The Fem-Ray Device

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The Fem-Ray Device

by Melanie Brown

Copyright  © 2014 Melanie Brown

Some days it just doesn't pay to answer the phone.


“Doug! You really need to come over here! I think I finally have a real winner here,” exclaimed my friend Calvin. Well, a sort of friend. I made the mistake once of talking to him at GameStop in the mall and he decided we were friends.

He’s always fiddling around with electronics and fancies himself an inventor. Sometimes he comes up with some weird stuff that usually blows up or catches on fire at some point.

“Hey, Calvin. You know, I’d just love to pop over, but I’m kinda in the middle of a Firefly marathon,” I said truthfully. Well, I was watching Firefly.

“Dude, seriously! You gotta see this. I’m going to test my latest gadget before the buyer comes by today. You gotta see it. It’s a thing of beauty,” Calvin insisted. “It will blow you away.”

Laughing I said, “That’s what I’m afraid of! You almost burned down your garage last month.”

“A minor glitch,” said Calvin. I could almost see his “serious face”, brows furrowed and lips pursed, over the phone. “Anyway, the buyer will be here right after lunch and I want a witness to its maiden voyage.”

“Cuttin’ that kinda close, aren’t ya?” I said glancing at the time on my phone. “It’s just after ten now.”

“Then get over here and prepare to be amazed!” Calvin exclaimed and then hung up the phone.

I looked at the TV wondering if I had enough room on the DVR to record the remaining episodes. Well, it’s not like I haven’t seen them all before. I sniffed a t-shirt to check it and then slipped it on. If I don’t leave, Calvin will just keep calling.

*          *          *

It took about twenty minutes to drive across town to Calvin’s house. He lived in a fairly nice house in a good, quiet neighborhood. He made good money as a software engineer and apparently he did manage to sell some of the crap he put together.

I was just about to knock on his front door, when I heard a “psst!” coming from my right. I looked over and saw Calvin standing in a doorway that opened to the side of his garage. He motioned for me to come to him.

“Hurry. Get inside,” whispered Calvin. He looked quickly around before closing the door after me.

The two-car garage was mostly empty. A cluttered tool bench ran along one side and shelving on the other. But the thing impossible to miss was a large, wheeled contraption looking like a fugitive from a B Science Fiction movie from the nineteen fifties. There was a long, slender double barrel looking appendage festooned with wires and insulators with what looked like a camera mounted on top of the barrel. The barrel was attached to a large box covered in wiring and various electronics. On the back of the box was a monitor, a few meters, digital read outs, knobs and switches and a keyboard mounted flush with the back panel so you’d have to punch the keys rather than type. It made an ominous humming sound.

I walked around the machine and said, “What the hell is this thing, Calvin? A death ray?”

“Not quite,” said Calvin grinning. “I wanted you here to witness its first actual test. I tested the theory with its little brother over there on the workbench. I tested with mice at first, then a few neighbor’s dogs. The results were the same. I just needed to tweak it for human beings.”

Feeling suddenly alarmed I said, “Human beings? Is that why you called me over here?”

Calvin chuckled and said, “Relax. I want you here as a witness, not a test subject. I need to make sure it works before the buyer gets here.”

“Who’s the buyer?” I asked. “Doctor Frankenstein?”

“You watch too many movies,” Calvin said. “He’s a representative from a foreign government. He won’t say which one.”

“This is a weapon?” I asked, running my hand along the sleek barrel.

“Kind of,” said Calvin with a grin.

“You know that selling weapons to foreign countries is illegal, right?” I said.

Calvin just shrugged and said, “It won’t be the first time. They pay me in cash. My last sale got me enough money to buy the power source for this ray gun.”

“Should I ask how this thing is powered?” I asked stepping away from the device.

Calvin shrugged and said, “Plutonium. Don’t worry, it’s well shielded.”

“How the hell did you manage to get plutonium? Some Libyan terrorists in a VW bus aren’t going to come crashing through that door, are they?” I said as I stepped further away from the strange machine.

