This is going in 'Humor' because it's not very erotic. Softcore body morphing gags with a Twilight Zone theme.
***
Sandra Burton was in her third year at Northwestern University. She didn't live in the dorms, but she spent lots of time on campus and often participated when special events were held. Tonight, she was attending the Autumn Fest with her best friend, Peter Blakes. The booth near the south end of the makeshift fairgrounds caught Pete's attention and he mentioned it to Sandra, "The sign says, 'Body or Brains!' What the heck do you think that is?"
"Looks like one of those virtual reality experiences, maybe?" Sandra said, squinting to make out the signage.
"How do you figure, Sandra?"
"The display there. It has those headset-type things. Oh, and I guess that's where you enter." Sandra pointed at a shoddy, tented gate in front of the door of a trailer. "Let's go check it out!"
"I'm glad you got those extra tickets from Professor McAdams," Pete said, as they approached. "Thirty tickets each for this? Aren't they like a buck a piece?"
"Don't worry about it, Pete. Gotta use 'em somewhere and this looks interesting!" Sandra was a bit of a geek and she loved new technology. While the exterior may have been humble, perhaps even tacky, she knew if they had even a modest amount of modern VR equipment, it could be a fun experience.
After sacrificing their tickets, the two were led to one of two rooms located in the cheap trailer. The man escorting them hadn't said much, but as he motioned them in, he turned and asked, "Which one of you is playing?"
"Uh, don't we both get to play?" asked Pete.
"No, sir. The price for one person is fifty tickets. It's thirty a piece for two people, but only one of you may play, while the other serves as a spectator."
"Fuck it, whatever," said Pete. "Sandra can go. It's her tickets, anyway."
"I don't care which of us goes," retorted Sandra, but already the man was strapping headsets on them and she gave up on offering her spot to Peter. As digital images came into view, Sandra found herself on a stage and looking out into an audience of hundreds. Every detail seemed authentic. It was so much nicer than the dirty trailer she was actually standing in. Virtual television cameras and bright lights surrounded her, looking every bit as authentic as the real thing. It looked as if she were on the set of a game show. "My god, are you seeing this, Pete?"
"Look behind you. I don't know how the fuck they're doing this, but I can see you on the stage just as you were when you came in with me. Same clothes and everything. How did they render that so fast?"
"Holy shit. And I see you!" In her headset, instead of the cheap plastic chair that Pete was actually sitting on, Sandra saw him in a leather recliner, the kind of thing set up for a special guest of a late-night TV show. In this VR experience, he wasn't wearing the headset, even though she knew he actually was. "This is amazing," Sandra whispered.
Boisterous music began chiming in the air and an announcer's voice echoed loudly across the room, "It's time for Body or Brains!" The entire crowd cheered along and a large poof of smoke, accompanied with appropriate, explosive sound effects, caught the two friends by surprise. Though Sandra knew this was all digital incarnations, it seemed authentic. Out from the smoke jumped the spitting image of a typical, early '80s game-show host with pleated pants, wide collars and sparkling white teeth. "Ladies and gentlemen, do I have a surprise for you!" the man said, his voice booming across the stage through the speaker system. At least that's how it sounded to the two strapped in the VR machine.
Sandra turned back to Peter again, "I swear I can smell that man's cologne. And it all looks so real. Like REALLY real! How do they do this?"
Pete was smiling wide, deeply enjoying this unique carnival experience. "Yeah, this virtual reality stuff has come a long way. I had no idea..."
The host continued, "Sandra Burton resides from Palm Meadows, Florida. She's brought someone along with her today to support and cheer her on." The crowd was clapping and cheering ever louder now. "It's Peter Blakes, her best friend since college, originating from Baton Rouge, Louisiana!"
"How do they know all this stuff about us?" Pete shrugged, impressed by the presentation.
"Are you ready for your first question, Miss Burton?" the man smiled.
Sandra took a deep breath. The experience in the headset was easy to mistake for the real thing and she found herself becoming nervous with the virtual cameras pointed at her. "Um, well, I'm not even sure what the rules are."
