Ch.15Science Non-Fiction! (2)

#015

After that, Dexter and Jessie both drew on every emotion they had—both real and fabricated—to act normal and hide their true feelings.

They were both trying their hardest around each other, but with misunderstandings wedged between them, the situation was decidedly awkward.

Unaware of this, Dexter went home after work with a fluttering heart, needing to finish some tasks.

When Dexter arrived home and turned on his computer, he noticed Eliya was online on the messenger used throughout the universe.

The two had agreed to contact each other via messenger to exchange profitable information.

Experiencing these unsettled feelings after so long, Dexter wrote to Eliya about what had happened today, and received a short sentence in reply.

-Could it be she’s interested in you?

Dexter frowned at the message from Eliya.

>How can you be so sure about that?

-You really don’t understand women, do you?

Seeing Eliya’s message, Dexter typed with emotion.

>Says the guy who’s been divorced twice.

-Why is that relevant here?

>I’m saying you understand women so well that you got divorced twice.

-My friend, you’re crossing lines even though we’re not talking face to face.

“This bastard’s getting angry.”

Dexter chuckled at Eliya’s passionate response.

-Setting aside your insensitive criticism, I’ve been hearing rumors about recruitment for people to work together on Earth. Has your government mentioned anything about it?

‘Work together?’

>What kind of work?

-Well, I’m not sure of the details, but there’s talk that if you help with their work, they’ll give you a large sum of money and power. They seem to be recruiting quite secretly. I was wondering if you knew anything about it.

‘Large sums of money and power? Is this another lunatic up to something?’

Earth is a planet located in what’s considered a fringe region of the galaxy.

No matter how much money and power one might gain on Earth, it doesn’t amount to much in the universe.

Dexter suspected it might be someone trying to scam gullible people.

With countless people living throughout the universe, there were plenty of scammers, so Dexter didn’t think much of it.

>First I’ve heard of it. OSA hasn’t mentioned anything like that either.

-Is that so? I hear unsavory characters are flocking to Earth because of it, so you’d better be careful.

Afterward, Eliya chatted about trivial matters like the profits he’d made from Dexter’s information before ending the conversation, claiming he was busy.

Dexter closed the messenger and started opening his most urgent programs first.

[For Your Future, The-Body-Rebuilder’s Physical Correction Device v1.3]

A loading screen with black text on a white background.

He was opening the physical correction device configuration program.

As soon as the loading gauge filled and completed, Dexter exclaimed at the window that appeared on his computer screen.

“Wow, so many damn ads!”

[Don’t Miss Out, Interstellar Travel Super Sale!]

[Your Tentacles Feeling Limp? This One Ampoule Could Be The Cure…]

[Apollous Actress Shachika, Shoulder Blade Exposure in Reinforced Exoskeleton… ‘So Daring.’]

[Better Than Nuclear Fusion! This Energy Pack Is Given Away Free. → <Enter>]

[Is This Really Being Published? Universal Novel Writing Site, NovelUniverse]

These were pop-up advertisements set by the company that manufactured the physical correction device.

Dexter grew slightly annoyed at the ad windows that moved at subtle speeds to avoid his pointer when he tried to close them.

Particularly irritating was an ad featuring a purple-haired humanoid character continuously eating red food.

“Wow. That’s truly evil, just evil. Are they that desperate to make money?”

After carefully timing it, Dexter finally managed to close the ad windows and access the physical correction device’s settings.

[Wearer’s status data download complete. Would you like to view it?]

“It’s already downloaded?”

He had put the physical correction device on Jessie in the morning, and now it was around 7 PM and the download was complete.

Surprised by how quickly the download had finished, Dexter opened the status data window with curiosity.

“Uh…”

Dexter was a bit taken aback.

The status data window displayed a stark naked 3D model of Jessie, standing with arms and legs spread out.

‘I’ve never seen her in person, but I’m seeing her on a computer screen first.’

It was a proper model with even fine body hair rendered when zoomed in, but seeing it didn’t arouse any sexual desire in Dexter.

‘It’s not turning me on at all.’

It wasn’t due to malnutrition or anything; it felt more like watching a patient’s body in a medical documentary.

“My chest is probably bigger than hers.”

