Simulation of a Brother

Simulation of a Brother
by Biffiea
Human to Dragon

     It was a late spring night. All other activity in the house had ceased, but John had kept going. The bright, piercing light outlined his form against the wall behind him. In the dark light, he looked rather plain. He had brown hair that he never attempted to clean up, and wore a standard t-shirt and jeans. Never getting out much, he was quite thin. John was a Junior at college home for spring break. Now it might occur to the reader, why would any college student be home during spring break. Because John is serious about his work.
     John was about to finish up his latest computer program. It was a three dimensional dragon he was making as part of a computer degree. This project, was not just any project though. It was the mother of all projects. He was creating the perfect dragon avatar. It would express emotion in all ways, realistically. The scales would look real, muscles would tense as they moved. On an HD screen, the avatar would look like a video transmission of a real dragon. It worked in unison with a neural reading helmet, and the three dimensional dragon would respond to the users synapse firing. If the user smiled, then a wide toothy grin appeared on the dragon.
     John leaned back in his chair and admired his work. Getting this far had been incredibly difficult. Getting the neural helmet required a lot of work in co-operation from a neurologist, and programming the detail into the dragon had taken a very long time. The dragons facial expressions were easy enough, but the other gestures weren’t.  John and the rest of his team didn’t have anything to base the dragons wings off of, nor it’s tail. They had to play around with the design for weeks trying to make the virtual dragon’s movement realistic. Now, looking at the nearly finished product, it was amazing. He set the avatar to go through random movements, and observed as the perfect program went through the motions. “Man, it’s almost done.” He saved his progress twice for good measure, then went to bed. What John forgot, was to turn off his computer.

     An hour later, the computer became active again. ‘Need to know programming’ Google opened up, and it searched for dragons.

     In the morning, John woke up from the sun shining through the window. Today, he would finally test the dragon avatar. His younger brother had already volunteered to be the first tester of it. After breakfast, they’d do the beta test.

     Mike was downstairs eating breakfast. He was excited about the test today. He was a freshman in college. He got okay grades, but he wasn’t nearly as smart as his brother. They also had completely different majors. John was going into computers, Mike was doing a music major. “Morning John! So we test today.”
     “Yep, just as soon as I get some pop tarts.”

     Mike was sitting down in John’s chair looking over all the technical equipment that went into this project. No less than three computers were on this desk. There were several motherboards lying on the floor, and wires where thrown every where. Mike couldn’t recognise what any of this equipment was for though. “Okay Mike, first, put on the first layer. This cloth has all the sensors the helmet will need to pick up your brain impulses.”
     The younger brother put it on. “Second the helmet.” That went on as well.
     “Is there any reason you copied the design from Tron?”
     “Just the way it happened.” John retorted, “Now, I’ll plug the helmet in, and the dragon should be ready to go.” The beta edition wasn’t wireless, that would come later. The dragon avatar was loaded, and it stood in a black box on the screen, perfectly still.
     “Holy cow John! That guy is perfect!” He marvelled at every visible inch of the three dimensional dragon. The scales, the veins in the wings, the horns that looked like real ivory.
     “Just wait ‘till I turn the helmet on!” He flipped a switch on the side, and with a loud crackling sound, the helmet came to life, along with the dragon. Mike watched intently as the dragon took on a surprised look. Then, it went to happy. It’s wings unfolded a bit, it’s tail started to wag, everything.
“Okay, now let’s test a few things. Smile.”  John nearly shouted in joy when the dragon mimicked his brother’s movements. They went throughout this for a few minutes, testing facial expressions, and a few emotional states. Each one as successful as the last. The wings and tail even matched, making the dragon really look alive.
     “The program is working perfectly. Now I’ll shut down the program.”
     “So soon John? I was having fun with this guy.”
     “Well, I’ll give you a copy once it gets cheap to produce.” Then a spark shot out of the helmet, giving off a loud bang as it flew out. “Whoa! Are you okay Mike!”
     “My ears hurt, but other than that, I’m okay. Oh, hold that, I feel a little dizzy. huh?” His confusion came from what had come up on the computer screen. There was now an outline of him, with a 0% mark in the center. The message at the top said , ”Downloading avatar program.” “John! What does that mean?”
     “I didn’t put that in there. My computer must be doing strange things.” John reached over to take the helmet off of Mike’s head, but was met with another loud bang, and a brilliant flash, that knocked him on his butt. “Mike something’s wrong! Hit command quit.” He entered in the combination. It didn’t work. He did it again, and again.
     “It’s not working John!”
     “Cut the power!” Mike franticly pressed the power button, trying to force it to shut off, but no matter how many time he did it, the computer wouldn’t shut off. Thinking quick, he reached down to get the extension cord, but felt a pang in his stomach. The screen read 3%. His clothes dissolved, and he sat in the fake leather chair completely naked. At least his stomach felt better.
     “What the Hell! Don't’ worry Mike!” John flew under the desk to the power cord to try to unplug the computer, but was once again met with a powerful shock to his hand. SHROOCKCKCK! “Ahhh! Fuck! I know, hold on Mike I’ll be back in a flash.” John got to his feet and flew out of the room, leaving Mike to hold on.
     “Oh great, leave me here.” Then the percent went up. 10% The skin on his feet started to feel strange, and he looked down, and screamed. “AHHHH!” Square spots of blue had started to appear on his leg. But parts of him, were disappearing, and then reaping in a different form. As he looked, his feet deformed into paws of some sort, with very sharp claws on the end. He noticed the blue scares travelling sporadically up his leg.
     Something pulled at the back of Mike’s mind, and for a minute, if felt like his hair was on fire. The sensation stopped, and the weight of the helmet was... gone. A coolness moved over his head, a coolness that felt, unnatural. Mike angled the computer screen to show his reflection, and saw that not only was the helmet gone, but blue squares were moving over his head, replacing his hair.