Calvin laughed hard and said, “You do watch too many movies! Don’t worry. I bought it outright on the black market.”

“You’re worrying me, Calvin.” I said feeling a need to run away. “What are you? A domestic terrorist?”

“Settle down, Doug. You’re getting yourself all worked up. I’m just a hobbyist who dabbles in exotic weapons, that’s all,” Calvin said as he walked to the back of the machine. “Come over here and let’s try it out.”

Nervously I walked over to where Calvin stood at the back of the machine. He started flipping a few switches and the monitor came to life. All the objects displayed were mostly whitish will little detail.

Pointing at the monitor, Calvin said, “The sight is thermal and will actually pick up heat signatures through several walls. Which is one of the selling points. Let me rotate this around to point at my neighbor’s house across the street. I hate the guy. He’s a crusty old curmudgeon in his fifties. The ‘get off my lawn’ type of grouch. I don’t think anyone on the street really likes him. See that red blob? That’s him in his house.”

I stood there with my mouth hanging open. I gasped, “You’re not going to kill him, are you?”

Calvin smirked and said, “No no no. Of course not. Well, not really.”

He adjusted some knobs as the monitor zoomed in on the red figure. Calvin said, “See those other dots? Probably dogs or cats or even a mouse in his house. Yes, it’s that sensitive. I’m narrowing the beam to just target Mr. Grumpy Pants.”

“What are you going to do to him?” I almost shouted. “I can’t be a party to a murder!”

Frowning at me, Calvin said, “Pipe down, will ya? Sheesh, he won’t even feel it. I don’t think.”

Calvin then flipped up a plastic cover over a large red button. He checked the monitor, made a few small adjustments, and then pressed the button. The machine made a quickly rising pitch sound and it began to vibrate.

Horrified, I watched the red figure suddenly stagger around, holding first his head, then doubling over, and holding his stomach. A few more staggering motions and then the figure collapsed to the ground.

Calvin slapped a large black button labeled “Stop” and the machine started making a winding down sound. A moment later it was again silent except for the low humming.

Calvin turned to me with a grin and said, “I guess he’s cooked long enough. Let’s go see.”

Getting upset, I said, “Oh my God, Calvin! You just killed a guy! And…and I watched you do it!”

“Chill dude!” said Calvin as he walked briskly to the garage’s side door. “He’s not dead. Well, unless the machine is calibrated wrong. If so, I have another neighbor I don’t like we can test on.”

Running after Calvin, I shouted, “You’re a monster! I’m going to the police.” I pulled my cell phone from my pocket.

Calvin stopped, turned and grabbed me by my shirt collar. Through gritted teeth he snarled, “I’m losing my patience with you, Doug. If you call the police, don’t forget that you’re an accessory. You watched and did nothing to stop me. But seriously, dude. I can pretty much guarantee the guy isn’t dead.” Before I could react, he snatched my phone from my hand and put it in his pocket.

Looking around to make sure no one was outside to see us, Calvin ran quickly across the street with me following him closely. We walked to the side of the house and reaching around behind a short gate, Calvin flipped the latch and pushed the gate open.

“I’ve watched this guy closely so I know he always leaves his back door unlocked when he’s home during the day. He’s always working in his garden,” Calvin said in a calm, detached voice.

We entered the house through the back door which opened into a kitchen. Through the hallway to the living room, I could see a pair of legs lying on the floor. They weren’t moving. I suddenly found it hard for me to breathe. I stood there, wanting desperately to run, but also held by a grim curiosity over what Calvin had done with his machine.

From the kitchen, I watched Calvin run down the hall, and then kneel next to the fallen body. He motioned for me to come to him.

“He’s not dead,” said Calvin. “The machine worked perfectly! This is my best invention yet!”

As I entered the living room and looked down at the figure lying crumpled on the floor, I felt very confused. I said, “I thought you said there was a fifty year old man here. That’s a sixteen or so year old girl. Why is she dressed in men’s clothes?”

