"Uh... dad, mom," Jon said as he stared at his strangely altered parents. "Do you guys feel... okay?"
"Just fine," his father said as he adjusted the knot on the blouse tied at his chest. "Why?" he asked, looking down, "Is something wrong with my uniform?" He turned to his wife who looked him over, as he did the same to her.
"It's perfect, dear," she said. "I polished our boots yesterday, and your vest looks straight to me."
"So does yours, honey." He quickly ran his hands over his nylon-clad legs, inspecting for runs. "Everything looks okay to me, son." He looked back up to Jon, who was still staring.
"Jon," his mother said, "I don't know how many times I've told you not to stare. It's not polite." Then she looked at her son's outfit. "I swear, I don't know how you can stand to go around wearing something so bulky all the time," she said gesturing to his ordinary outfit of cargo shorts and a t-shirt.
"Yeah, kiddo," his dad said, "You look pretty uncomfortable. And no makeup even! It's amazing. I don't think I could leave the house without at least a bit of lip gloss!"
"I'll... um... think about that," Jon said, seeing an opportunity to get away. He had to get to his room, get the stone, and get things back to normal. "Maybe I'll change into something... more comfortable," he said as he made his way towards the stairs. On his way up to his room he passed Zoe, now with her pom-pons in hand. She smiled at him, and he nearly tripped as he watched her go down the stairs.
Finally in his room, Jon went straight for his secret hiding spot and took out the box he had been keeping the stone in. It felt oddly light... uh oh. Anxiety welled up inside him as he shook the box... silence. He opened it, fearing the worst. Sure enough, it was empty. The stone was gone.
Jon looked up, and nearly hopped across the bed when he saw before him the entity from his dream. Flarg-Nop stared at Jon with his one large eye, and Jon's panic immediately disappeared.
"Be calm, Earth human," it said.
"What's going on?" Jon asked.
"This is our arrangement. We have given you the ability to shape your reality. We are intrigued by human desires and interactions. Our brief observations are already providing immense data."
"But I didn't desire this... these changes."
"But you did. Your implant is hardwired directly to your subconscious brain, and will apply those desires to the people and things around you."
Implant? What implant? Jon suddenly felt another twinge in his sinuses.
"That implant," Flarg-Nop stated. "However, your primitive brain cannot interface perfectly with our technology. This explains your inability to directly influence the device. Unfortunately, trying too hard to consciously change things could be very painful."
Jon had thousands of questions racing through his mind, but only one made it out.
"And where's my stone?"
"We are currently studying your artifact. If it remains intact during our testing, we will return it to you when we conclude your experiment."
Jon was about to ask when this whole weird experiment would be over, but Flarg-Nop was suddenly engulfed in bright blue light and disappeared into thin air. Jon looked around. No aliens, no stone, and seemingly no way to fix his family. Somehow, he was going to have to control his subconscious to avoid inflicting any further changes. At that moment, a knock came at his bedroom door.
