(Author's note: I know this site is called Fiction Branches so a disclaimer like this shouldn't be necessary. But just in case, I'll state that all world leaders and other political figures mentioned in this episode and in this branch are fictitious. Any similarity with any actual persons of similar names is coincidental. On with the episode).
The Gibson house, living room
Jon and Karyn sat in the living room, watching various news commentators trying to make sense of the whole Transformation Gun situation. All anyone really knew was that in the middle of the day, a strange event occured that changed the world forever.
This event had caused chaos and confusion, with people all over the world being zapped by different Transformation Guns, sometimes changing into people very different from their previous selves. But there were some beneficial occurences as well.
Jon and Karyn saw the news telling of how potentially violent incidents took bizarre turns as a result of the strange event. Just about every war that had previously been in progress was now suspended, with all sides calling for a ceasefire, as all guns, cannons, and firearms had been replaced with Transformation Guns. No one knew just what to do with devices that turned their enemies into Jocks, Nerds, Goths, Punks, Clowns, Mimes, Seafarers, Steampunks, or whatever instead of injuring or killing them. People were confused, scared, and wondering what in the universe was going on, but they had to admit a lot of lives had been saved by this strange worldwide event.
The debates on what happened were, Jon and Karyn had to admit, amusing. On the one show, someone theorized that aliens were responsible. "So let me get this straight." interviewer Eva Edevane was saying to her guest, science fiction author Nathan Pinkbury. "You're saying some passing extraterrestrials were watching us from their spaceships, got worried about how we might wipe each other out, and transformed all the guns into these weird transformation ray guns? Why did they do that, and not just beam the guns up to their ships?"
"I don't know." Pinkbury replied. "These aliens must have a very weird sense of humor."
Other theories ended up being like this. Any attempt to guess just why this event happened only raised further questions. Some religious types theorized it might have been God interfering, in what had to have been the Supreme Being's greatest attempt at getting humanity to clean up its act since the events recorded in the Gospels. "The Lord works in mysterious ways," was the standard answer as to why this particular method was chosen.
Others, however, stated that it was the work of the Devil. Others (mostly in the United States) blamed foreign powers like Russia or China, though it was clear the leaders of those nations were just as confused as everyone else. Russian president Andre Sedulov was quoted at being at a loss to explain what happened, but stated that all military operations were suspended until further notice.
Jon and Karyn knew, of course, that none of these theories was actually what happened. They knew that it was the wish that 'something interesting would happen' that caused the imaginings of a group of people at McMillan Tech Industries to change from fantasy to reality, starting the chain of events that led to the great Transformation Gun event. However, they knew they could not tell the world what really happened. The world would have to accept not knowing the whole story, and hopefully move on.
At 6 PM, however, came President Elizabeth Loughty's address to the nation.
Elizabeth Loughty took the podium. Despite being in her early 60s, she was popular among younger voters for her stances on combatting such problems as inflation and unemployment.
"Today is a day unlike any other in the history of our nation, or of our world." Loughty began. "Earlier this day, a strange wave of energy swept over the entire planet, and in an instant, all firearms of any sort were gone. But not just gone - they have been transmuted into these new and strange devices. Whether these devices can truly be called weapons is up for debate. What we do know about them is what they do."
"These devices, which have been referred to as 'Transformation Guns', can change people physically or mentally. Some of the mental affects are more obvious than others. A person's personality or interests can be greatly changed or modified by these devices. And we have reports of people's physical shapes being changed, becoming fatter or fitter, or even switching sex. The last has sometimes been combined with a change in gender identity."
"I wish to assure the nation that our security is taking this very seriously, and will protect this nation's lawmakers from these Transformation Guns the same way they would protect us from more conventional threats. We will not allow our stances on vital issues to be influenced by malicious actors."
"How are they going to do that?" Jon asked. Jon wondered just how security would be handled. Would tasers be enough? Were there other forms of ranged weaponry security could be trained in?
"Don't ask me." Karyn said. "And don't ask them, either. They're probably still figuring it out themselves."
Jon just nodded. Karyn was probably right. This was, after all, not anything anyone could have reasonably foreseen.
Loughty continued her speech. "We are aware that many theories have already arisen regarding the cause and the source of this event. I wish to assure you that we will be investigating every possible lead. As of yet, we cannot confirm a cause, but we do know that these Transformation Guns with their highly specific effects cannot purely be the creation of an accident. Some power, be it of this earth or not of this earth, designed these devices specifically to bring about the changes they create."
"What we do know is that they only seem to affect humans. Animals, plants, and machines do not appear to be affected. So no, as funny as it might be to imagine the sight of a Goth potted plant, it doesn't appear that they work that way. It seems they were designed only to affect humans."
"Each of them has a label with a one-word description of their effects: Geek Gun, Nerd Gun, Goth Gun, Clown Gun, Jock Gun, Babe Gun, and so on. We have unconfirmed reports of at least one sighting of a Transformation Gun whose effects are random. But the federal investigation has yet to officially begin, so we cannot confirm this any more than we can confirm the source of the event. I assure you authorities will pursue all leads in the matter."
"However, I will acknowledge that some good appears to already have come of this. Wars overseas have halted as leaders have declared ceasefires. Potentially violent incidents all over the world have been averted. It is too early to tell what impact this event will have on foreign policy or domestic policy, or on governments throught the world. But for now, a great many lives may have been saved."
"A great many of you are panicking now, worried that you or your loved ones may be affected by these Transformation Guns. We do not know how many people will be in fact tempted to use these on unwilling or uninformed persons. But I urge you to go about your daily lives as best you can. If you believe someone is using Transformation Guns maliciously, contact the local authorities. Granted, new laws may need to be made to cover Transformation Gun related offenses, but we will need as much information as possible to make any official rulings."
President Loughty paused, as if mulling over the conclusion of her speech in her head before speaking. "The world has changed today, possibly forever. Whether or not it is for the better, only time will tell. In the coming week, we will be speaking with state governors, and contacting the U.N. and world leaders, to address how best to handle this change. But in the meantime, I stress that you should not let them deter you from going about your lives as best you can. Thank you, and good night."
As the speech ended, Jon sighed. "I don't know how many people will feel better after hearing that."
"At least she tried." Karyn said. "This whole new status quo is a little under half a day old. They didn't really have time to come up with a solid policy. Nothing like this has ever happened before."
"I know she meant well, and her staff meant well." Jon said. "I'm just worried about the investigation part."
"They don't know about the stone." Karyn said. "So we don't have much to worry about for a while. It's MTI I'm worried about. If they make the connection between the big change and the leaks about the Board room..."
She didn't have to finish. Jon and Karyn knew that many of their schoolmates' family members worked at McMillan Tech Industries. In addition to Sarah's father Richard McMillan, there was Jay Duncan's mother Samantha Duncan, Gladys Brewer's father Mycroft Brewer, and Kyla Leeson's cousin Ryan Leeson, to name a few. Jon and Karyn could only hope that they would be all right, and would be able to weather the coming storms.
And they knew that even now, things were still chaotic over at the Lake Point branch of McMillan Tech Industries.