Calvin nodded and said, “Yeah. I need to make a small tweak. I was shooting for closer to eighteen. But just look at her. Isn’t she just absolutely gorgeous?”

I started to feel a chill as I looked at the beautiful young girl on the floor. I said, “What are you talking about? ‘Shooting for eighteen’?” I suddenly felt sick as I said, “Are you suggesting this girl is your neighbor? That your machine turned a fifty year old man into a beautiful teen girl?”

“Bingo!” said Calvin with a grin. “Can you imagine what an army could do with this? You not only stop an attack, but create entertainment for the troops at the same time!”

“That’s sick! How could you do this?” I said in shock.

“You won’t believe how much I’ve been offered for this,” said Calvin as he started to stand up. “The buyer should be here soon.”

The girl suddenly began to stir. She held her head a moment and looked around confused. She looked up at us and smiled a very sexy smile. She slowly stood up, a little unsteady at first. She started unbuttoning her shirt, letting it fall to the floor, exposing an impressive set of tits. She gave us both a vacuous smile.

Walking up to the Calvin who was nearest to her, she placed her hands on his shoulders and leaned in towards him as if to kiss him. She said in a very sexy voice, “Fuck me. Mmmm. Oh, please fuck me!” She kissed him and played with his hair.

Calvin took her by her arms and pushed her away. He said, “Hold that thought, Miss. I’ll be back later.”

“Come back?” I asked. “You’re going to have sex with her? She’s about sixteen and until ten minutes ago was a man. This is beyond sick!”

Calvin just grinned and said, “Cool, isn’t it? Ten minutes ago, this lovely creature was a grouchy, mean old man. Now she’s a vacuous, insatiable nympho. The old man is no longer home.”

“Fuck me,” pleaded the pouting young girl.

“You mean his personality, his memories, everything that was your neighbor is gone?” I said feeling dizzy.

Calvin laughed. “Poof! Yep. The only thoughts in that pretty little brain of hers is a desire to fuck every man she sees. I think I’ll keep her myself. And I think I’ll get rid of my other stupid neighbor too.”

“This is murder, Calvin!” I shouted. “Pure and simple murder!”

“She’s not dead!” said Calvin getting angry. “Does she look dead to you?” The girl kept trying to put her arms around Calvin.

“Fuck me,” she said.

I shouted, “But HE, the man is! There’s nothing left of him. Everything that was him is gone!”

“You’re much too sentimental, Doug. Come on, let’s go,” said Calvin turning towards the door. “The buyer will be here soon.” To the girl, he said, “Just wait here, pumpkin. Daddy will be back shortly.”

I followed Calvin back to his garage. The machine was still there humming away. Still pointing his neighbor’s house. I looked quickly around the cluttered garage. Running quickly to the back of the garage, I picked up the sledge hammer I spotted lying on the floor.

“We have to destroy that thing!” I shouted. “It’s evil!”

“Put that hammer down!” Calvin shouted back. “I won’t let you destroy it.”

“You’ve lost your mind! Can you imagine what that thing could do in the wrong hands?” I screamed as I raised the sledge hammer over my head.

“I’m not responsible for how a product is used after the sale,” snarled Calvin. “Besides, after I’m paid, I plan on moving to South America somewhere. Belize looks nice.”

“Nobody is safe with that thing around!” I cried as I took a swing at Calvin’s ray gun.

Calvin lunged at me and grabbed the hammer’s shaft. He spun me around, but I held fast to the hammer’s handle. I never realized how big Calvin was compare to me. He turned me around and pushed me backwards into the garage wall. It hurt, but not enough to make me lose my grip on the hammer. Then it dawned on me that I’d left myself open as Calvin had slung me against the wall and held me by pushing on the hammer’s long handle. Calvin brought his knee up into my groin and I doubled over in pain. Calvin jerked the hammer from my grasp and hit me in the back of my head.

*          *          *

My head was throbbing when I awoke. I discovered I was sitting in a wooden, dining room type chair. I also discovered I was tied to the chair. I wasn’t tied down very tight or very well, but I couldn’t move my legs or stand up. To my utter horror, I also saw that Calvin’s ray gun was pointing directly at me.

