TRANZGEN CORP.
INCIDENT REPORT 511.23
INCIDENT RECORDED 11/07/24
RECORDS DELIVERED BY AGENT PHYRRA OF CORPOREAL DEFENSE DIVISION.
Part One: Materials.
Recovered during Incident 511 was a CD-ROM containing proprietary and prototype software TranzGen was developing in the 1990s. A modified smartphone was also recovered and delivered. These are kept contained in TranzGen's Trans-Atlantic headquarters for further study.
Part Two: Development.
In 1994, Senior Research Officer Jefferson Blake began working on augmented reality for use in simulating environments and variables for various projects. After working for several years, the research was terminated after it created very limited results, due to the processing technology available at the time. Other developments and projects showed more promise, and as a result, Blake was reassigned and his research was archived. However, in 2011, early into TranzGen's restructuring, the research was discovered missing. It was unclear to investigators at the time how long this research was gone for, but it had to be assumed that it was gone for several years.
Part Three: Inciting Incident.
Attached is the account from Jacob Robertson.
J. ROBERTSON
Jacob loaded the disc into the tower of his computer, and waited for the installation wizard to pop up. He held his breath for a few moments, waiting to see if it would take – and yes, it did. He gave a wide smile as he clicked on the appropriate options, and very soon, the software was loaded onto his computer. Clicking away from it, he launched the new program, and his screen went dark. There was a few moments of trepidation, but he breathed out a sigh of relief when the logo for the software company appeared.
TRANZGEN CORP.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EYES ONLY.
LAST ACCESSED MAY 19 1998
The logos faded in and out before finally, the menus popped up.
“Finally,” Jacob said with a steady breath, his heart pounding in excitement. “Okay, let's hope this ancient program can actually work.”
Jacob had found this disc at a yard sale two days ago. Collecting old game discs from the 1990s and 2000s were his passion, he liked to preserve the software and share it with others. So seeing this disc, sitting in a blank jewel case in a yard sale, from a company he hadn't heard of before? It started itching at his curiosity, until he couldn't help it. He bought it for two dollars, and started doing research.
TranzGen was a company that had been in the forefront of software and hardware advances, and had worked on providing Microsoft and IBM computer parts that helped pave the way to modern motherboards and graphic cards. Then, after getting some government contracts, began expanding their research into biological developments, primarily genetics. They rose to power in the 2000s and were at their peak in the 2010s, but faded into the background in the later half of the decade. It seemed like they were spinning up new things soon, though, as there were new articles coming out about things the TranzGen CEO was teasing with investors and contractors.
Jacob had been excited – this thing looked old, and was from a time when this company was on the cutting edge of 1990s technology. What kind of software could this be? Even if it couldn't be applicable to the modern day of 2024, it would still lend itself to some interesting insights and history of a company that kept itself fairly private. The main menu loaded in.
TRANZGEN PROTOTYPE AUGMENTED REALITY TECHNOLOGY
LAB RESULTS
FIELD TESTS
APPLY SOFTWARE TO DEVICE
It was a barebones menu, to be sure. This disc wasn't supposed to be in the hands of anyone except for other computer scientists at TranzGen, after all, so of course it was very stripped down and utilitarian. That worked for him, Jacob didn't mind the dated UI at all. He spent enough time staring at them, after all. He clicked through each menu, but didn't glean a whole lot out of it. AR was, in '98, more sci-fi than anything else. The lab results seemed to be positive, but the key was that it was working on monitors and ancient cameras hooked up to computer towers that were four feet tall and weighed a hundred pounds (probably). The field tests were just scans of the notes scientists wrote down, and he couldn't quite read the scribbles that were the handwriting of the scientists. That left...
He clicked on “apply software”, and got an error message. “DEVICE NOT FOUND.” Confused, he looked around at different settings, trying to find one that might tell him how to use this. What device? His mind strained a bit as he tried to remember – when was the USB invented? He looked at the back of his PC and found the wide port that would have been on computers in the 90s, and then rummaged around in his drawers to find some cables. Finding the ones he needed, he plugged in the thicker cable into the computer, and then connected an adapter. From the adapter, he plugged in the USB-C into an old smartphone – he wasn't going to put weird software on one that was still connected to Internet, or any of his accounts.