"Ah, very simple, dear. Answer any question correctly and you are rewarded with an improvement to your brains or to your body. Always your choice! Every question gets slightly more difficult as we progress, and the game ends when you miss just one question. Are you ready?"
"I'm sorry, what?" Sandra laughed. "An improvement to my -?"
"FIRST QUESTION!! The 'A.D.' on a movie set stands for what?"
"Wait, if I get one question wrong, it's over?"
"That is correct, Sandra! The game ends and you lose all winnings, but you may quit at any time. Sandra, are you ready to answer the first question?"
"Well, fine, whatever. This one's easy, but I still don't understand the.... uh... never mind... it's 'assistant director'."
Bells rang off and horns tooted. The very real looking, digital people clapped and cheered, while a small array of confetti dropped from above. "That is correct, Sandra. So what will it be? Body or Brains?"
"I don't even know what this is supposed to do. Brains, I guess?" Sandra felt an instant jolt, a sensation unlike she had ever experienced. It wasn't discomforting, but it was like an eruption of energy originating from the center of her brain, spreading out and washing over her skull. Though she didn't understand why, Sandra now realized she understood Spanish more than she ever had before. She'd been studying it for three years, but had always struggled past the basics. Suddenly, rules and exceptions in the language that she had failed to comprehend before, now made sense. Sandra felt like she understood other things in a deeper manner, too. She just couldn't pinpoint how she knew this.
"Would you like to continue?" asked the host. Sandra nodded, playing along. "Second question, what are the three types of ants in any colony?"
Without hesitation, she answered, "Queen, Major and Lesser Workers." Then her voice drifted off as she whispered to herself, "How did I know that?" Was it from a memory back in grade school? There was more noise and applause and once again she was asked to choose between body or brains. "Oh, uh, again? Well, brains again, I guess." Sandra was again flooded with that strange sensation inside her skull. As a test of feat, she asked herself, "136 times 17? Oh, that's easy... 2312." Sandra was shocked. Yesterday, she would not have been able to do that. Hell, she had trouble with her checkbook and that's just addition and subtraction.
After confirming to continue the game, the host asked the next question. "What is the difference between how much water a man should drink per day, versus a woman?"
Sandra blurted out the answer, almost before she realized she'd done the math in her head. "One liter. The average man needs 3.7 liters per day. Women are recommended 2.7." Sandra had no idea how she knew such random facts, but the bells were ringing off again.
"Body or Brains, Sandra?"
Now that Sandra was getting into the experience, she turned to Pete. "Pete, this is so weird. It's like the headset feeds information to me somehow. Like it makes me feel like I'm actually smarter! I have no idea how it works, but it's a wild experience. You should try-"
"Body or Brains, Sandra?" the unnamed host boomed again.
Pete held two thumbs up in real life and loved how they appeared the same way in the virtual world. "You're doing great, Sandra. What does 'body' do?"
"Let's find out." Sandra turned back to the cameras and the host. "Body!" she shouted.
Sandra thought she'd been lifted off the floor, the jolt hit her so hard and fast. An explosion of physical sensations raced through every fiber, like a thousand workouts, rests and recoveries hitting her at once. She felt muscles throughout her body burn like fire, then tire, then heal, and then grow stronger in flashes of an instant, repeating again and again. Sandra didn't remember applying any device that might send physical shocks through her body, and couldn't figure out how this was happening, even with her "enhanced" brain power.
"Holy shit," whispered Pete, behind Sandra. She whipped her head around at him. He was gawking at her. She looked down and gasped, seeing the changes herself. So did the entire "live" audience, before turning it into cheers and applause. Apparently, the virtual audience preferred the 'body' over 'brains' choice as they had never been louder. For an instant, Sandra thought she was in a totally different body, one with c-cups and a fit waist. Then she realized it was still her body, but with a much firmer ass now. Frankly, she was giddy at the results. "I don't know what's more impressive. This, or the fact I now understand how to conjugate verbs in Spanish."
"What are you talking about?" asked Pete, unclear of the mental advances his friend had been experiencing. He was more focused on what he could physically see. "This VR shit is awesome, Sandra. They can essentially augment anything you want, huh? Hey, if you're going to get a hot body, can you at least give me a glimpse of it? You know, before we take off these VR goggles?"