Up, Up! (Patreon)

An anonymous caption commission. Picture property of ABDreams. 

"Worried? No," Megan scoffed, rolling her eyes at the journalist sitting across from her. "What's done with the technology I developed isn't my fault... If somebody were to use it incorrectly, that has nothing to do with me."

"That's an... interesting perspective," Apple jotted something down in her notebook, then looked back up at the young inventor. "Is there any way I could get see a test run?"

"Of course," Megan smiled. "Actually, why don't you just flip back a few pages?"

The reporter looked at her, brow furrowed, then did as she asked, eyes subtly widening as she saw her handwriting changing slightly the further back she went in his notes from this interview, seeing her writing growing neater and more professional the more pages she turned. "Wait, are you..?" she asked, looking at the other young woman in shock.

"Do you feel better?" Megan inquired. "Fresher? More energetic?"

"I... I think so," Apple answered. She had been feeling something as the interview had worn on, but had assumed it was excitement over hearing about this new technology. When her paper had been contacted, nobody could have possibly imagined that the story was anything this groundbreaking... She'd been sure her editor had only sent her here to keep her busy and out of the newsroom, yet this could be the biggest story their paper had broken in years... Maybe ever!

On the other hand, she didn't want to get too excited. She hadn't seen anything definitive yet, after all, and a 'feeling' was hardly compelling evidence. Maybe her hand was just getting tired, and that was why her handwriting seemed less and less mature the further into the interview she'd gotten... This was going to be a difficult thing to prove - it sounded like science fiction, and there was no real outward change to see.

To see if it really worked, she'd have to take this further... Much further. "Can you show me more?" she asked. 

"You want to go back further?" Megan grinned. "No problem!"

Before, it had been slow enough that Apple hadn't noticed... Now, it was like a shot of adrenaline. Apple began squirming boredly in her seat, barely noticing as she began to chew on the top of her pen. She tried to sit still, but her body just didn't want to listen... Her mind began to move faster, her trains of thought leaving the station quicker, yet also going off the tracks more often, making it harder to concentrate on one particular thing, especially something as boring as having to write a stupid report.

"I-I think that's enough," she whimpered, shaking her head. 

"I'm so glad you understand now," Megan told her. "There is one tiny problem with the technology, though... It sometimes has an issue with aging a mind up instead of down. It can be a bit... buggy."

"What?!" Apple's eyes widened, tears springing to them much easier than they had in years - decades, even. "No! Up, up! I wanna go up!"

Megan giggled. "I don't know... I'm not sure you've seen enough... Maybe we ought to go down further, let you see what it's like to forget fine motor skills, and how not to drool all over yourself, and potty training... That would make a fun story, wouldn't it?"

Apple tried to stop the tears that were now flooding her eyes much more quickly, but the best she could do was wipe them away with a clumsy hand, which only led to them being replaced a moment later. "Up!" she sniffled. "Up!"

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"Very interesting," the scientist nodded. "I can see why you wouldn't think she was suited to be in charge of something like this."

"She didn't even apologize once she had changed the reporter back," the woman told him. "She just thought it was funny. I hadn't even given her authorization to speak with the press about the project yet... I was sure I could find somebody else who could take over this project and treat it with more respect. You'll find all of her notes on her computer, and she kept them very neatly organized... I'm sure you won't have any trouble picking up where she left off."

"Oh, she isn't joining us? I thought I was simply taking over as lead... I didn't realize she had left the project entirely..."

"No, I'm afraid she's a little... indisposed. We couldn't risk her jeopardizing the project again." She pushed a few buttons on her keyboard, and the view on her screen changed to a camera, overlooking what looked like a normal nursery, at least until you looked closer at the baby. She was crawling around, babbling and playing like a normal infant, but the more the scientist stared, the more clear it became that it was no child... The two watched, fascinated, as she rolled over onto her back, sucking on her sock-clad feet, then began to cry for what seemed like no reason until they noticed her diaper bulging out slightly as she sniffled.

Before long, somebody walked into the room, and she raised her arms up pitifully, crying, "Up! Up!" The scientist watched paled a little.

"Now," the woman smiled, "Do you want the job, or not?" She wondered if she should call up one of the other camera feeds, perhaps of that pesky reporter, or the other people she'd interviewed who had turned her down - she couldn't let anyone go out into the world knowing what was being worked on, could she? - or if, finally, she'd found somebody to take the job. If not, that was no big deal... It was always good to have more test subjects.