“DEVICE FOUND. DEVICE CONNECTED. APPLYING SOFTWARE TO DEVICE.”
“There we go.” Jacob grinned and watched as his phone's screen flickered a bit as it started to accept and install whatever technology was being put away.
Then the phone's screen went blank.
“Wha-” he picked it up and tapped it several times, attempting to turn it back on. After a few moments, worried he had bricked his (admittedly otherwise useless) phone, the screen lit up again, but instead of seeing the logo for the phone company, he saw the logo for TranzGen. Tapping on the screen, he was able to open several folders, several programs, several... modifications and filters? As he tapped on each one, he wondered how it was supposed to work – after all, this was augmented reality, so wasn't there supposed to goggles or glasses, some sort of viewer for him to look through first? He stood up and walked to the door, eyes focused on his phone. As he walked towards his mirror, the screen gave an alert. A new profile appeared. It said, simply: Jacob Robertson.
He tapped on it, and found a whole array of sliders and additions and different factors he could change. Hair style, length, body type, height, weight... It was then, he realized what it was. And as he adjusted some sliders here and there, and saw what happened, he knew exactly what he had to do.
Part Four: Incident 511.
Two months later, Agent Phyrra of the Corporeal Defense Division was alerted to a shift in reality that registered as a 2 on the Endsleigh scale: Localized Reality Shift, Minor. Agent Phyrra was sent to investigate this shift, and of its threat. The source was revealed to be Robertson, who was using the proprietary TranzGen prototype for leisure at a local cafe. Attached is Robertson's accounts.
J. ROBERTSON
Jacob sipped another cup of coffee, feeling quite pleased with himself. It had been a couple months since he installed the program onto his smartphone and he had added a few upgrades himself. A few new options were now available, as well, as he had dug deeper into the programming and “unlocked” some of the more... well, Jacob wouldn't use the word “invasive”, but there were some mods that were definitely more advanced than the ones he started with. For instance, he had discovered that any changes he made would only be seen by him – he had changed his height and weight before his friends and family and no one even noticed. As far as Jacob had learned, the mods couldn't do any “real” changes – his physical body had stayed the same, but the one that he could see was different. He could do anything.
That's when the fun began.
Now, after weeks of research and digging, he was finally enjoying the fruits of his labour. He couldn't help but feel like a... well, not a god. But like a trickster out of old tales.
“Here's your coffee, sir,” The waitress said, putting a cup of coffee down at his table. She had no idea that Jacob had redressed her uniform into a Playboy bunny one, revealing quite a bit to him. No one noticed or batted an eye that everyone at this cafe were in the same bunny uniforms, no one but Jacob.
“Thank you” he said pleasantly as his eyes stared at the exposed cleavage of the waitress as she bent down to put it on the table. Jacob reminded himself to tip well once he was done. Even if the coffee was mediocre, it was hard to deny the service was amazing. Every mundane experience was made better now that he had this technology – these mods – at his fingertips. Jacob looked down at his phone to adjust a couple of things. What could he do next? What should he do? Maybe creating a maid cafe would be fun, if not cliche-
“Ahem,” A voice across from him said. Startled, Jacob looked up, nearly dropping his phone.
“Ah! I'm-!” Jacob stopped before blinking a couple of times. “I'm... uh, this table is taken,” he quickly said, trying to recover from being startled by this woman who was sitting with him. “I'm not expecting any company.”
“Oh, I'm aware, Mister Robertson,” She said as she revealed a badge and an ID, letting him stare at it. It had an emblem he wasn't familiar with at all, but it looked real enough. And she knew his name. “I'm Agent Phyrra, with the CDD. So, why don't you tell me what it is you've got in your phone, there?”
“Nothing,” Jacob said. “Nothing illegal.”
“Are you sure about that?” She smiled. “It seems like whatever you're doing has an effect... May I see it?” Jacob hesitated. He put his phone away. And she sighed. “Jacob, show me what you're doing and what you've created. This isn't a question.”
