After a few minutes, the one person that comes to mind the most prevalently is...
Luke (your older brother)
You decide to test it out on Luke, your older brother, once he gets home. There could be no one better for the job. You pull out your phone and send him a text
Hey Luke, give me the name of someone random, I need it for something really cool I'm working on. I'll show you what it is when you get home
Send
After an hour or so, you get a text back saying:
Ngl it's an odd request but alright: Rufus. Like our golden retriever? I don't know what you need it for but he's probably a good choice ;) I'll be home soon
Rufus. That works. Since you're not entirely sure what the machine does, it wouldn't hurt to give Rufus a shot to see what happens
After another few minutes, your mom comes home from work and you greet her as usual, and she asks you if you've fed Rufus yet. You haven't, so she asks you to and you do so. Once you pour the food he comes running and you give him a big smile and plenty affection. You make sure he eats his food, then you let him outside and bring him back inside when he's finished
After another few minutes, Luke comes home as well. You greet him and he asks you to give him a minute before we show him whatever it is we're working on. Once he's finished, you take him to your room and have him sit on the bed
"So, I'll just say it right out. I found a secret behind my bookshelf."
Luke just stares at you blankly for a moment, then he frowns, not able to decide whether it was a joke or if you were confused
"You found a secret behind your bookshelf? What do you mean?" He asks politely, yet you can tell he doesn't believe you yet
You sigh, knowing you probably wouldn't have believed it either at first. "What I mean is, I'll show you."
You pull out the book and press the button. You hear a small click and, just like before, the bookshelf swings open to reveal a staircase leading downward into the now lit room. Like stares through the doorway, not seeming to believe his own eyes.
"How'd you do that?" He asks. He stands up slowly and approaches the doorway. "It looks like..." He cautiously raises his arm to see if it was a real opening. Sure enough, his arm passed straight through the doorway, dispelling the thought that it was just an illusion. His attention shifts to the lit stone floor at the bottom of the stairs. "What's down there?"
"There's a machine down there, and we're gonna go try it out."
Luke turns to face you, calm but interested. "What's it do?"
You decide not to get into too much detail and just hope he trusts you enough to get in the pod without too many questions. "I can't tell you yet, you get to try it out for yourself first." You grin at him excitedly. "Come on, follow me."
Luke steps aside to allow you through the doorway in front of him, and follows you down the stairs. After you've reached the bottom, you turn to face him. Once he reaches the stone floor, he stares at the terminal and the pod in utter fascination
"Is that a pod?"
"Yeah, that's literally just what I call it. 'The Pod'. It's not that fancy but that's not why it was made."
Luke chuckles. "Fair enough. Are you sure I don't get to know what it does yet?"
You roll your eyes in amused mock exasperation. "Of course I am. You can find out by stepping in the pod, or go right back upstairs. Personally I'd love to share it with you, but I can't do that without your help." You walk to the terminal and get ready, hoping he decides to do it. You watch as he stares at the pod with curiosity, deciding whether or not to do it
Luke sighs. "I guess I'm getting in the pod then." He slowly wanders over to the pod and steps inside. "Do I have to close it?"
"Yep." You reply with reassuring certainty, though in reality it's just an educated guess. You type your dog's name into the terminal, still unsure how this will go, and look up to see Luke carefully close the pod door. You hold up a thumbs up in a question, and after a moment he replies with the same gesture. You look back down at the terminal, and press the big red button. The timer starts, and you watch until the number reaches zero, and you look back up to see Luke staring at you through the window, obviously waiting for something to happen
The machine began to whirr, and there was a click as the pod door locked itself shut, Luke safely contained inside. He frowns out the small glass window worriedly, and you watch with concern and intrigue as a bright light suddenly flashes through the room. It momentarily blinds you, and you wait for your sight to return to normal before looking back at the pod. After a few more moments, the whirring stops and the pod door clicks and swings open
You stare into the pod door in complete shock. What you saw wasn't Luke... it was Rufus
You stare in confusion at the golden retriever, sleeping peacefully. Was that... Luke? Did Luke just turn into Rufus? You stride over to the canine Luke and gently shake him awake. The dog slowly opens his eyes and climbs to all fours. He blinks up at you blearily for a moment and barks. It stops and looks up at you excitedly like he always does. You look behind him into the pod and see his clothes lying on the ground. You couldn't believe it! Luke turned into Rufus! There were so many things you could do with this machine! Wait... what happened to the real Rufus?
You look at Luke and half mockingly tell him to stay. Surprisingly, he sits like Rufus would and pants happily. You look at him sort of puzzled, confused as to why he was acting way. Surely he was still himself in there... right? You carefully call him a good boy, then slowly turn and run up the stairs and see Rufus already finding his way into the room, sniffing eagerly. He seems to be just fine, but as you bend down to give him affection, he suddenly bolts forward down the stairway, knocking you over. Cursing to yourself, you run down the stairway to find two Rufuses sniffing at each other. They both act the same, and you can't possibly tell which one is Luke and which one is the original Rufus
After a moment, they get acquainted with each other and one gets in a play pose. The other responds eagerly and they chase each other around the room. You try to calm them down but they just want to play, and they end up jumping up on you together, knocking you over and giving you tons of face licks. Knowing one of these dogs was your older brother was worry enough not to laugh at all the doggy attention. You stand back up and look down at the two of them. They both stare up at you innocently, not a single difference between them
"Okay Luke, I know it's cool and all, and it may be fun to be Rufus, but which one are you?"
Neither dog reacts. They both just sit there, wagging their tails excitedly, watching you with oblivious interest
"Alright, fine. I'm not sure why you won't just say something, but what I do know is that it leaves me to guess."
Knowing it's a fifty-fifty chance to get it right, you think about which dog you are going to change back into Luke. After a moment you decide to change...
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