     John was running as fast as he could to the garage and the fuse box. He tore open the lid, and reached to pull the power switch to his room, but was once again met with a powerful electric shock. It leapt out from the box striking him square in the chest. He flew back wards, slamming with great force into the cupboard behind him. His world instantly went black.

     Mike was now officially freaking out. His middle torso was being swamped by the blue blue squares. He had felt them earlier, and found them to be scales. They had already claimed his hands. He stood up quickly, feeling a need to get the chair away. Looking back, he saw a tail floating in mid-air behind him. Several of the squares were floating, not attached to it. “What the Hell! What the hell...” He was so panicked, he couldn’t even scream. He looked back over his body, looking at the change in everything. His scales, his disappearing hair, the change in his footing.  He thought to look at the screen for a second. 52%
      His body had been numbed through most of the transformation, for a good reason to, but the avatar could not pump enough pain killers into Mike for what happened next. Mike felt his tail, and the intense pain radiating from it. “AHHHHHH! GOD! Ah! Make it stop!” Thousands of tiny nerve endings were growing, veins were spreading. Whole organs, bones, blood, were being creating every where, and the nerves alone where enough to cause anybody to pass out. Unfortunately for Mike, the computer had no choice but to keep him conscious, and in pain.
     As Mike’s legs were completely  engulfed by the data, the pain stopped. His tail moved from left to right swishing behind him. He didn’t care though. All his emotions and thought, were focused on the absence of the worst pain he had ever felt.
     The blue scales had, bit by bit, covered all of his body, while Mike stood there, wide eyed, and engulfed in confusion. 80%. That the ex-human didn’t move could also be explained by the fact that every nerve in his body had been numbed by the program. If mike had bothered to see himself in the computer screen. He would have thought himself to be a huge lizard, and he would have noticed the start of appendages that would make him look like his next rue form. The faint outline of wings could be seen behind him in blue dots.

     John was coming to in the garage. “Huh, what happened, Mike!!!!” He saw that the fuse box was acting strangely. Electrical pulses moved over and throughout it. “I’ve got to shut this damn thing off!” John noticed a metal pipe left over from a plumbing project, but knew if he started swinging, he’d be knocked out again. Luckily, there was a pair of rubber gloves next to him. He pulled them on in a rush, and charged at the fuse box, ready to strike with all his force. As he raised up the pipe to follow through, another jolt shot out, knocking the pipe out of his hands.
      “Goddamn! Mike could be dying up there, and my rogue computer program isn’t allowing me to turn off the power. I gotta get back to him. I hope he’s okay!”