“Oh, he’s awake,” said Calvin stepping away from his machine. Behind him stood a tall, strange looking man wearing a dark suit. Calvin walked up to me and said, “Actually, Doug, I lied to you. I brought you here to be a demonstration. The buyer…sorry, I can’t introduce you since he won’t give me his name…the buyer wanted to see what happens as the target…that’s you…is hit with the ray.”

“You’ve lost your mind!” I said as I struggled against the ropes.

Calvin grinned as he saw me struggle. He said, “My tying up skills aren’t that great. I’m sure given time you could work yourself free. But it’ll hold you for the next five minutes. Oh, and he’ll be taking you back with him so you can demonstrate your new skills on their generals and other higher ups.”

I twisted left and right trying to free myself from the ropes. I screamed, “You evil, despicable, fucking pile of shit! You won’t get away with this!”

Calvin just smirked as he said, “I already have.” He hit some switches on the back of the machine and I heard it start to whine up the scale. I knew I only had mere seconds before I was bimbofied.

“Good-bye, Doug. It’s been meh knowing you,” said Calvin as I heard him slap the red button on the machine. The dust floating in the garage helped display an odd, amber beam.

I was struck full in the chest by the beam as I continued to struggle. The beam of energy hit me with such force as to toss me backwards and out of the beam’s path. I felt like every cell in my body was on fire. Despite the pain, I tried to roll while still tied to the chair.

“Stay still, doofus!” shouted Calvin as he swung the barrel of the machine towards me.

I screamed in pain as I was struck again by the stream of energy. At such close range I was thrown against the garage wall and I heard the chair crack. Suddenly my legs were free. I stood up, chair still tied to my butt, my body wracked with agonizing pain. I ran towards Calvin. He continued to spin the machine to follow me.

“Careful, you idiot!” shouted the buyer as Calvin swung the beam in an arc around his garage trying to catch me again.

I dove headlong into Calvin pushing him away from his machine. We both fell to the floor and the chair finally broke enough to free me from the rope. I knew I needed to end this quickly if possible. I felt myself growing weaker and long blonde hair kept falling in my face. It was hard to concentrate as my body continued to boil and undulate.

“You’re not done with the process, bitch!” shouted Calvin as he lunged for me. He knocked me back into the rear of his machine causing it to spin. The beam caught the buyer full in the face and pinned him against the workbench lining the wall.

The buyer screamed, but couldn’t move. I took only a moment to look at him as his body glowed and every cell in his body rippled. He cried out in agony. But I couldn’t worry about him as Calvin picked up the hammer I had tried to destroy his machine with and swung it at me. I dodged the hammer, but managed to fall back into the path of the beam again. Oh, God that hurts like hell. I fell past the beam and onto the floor.

In the moment I was in the path of the beam, the buyer was freed from being pinned to the workbench and moved from the beam’s path. As Calvin ducked to avoid the beam, the buyer lunged for him and shouted, “You son of a bitch! What have you done to me?”

The buyer knocked Calvin to the floor and the sledge hammer went clattering to the floor with them. The buyer still glowing and the skin of his body writhing, held Calvin to the floor and despite his obvious pain started punching Calvin in the face. I just stood there, trying to catch my breath.

For a few moments, I looked at my hand. It was small, womanly with long slender fingers. I could tell I had breasts and long blonde hair cascading past my shoulders. Oh my God, I was a woman!

For a few seconds I watched Calvin struggle to retrieve the hammer from the floor while being pelted by the buyer on his back. I made a sudden rush for the hammer. Calvin and I both managed to grab the handle at the same time. At this point, he was much stronger than me. I desperately clung to the hammer.

Calvin shouted, “No!” as he pulled the hammer from my hands and pushed me back to the floor where I hit my head. He stood up, the buyer still clinging to his back. As he stood, he was caught fully by the beam and tossed against the wall. Both Calvin and the buyer cried out in agony.

