their parents had disowned him by then.

Tightening her bag, she smacked the door with that rhythm until her fingers started throbbing. During a pause, she felt the bolt and chain unlock.

"Reid?" She fumbled with the knob and peered in. Like always, the interior was dark with black-out curtains draped across every window. Unwashed plates and empty energy drink cans were neatly stacked on a folding table in the living room. With a sigh, she repeated, "It's Han-chan. Hannah. I'm gonna tidy up. How are you?"

No answer, but she thought she heard a slight shifting and clicking of keys from his main office. Shrugging, Hannah tied her hair back and went to work.

After the third bag of trash put in the can, she started to wander. Reid was not a small man, he never had been. She should've heard him stomping around. Checking the bedroom, she froze when she looked down at a silken dress, snug jeans, and a baby doll graphic top with Darth Vader spread across the floor. Reaching for the bookshelf, she grabbed the largest hardcover fantasy tome as a theoretical bludgeoning tool.

Looking back to the hallway, she saw a small, blanket-covered shape dart through. Chasing after, she screamed, "Where is my brother!?"

The chase didn't last long, as the small form collided with a half-shut door and crumpled to the ground. Pulling off the blanket, she revealed a petite girl sprawled across the floor. She wore a loose, plain t-shirt and flannel, drawstring pants knotted tightly so they wouldn't fall off of her waifish waist and hips.

A fluttering wave of hair crested down her back as the girl rubbed her nose with her dainty fingers and muttered, "Hey, Han-chan. Sorry. Weird week." Her voice had an airy, squeaky sound to it, like a leaking whisper. Hannah drew up the heavy tome and demanded a name and an explanation.

The girl held up her hands protectively and answered, "Reid. The prototype has some bugs."

She demanded to see her brother and the girl delicately stood up and gestured to her shoulders. Standing she barely cleared the light switches on the wall. Shaking her head, Hannah repeated her demand. The girl fumbled around with a sheet of paper and recited a series of secrets Hannah and Reid had kept since they were children. Checking, Hannah saw that the paper itself only contained brief reminders instead of the actual information.

Still, Hannah refused to even look at the girl until she pulled up some webcam footage on a tablet. Unedited and clear, the video tracked the brother she knew: a hefty man who loomed with fresh, wonderful hugs that could swallow her. First, his shirt pooled over his diminished belly. Then, his rolls of fat melted back into his flesh. Hair bloomed and cascaded over his shoulders. His sweaty features developed a soft sheen. His rounded rear retreated to flatness as the rest of his body acted like a popsicle left out too long in the sun. At the end, the girl she'd met stood and fidgeted with clothes far too large for her. The recorded girl held out one of her brother's tent-like tops as it engulfed her as much as the blanket she'd been hiding under.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

"How?"

Still rubbing her dainty nose, the girl led her to Reid's room. Hannah still expected him to jump out and howl about this joke.

Ql5qQc7.png [https://i.imgur.com/Ql5qQc7.png]

On the table, she saw the strange laptop which had been delivered the week prior, a prototype he applied for. Most computers had a fine, sleek edge. This one flowed with textures resembling veins and scales. She thought it was just a weird skin but it gently-throbbed, as though real blood coursed under the plastic.

The girl gestured to a patch on her trim belly, which resembled something between an EKG lead Hannah had seen when she'd driven her brother to the hospital to be treated for exhaustion and a nicotine patch. Sitting down, the girl started to type and little thread-like tendrils wove their way between the patch and an area of the computer, which appeared to be breathing. As she watched, unblinking, a bit of fat hidden under the girl's wrist bones vanished. The laptop swelled and shifted.

Coughing over the sink a minute later, Hannah panted and watched as her brother, with the body of a petite young woman, carefully approached. With tearful pleas, she begged Reid to "get rid of the damned thing". Grimacing, Reid explained, "Actually, I kinda like it."

Leaning on the counter for support, Hannah listened as Reid listed off that she could eat bulk carbs and most of it went to the laptop. She'd purchased clothing online for a fraction of the price since she didn't have "enough" to really require adult clothing. Easier to sleep anywhere. Less water to wash.

"You're a GIRL, Reid! Are you even a teenager now?!"

Waving her hands, Reid reassured her that, biologically, she was still about twenty-five years old, according to tech support. She did sheepishly admit her weight was just "a smidge under eighty pounds". Less than a third of what Reid used to weigh and a foot shorter, at under five feet. Where had it all gone?

With a shrug, she admitted that all she'd been told was "to the cloud". A form of distributed-processing with "wetware integration". Pouting, Reid responded, "I thought you would be happy."

Hannah's mouth hung open as Reid wrapped her arms around her. Instead of the blanket, she felt a chilly, bony mass with just a glimmer of the warm body fat which once enveloped her.

Aghast, Hannah watched Reid mill about her routine, accepting all the food, cash, candy, and supplies she'd requested for the previous week. With a smile, Reid remarked, "The laptop should keep certain things down, but I'll need more red meat for my iron."

"Is this healthy, Reid? All you've...lost. This isn't natural."

Reid scowled. "I wasn't healthy before. I could barely walk without exhaustion and I haven't left this place since I bought it. I work all night long and I can keep going. It's kinda fun too."

They argued back and forth but neither budged.

Hannah pressed, "Are you just going to waste away to nothing when I come back? Will you be an infant, unable to care for yourself?"

Tucking her skinny legs up around her chin, Reid mused, "And what difference would it make?"

She wanted to grab her and drag her out into the sun (even though her frail, pale skin might burn) and away from that electronic leech. But Reid was set.

Hannah hugged the shell of her brother and decided not to fight. She knew, as always, as ever, she could debate him till the sun burned out about what he could and should do.

Instead, she gave him a smile like everything was alright and confirmed, "I'll be back next week..."