There was no comparison between Dexter’s properly muscled body and Jessie’s frail frame.

As Dexter was about to enter the slider-based detailed settings, he noticed a warning message in red text.

[Frontal lobe damage detected.]

[Nutrient absorption disorder detected.]

[Left hand and right arm fractures detected.]

[These issues can be treated more effectively with our ‘Body Improvement Device’ rather than the cosmetic Body Correction Device…]

‘More fucking ads!’

Still, he decided to let it slide since it was advertising their own product.

Companies need to make money too, after all.

Ignoring the ad, Dexter stroked his chin as he examined the detailed warnings.

The detailed warning window showed when these disorders occurred and what consequences they had caused.

“Frontal lobe damage about 10 years ago, nutrient absorption disorder around the same time. ‘High possibility of impulse control disorder due to frontal lobe damage’?”

This explained Jessie’s sudden outbursts to some extent.

‘It wasn’t her personality, but a problem with frontal lobe damage.’

Modern medicine struggles to repair brain damage that occurred long ago.

Dexter knew this, despite having lived in space for a long time.

That’s why he had to use the physical correction device with its transcendent science.

However, Dexter was merely a novice repair technician who only knew how to perform emergency repairs on spaceships.

He was limited to simple actions like applying downloaded presets.

Still, since it was a preset for a healthy Earth woman, applying it wholesale should treat her without issues.

“So, if I apply the preset…”

Dexter began pasting the preset file he had downloaded into Jessie’s data values.

He had set it to maintain the skeletal structure while configuring only the body shape and metabolism as defined in the preset.

‘Obviously, if her face changed too, people would mistake her for someone else.’

Particularly concerned about her skeletal-like figure, he set it to add muscle to a normal weight.

“Alright, let’s press it.”

-Click.

As soon as he pressed the preset apply button, the skeletal-like body of Jessie in the computer began to fill out.

“Wow…”

The alien developer’s Earth girlfriend, who was the source of the preset, apparently had a very voluptuous figure.

“Her chest, her hips… wow…”

It was impressive in a good way.

Even though he hadn’t altered the facial structure and had simply added flesh, the modeled version of Jessie was stunning.

Jessie’s sunken cheeks had become plump, showing a healthy complexion, and the curves flowing from her waist to her hips and thighs were no longer bony but transformed into attractive contours.

Her chest had grown remarkably large, and when Dexter rotated the modeled body with his pointer, there was a bust morphing effect.

Dexter tried it once and unconsciously smiled mischievously.

Seeing how well all the other deficient areas had been filled out, he felt that the alien developer who created this preset must truly love his Earth girlfriend.

She had become a sensual beauty that would be hard to find even in prison or on the Las Vegas Strip.

“Physical correction device, this is amazing.”

Dexter unconsciously gulped while looking at the screen.

“Ahem. Is it done?”

[Are you sure you want to apply?]

Thinking of the physical correction device that would be wrapped around Jessie’s ankle by now, Dexter pressed the apply button.

[Time until complete application: 1 week, 3 days, 13 hours, 17 minutes, 21 seconds… 20 seconds…]

He had sent the applied data to the physical correction device, and now all he had to do was turn off the computer and wait for Jessie’s body to be corrected.

“Ah, should I go out for dinner?”

Before Dexter turned off the computer, another warning popped up.

[The settings for oxytocin and phenylethylamine are higher than the wearer’s current state! Please be cautious as the wearer’s hormonal state may become abnormal!]

However, in his hurry to go eat dinner, Dexter didn’t properly check the warning before shutting down the computer.

* * *

“Oh my, your weight has increased a little from before.”

Rose said as she alternated between looking at Jessie standing on the scale and writing down the number on a form.

“What? My weight is increasing?”

Jessie asked, having never heard such a thing before.

“Even accounting for the cast’s weight, you’ve gained 4 pounds since last time? Maybe it’s because you’ve been in the hospital room all this time?”

Rose smiled at Jessie and patted her shoulder.

“Still, that’s a good thing. When we first met, you were so thin that Dr. Yelena was shocked the moment she saw you.”

‘No, how can someone be this emaciated? Oh my, look how thin she is. It’s truly pitiful!’

