At the end of the day, Jon and Karyn were walking back from school.
"So how do you think the rock should be used," Jon asked Karyn in all earnest.
"Very carefully," Karyn said back.
"True," Jon agreed. "But can you be more specific."
"I know. I know what you want. Um. It's like that stupid joke, how do porcupines make love. Very carefully, ah ha ha. Ok, the problem, or at least, the big problem, I think, is not being able to undo them right? I mean, the wishes that is, not being able to undo the wishes. The question is, is there some way to bypass that."
"I kind of doubt it. You either can undo something or you can't. If you do something that can't be undone, do you really think you'll be able to undo it by trickery?"
"That's not what I mean. I mean, some sort of preventative safety measure when you make the wish, rather than making the wish and then trying to undo it after the permanent damage has already been done. For instance, can you just wish for something with a time limit?" Karyn asked.
"Yeah, that's true. But, hmmm. But couldn't that cause problems too?"
"How?"
"Well for instance, suppose you wished to be 10 feet tall for 30 seconds. Does that imply you are wishing to be 10 feet tall for 30 seconds, and then to change back to normal? Or are you just going to be 10 feet tall for 30 seconds and then continue being 10 feet tall after that? What if you were still stuck that way?"
"...You mean, because you didn't specify what happens at the end of the 30 seconds then. So doesn't that just fall into the domain of, specifying details? Like, the color changing branch. If you don't specify what happens at the end of the 30 seconds, then it is free to be later specified to be anything, it's not stuck as anything. We've already established that isn't a problem."
"Yeah, but if the hand you're dealt at the end of the 30 seconds isn't what you wanted to end up with, and you do then specify it, what if you're then stuck as that other thing permanently. Even if that thing is being normal again. So for instance, if I wished to be 10 feet tall for 30 seconds, and then to go back to normal. Would I then be stuck as 'normal' because there was no time limit on being normal? Would I never again be able to be changed? Would I possibly even be stuck exactly like this for the rest of eternity?"
"Oh... that's. Ugh, that's a headache. Well couldn't you say, I wish to be 10 feet tall for 30 seconds, and then return to normal for 30 seconds? No wait, then you're still left with the same problem again, not knowing what state you will be in at the end of the 60 seconds, and as soon as you specify it, it becomes permanent. That sucks."
They walked in silence for a bit longer.
"What if," Karyn tried again, "you did it indirectly somehow. Like, you wish for a magic bracelet, that gives you the power to change your body as you desire, as many times as you want. Undoing the wish in that case, would be making the magic bracelet go away, not the effects the bracelet has. So there's no reason the bracelet wouldn't be able to undo things, because changing your body is just what it does. So then you could use the bracelet to be 10 feet tall, and then use the bracelet again to be normal again."
Jon continued walking and thought about it. "Hey, that sounds pretty good. I can't see a problem with that. That doesn't mean there's no way for it to go wrong though, just that it seems airtight to me."
"Well want to try it then?" Karyn asked.
"Ready to be bold so soon?" Jon replied.
"Well what do you want to do, sit on this forever, too afraid to try anything? I think this idea sounds like the risk is minimal."
They got to Jon's house. "You want to come in?"
Karyn followed Jon into his house. There was no one else home. They were comfortable enough with each other at this point that it wasn't even awkward for her to just be in his room with him, with his family not home. In Jon's room, he got out the magic stone.
"So, what do you want to ask for? Magic bracelets then? How do you think it should be worded."
"I have a pretty good idea, let me have that." Karyn asked.
Jon handed her the stone. "Be careful," he said.
"Ok stone. Ok, so it has to be done in one breath, according to the instructions right? All right. Gameface on." She then took several deep breaths and breathed in all the way, in preparation for a really long sentence done in one breath. "I wish, for a pair of magic bracelets, one for Jon, and one for me, and they will just appear on our wrists, which for as long as we are wearing them, they will both be capable of transforming the physical body of its wearer as many times we want, by voice command, but Jon's will only follow my orders, and mine will only follow his, and neither of us can remove our own bracelets, his can only be removed from his body by me, and mine can only be removed by him, and they will follow orders by voice command only, and only within hearing range, so I can't be miles away and change him by saying something for instance, and one more thing the bracelets will change size and shape to fit us if our bodies change that much GASSSPPP!"
Jon found that somewhat impressive. Indeed Karyn had said all that pretty quickly and all in one breath.
A moment later, the bracelets appeared on their wrists. They were each a thin strip of cloth.
"I'm a bit concerned though," Jon said. "Why did you ask for mine to respond to your command and yours to mine? Shouldn't I be the one to control mine and you yours?"
"Because it's more fun this way. What's the problem, we're friends, aren't we? Don't you trust me Jon?" Karyn said a little bit sardonically.
The two of them looked at their bracelets, wondering what the next move they should make would be. What would Jon do to Karyn's body, and what would Karyn do to Jon's? There was much less pressure, since unlike using the rock itself, every effect of the bracelets was reversible, right?