I just laid there, dazed for a moment, watching both Calvin and the buyer writhe in the amber light of the beam, their bodies glowing as if on fire.

I finally regained my feet and ran to the back of the machine and slapped the big black button. The beam ceased immediately and the machine began to whine down. Before the machine, crumpled to the ground were two unconscious and totally gorgeous teen girls.

In a fit of absolute rage, I smashed the machine to bits with the sledge hammer.

*          *          *

I didn’t get the full force of the ray. Just enough to change me to an eighteen year old girl. And a gorgeous one at that. While I didn’t become a brainless bimbo fucktoy, I can’t remember my name or where I live. It’s maddening to have such holes in my memory. I’m also absolutely and totally boy-crazy.

I felt sorry for the guy that Calvin experimented on, so temporarily, I moved in with her and tried to educate her a bit so she wouldn’t be so vacuous. She didn’t remember her name either or any part of her former life. I named her Tiffany. I took the name Stephanie. These names seem somehow appropriate to me.

I looked through Calvin’s notes and found someone who’d be interested in obtaining the plutonium power core to his evil machine. I didn’t sell it just for money. Before I’d tell them where it was, they’d have to provide me and Tiffany with new IDs – drivers licenses, birth certificates; the works. Along with enough money for us to move to a different house. I just hoped I wasn’t selling the plutonium to Libyan terrorists.

Maybe I shouldn’t have, but I felt that Calvin and his mysterious buyer needed justice and just becoming victims of their own evil machine wasn’t enough. I managed to contact a local pimp and told him where to find two totally perfect prostitutes. No one would miss them and no one would be looking for them. All I asked for was a finder’s fee.

Tiff and I settled into our new lives pretty well. I managed to get her to where she wasn’t quite so stupid or such a nymphomaniac. We both desired men and dated quite a bit before we both got married to really nice and very handsome men. And naturally, we both managed to get pregnant are mommies now. I have to admit I love it. And not just because of a machine.

I never contacted either Tiff’s or my family about what happened. I know it’s bad to leave them hanging about our fates, but nobody would believe a machine turned us into beautiful women and that it also took Tiff’s life completely away from her. I had no way to prove what happened anyway. I destroyed all the plans to the machine as well as the machine itself.

In a way, things have worked out okay. Tiff and I are both happy in our new lives with our new families.

*          *          *

The End

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Comments

yep ....

Kalkin62's picture

I'm pretty much in complete agreement with Doug (the protagonist), identity death is something I feel is incredibly creepy.

Amusing story, thanks.

I agree and I am glad that

I agree and I am glad that Calvin and the buyer also became victims. Two less idiots around, just a shame about Doug and the neighbor but at least Doug took great steps to solve the problem.

Great story Melanie made me

Great story Melanie made me think about Identity death and how terrible that is to lose memories of what was.

Nice

I like how you addressed several issues and tropes to TG fiction and the world at large in this story. The Back to the Future nods were cool too. ")

Hugs
Grover

Karma

Interesting and karmic in how it turns out. Just a small problem as you have Doug saying that 'she' lost knowledge of her name and where she lived. Then mention not telling her or the neighbors family about them, that would imply being about to know or find this information easily. Just check her wallet or the car glove box and there you go.

I enjoyed this

I enjoyed this, and especially liked the depiction of the totally amoral Calvin. "I'm not responsible for how a product is used after the sale"! Narrow escape there - if he hadn't been accidentally transformed he would surely have gone far in the modern global economy. Well done!

kandijayne

Looks like the two

Renee_Heart2's picture

bad guys got it in the end. A well deserving end I might add and why not turn them in to prostates they basically were already only difference is they get paid. I'm glad that the old man now Tiffany and Doug now Stephanie are married and have kids of their own and that Tiff isn't some sex starved bimbo.

Love Samantha Renee Heart

Why is it that such a.......

Potentially wonderful machine such as this seems to always whind up in the hands of a Madman! In the hands of the right person, much good could've been performed! Well at least there was a some what happy ending here. Nice one Ms. Brown! Loving Hugs Talia