Showing grandmother-like concern for Jessie, Yelena had made one request to the nurse, Rose.

She had issued an order, though not explicitly stated as such, to ‘double Jessie’s meal portions.’

Thanks to that, Jessie suffered the most, unable to complain as Rose forced her to eat even when she was already full.

Rose, who was helping Jessie with her morning shower since she still had a cast on her hand, fastened Jessie’s bra.

“Um, Rose. I’m sorry, but the bra feels a bit tight…”

Jessie spoke in an ant-like voice, seemingly embarrassed.

“Oh my, really? Is it because your weight is returning to normal? Alright, I’ll prepare one size larger for you.”

Rose nodded and replied while looking at Jessie.

In fact, Jessie felt that even the loose prison uniform she was wearing now seemed slightly smaller than before.

‘It’s uncomfortable… Is it really because I’m gaining weight?’

It made sense given that she was eating twice as much as before at every meal, but she didn’t think she would gain weight just from eating more.

‘I’m not even exercising, but my body feels lighter… it’s strange.’

Not only was she full of energy every morning, but the pain in her arms and palms that used to hurt with the slightest movement had diminished significantly.

When she asked Yelena about these strange symptoms during her rounds, the answer was always the same.

“It’s because you’re resting well, resting well! Don’t you need to rest more and eat well to be healthy? When you were first admitted, your complexion was so pale, do you know how surprised I was?”

“B-but I’ve never gained weight like this no matter how much I eat…”

“Even so, hm? You’ve only been eating hamburgers and greasy french fry scraps! Slurping carbonated drinks too. Isn’t food prepared by a nutritionist who carefully considers everything better than those unhealthy things?”

Since Yelena’s concerns were so logical, Jessie couldn’t refute them and decided not to add anything more.

‘Besides, one word from me leads to ten words from her.’

It was suspicious that Jessie, who would have already lashed out in the past, wasn’t doing so now, but she only harbored doubts.

Jessie had no idea what condition her frontal lobe had been in before or what condition it was in now.

“Good morning everyone! Rose, hello.”

“Oh, Mr. Hughes is here.”

Hearing the cheerful voice seeping through the closed hospital room door, Jessie got up from the bed and pressed herself against the door.

Dexter waved his hand in morning greeting, smiling at the sight of Jessie pressed against the door.

“…!”

A sharp pain shot through Jessie’s chest when she saw Dexter.

‘A-arrhythmia? Is it arrhythmia?’

Jessie was startled by this pain she had never experienced in her 20-some years of life.

As Jessie clutched her chest, feeling the mysterious pain, Dexter came closer and said:

“Why are you so surprised? Do you have something you’re secretly eating?”

“N-no. Nothing.”

“Your reaction is quite suspicious. But your complexion looks better?”

Jessie’s once dull and pale complexion had become a pinkish-white.

“It looks good on you, hey.”

As Dexter smiled with his arms crossed, Jessie’s heart began to race again.

‘Looks good…?’

While Jessie was blushing, Dexter, completely unaware of her feelings, was inwardly impressed.

‘This much effect already. That company is really amazing.’

Though she still needed to gain much more weight, the impression that she would break if touched had improved somewhat.

‘If there are no side effects, I could use it on Judy too.’

Judy would probably wear it immediately if told it was a smart band that helped with exercise.

“S-so what brings you here…”

“Hm? I came to work, of course. Why ask something so obvious?”

Dexter said with a smirk.

“How’s your arm? Is it okay?”

“Oh, yes. It still throbs a bit, but it’s much better than a few days ago.”

“That’s good then.”

As Jessie hesitated while looking at Dexter,

Dexter was feeling something strange about her reaction.

‘Why is she being so docile lately?’

Today was especially noticeable.

Unlike usual, she was fidgeting, blushing, and her voice was trembling.

Almost as if…

‘She likes me…?’

Dexter denied his own conclusion.

‘No way, that can’t be it.’

Dexter looked at Jessie.

When Dexter stared at her intently, Jessie subtly turned her head away.

“Hey.”

“Huh, what?”

“Why are you turning away?”

Jessie kept her head turned but moved only her eyes toward Dexter.

“I-I can do that if I want to.”

Dexter unconsciously touched his forehead.