“Don't I get... an attorney? Or a phone call?” Jacob said, nervous.
“No. We don't operate by the rules of your laws or government. We've got... different priorities. And answer to different higher powers.” She said as she crossed her arms. “The CDD is the Corporeal Defense Division.” Jacob had no idea what she was talking about. It seemed made up. This caused her to pause, as if she was noting his reaction. “Any shift in reality, minor or major, has to be looked at and assessed. And you've been making a lot of them.”
“But I haven't really changed anything!” Jacob protested. “Not really!”
“I see that. Or rather, I can't – and that's a good thing. Your phone, please.” She said, making it clear she wasn't going to ask again. Reluctantly, he did it, and Phyrra looked at it carefully, tapping on it and reading through some of the notes that Jacob had made. She nodded, seemed satisfied, and handed it back. “Thank you. I can now say for certain that it's nothing malevolent. But this is unlicensed and from what I can tell, stolen.”
“Wh-... no, I didn't steal any of it. I bought it,” Jacob said in a hurry, and began explaining the story from the beginning.
Part Five: Aftermath.
After obtaining Robertson's testimony, Agent Phyrra agreed that the software was not causing any undue harm to individuals or to the fabric of reality, but requested that a copy of the software and the original CD-ROM be transferred to her, with the intention of returning it and a copy of her reports to her CDD superiors and to TranzGen officials. However, both members of TranzGen's offices and CDD superiors believed Mr. Robertson needed some form of reprimand. Agent Phyrra revealed she had already served Robertson his comeuppance, and satisfied, the case was considered closed.
J. ROBERTSON.
Jacob breathed a sigh of relief as the CDD agent had agreed to take care of everything and leave, keeping everything on the “down-low” in exchange for an agreement never to upgrade the technology beyond its current capabilities. The only thing that worried him was...
“You have been using this without anyone's permission, knowledge, and you've been reckless. You'll be fined and given a year of community service.” She declared.
“I don't get a trial or something? A judge doesn't decide that?” Jacob asked.
“Do you know how busy I am? How busy the CDD are? There's no time for a judge. As the field agent on the case, I decide the appropriate recompense for the harm done. One year of community service.” She smiled and winked. “Have fun.” And with that, the agent walked away. And once she was gone, Jacob was having a hard time remembering what she looked like. What she sounded like. He knew he had a conversation with her, he knew that it was an agent for the... the CDD? But he couldn't for the life of him describe what she looked like.
He took the cup of coffee in front of him and took another sip, then froze. In the reflection of the coffee, he saw... something that shouldn't be there. In a panic, he put it down, and hurried to the bathroom without stopping to check in with anyone. He briefly heard one of the bunny-uniformed women shout “sir?” as he hurried by, but he vanished into the bathroom. And when he looked in the mirror, he froze.
Standing there was a woman. She had long blonde hair, tied back into a ponytail, and wore a rather revealing, but not indecent, maid uniform. The skirt was short and showed off quite a bit of thigh, and she had black stockings on that went up to her thighs that were partially opaque, so he could see her skin underneath. She had heels on that gave her a nice sway to her hips, and her chest was larger, right at the size Jacob liked. And looking down, he could see the body she had. He had. It felt real, all of it – the hair brushing the back of his neck, the way the hem of the skirt brushed against his thighs. But none of it was real – not to anyone except him. He remembered one of the waitresses calling him “Sir”. No one else saw him as a maid, except for him.
Jacob scrambled to get back into his phone and try to change it back, but there was nothing there that he could access. According to his own program, Jacob was unchanged. He stood there, looking back between his reflection to his phone, wondering what he was supposed to do, when he remembered Phyrra's words: Community service. One year.
Not only was he a woman in his eyes, but he had to live like this for a year. Would Phyrra return to undo this? Would it fade away? With no one else knowing what had changed, he'd have to go through his normal day-to-day life, very conscious of the fact that he was a blonde bombshell in a too-revealing maid uniform. That was his sentence.
It was going to be a long year.
INCIDENT FILE 511.23: CLOSED.