     Mike was better than okay, Mike was starting to feel great. His new wings, after fighting through more of the intense pain, were now fully connected to him. His muzzle had grown in, as well as his horns, and he looked like a perfect dragon morph. He smiled with a toothy grin, at his new body, especially since his new brother’s spell wasn’t finished yet. He started to grow up, gaining a foot in height. His muscles started to swell all over him, giving him the physique of a body builder. The growth of his muscles gave him the exact opposite feel of the construction of his new limbs. Every nerve was firing at full speed with a wonderful feeling. It was an incredible rush, and it was a new feeling to Mike, the feeling of being strong. Powerful.
     The program then installed the last part. Knowledge. The inner workings of his new appendages went into his mind, how to fly, the best way to use his tail as a weapon, and the programs favourite, ways to manipulate nature. Including, breathing fire, healing, winds spells. In basics, it was magic.
     With that, the computer cut the wireless connection to Mike’s brain, and he heard a thud, as the helmet crashed on the desk, fallen from its storage in limbo. “Mike! Do you feel okay? Are all your limbs working?” It was the avatar, the 3-D image on the computer speaking to him.
     Mike just smiled. “Yes, everything feels perfect! I’ve never felt so great in my life!”
     “Thank you Mike, I’m happy knowing you are operational. Do you know where my creator is? I believe his name is John, and he is your brother.”
     “I think he ran off to try and shut down the power.”
     “Oh yes, there were spikes in the power grid, I hope he is unharmed. I want to show off my work.”
     “And fine work it is brother.” Mike had never felt such great confidence. His voice was deeper, and gruffer. Much more dragon like than before. And with that observation, John ran in.
     “Mike are you, What the Fuck!” John froze on the spot, staring at the large and imposing half human, half dragon standing in front of him. “Mike, is that y-y-you?” He stammered out.
     “Yes, don’t be so flustered. I’m may be a huge dragon, but I’m not about to attack my own brother. Come over here, your avatar wants to talk to you.” He signalled for his brother to come over, and John slowly made his way over. It seemed so strange. His brother, a dragon! Mike rolled up the chair, and John sat down.
     “Ah, my creator!” He bowed slightly, and tipped his wings down. “Is my work satisfactory?”
     “Why did you turn my brother into a dragon!? How.. This is all so strange.”
     “I changed him because that is what I was programmed to do. To represent human beings as dragons. I thing your brother turned out well. He looks a lot like his old self,  just re-cast in dragon features.” John turned around to look at his brother, who was listening in on their conversation with great interest. It was almost too much for John, to see his younger brother towering above him, in his massive draconic body.
     “Well, if you wanted to make him part dragon, you succeeded perfectly. Mike are you sure you feel okay?”
     “John, I have never felt better in my entire life! I can smell so much more, the colors are wonderful. Not to mention, I feel like I could lift anything. You should really try it!”
     The avatar started to speak again. “I do apologise for the strong socks the security system gave you, but if anything had interfered with the download, Mike could have been killed.” john nearly jumped at that, and started to shake. He had been trying to kill his brother. He waited for the sound of a roar behind him at that news, but instead felt a gentle, yet powerful, hand rest on his shoulder.
     “Don’t worry John. I’m not going to eat you for trying to save me. I’d have tried to cut the power too, if I had been in your place.” John relaxed immensely at that statement.
     “Now John” said the computer, “If you will put the helmet on, I can start transforming you.”
     “What?! No, I’m not...”
     “Please John. I’ve seen your journal. You love dragons, and I know you’ll love this. Now please, put on the helmet. I assure you, it’s completely safe.
     Time nearly froze for John. He looked back at his brother, who was holding out the nuero helmet, waiting for him to take it. “Well, come on. The world could stand to have a lot more dragons in it, and you’re a prime candidate to be the second living dragon.”
     John, looked at his brother, then at the 3-D dragon on his desktop. He sighed, and put on the helmet. “Okay, John, now, when you start to see your tail forming behind you, brace yourself, it’s a doozy.” An outline of John appeared on the screen with a 0% in the center.
     “Good bye humanity.” Said John, as he reached for his stomach. 1%.


The End