Jon leaned back in his desk chair, tossing the bag up and down in one hand with a satisfying but impossible jingle of metal. His eyes never leaving the bag on every rise and fall it made, contemplating the magic within. Unlike the Wishing Rock, the coins had a… predictability, he would argue. Zoe was still his sister, he verified that with a quick look on social media. So whatever the blank coin did, it didn’t steal that part of her just copy it. But at the same time, he didn’t allow Zoe to take the coin while it was blank.
Jon was never one could call a geek. He didn’t obsess over science classes like Jay and Kyla did at his school. But he did recall something a middle school science teacher had said, ‘Everyone is a scientist as long as they apply the scientific method.’
So, Jon was going to test the coins and bag. For this he had two tests to make:
1.) Give the SISTER coin to someone and observe the effects
3.) Give the blank coin to someone and observe the effects
But first, Jon grabbed the wishing stone. “I wish I could never lose the bag of coins that I now have because I wished for something interesting.” To his relief, the stone flashed meaning his earlier wish wouldn’t consider it interesting if he lost the bag.
Still, he was risking a lot by doing this. Magic coins made by a reality warping object will, in all likelihood, warp reality. So he decided to avoid testing anything on his family and made his way outside. A jogger was running down the sidewalk when he got out, an attractive older woman in maybe her 30s, and his little brother’s teacher Ms. Warren if he recalled correctly. “Ms. Warren, good morning!”
Lydia began to run in place as she looked around, before stopping to pull out her ear buds. “Yes? Do I know you?”
“Not really, but you teach my little brother, Mikey Madison.” Jon pointed a thumb back towards his house.
“Oh, you must be Jon! A pleasure to meet you.” Lydia held out a hand and Jon shook it. “So, Jon, why are you out this fine Saturday morning?”
Jon shrugged. “A science experiment.”
“Oh really? What subject?”
‘Quantum Physics.’ Jon thought sarcastically. “Can’t tell you too many details, would ruin the experiment. Would you be willing to help me out?”
Lydia mulled it over for a moment. “Mikey hasn’t said you’d do anything with lasting harm in a prank, so sure. What do I need to do?”
“Just take this coin,” Jon said holding the SISTER coin out to her. “And tell me what you think of it.”
Lydia took the coin and Jon distinctly heard the klink of two metal coins falling from his bag. “Just a coin? Does it have a trick to it?” Lydia said, lowering her hand in such a way that if she was holding the coin it would fall to the ground from her open palm.
“Nope. Just seeing how the metal reacts to people holding it.” Jon said, looking back up at Ms. Warren from the ground to confirm the coin didn’t land in the grass.
Except she didn’t look much like Ms. Warren now. Now she looked like a younger version of his mom, like Zoe would in a few years. “Well, okay. Good luck with that experiment little brother.” Lydia said walking into the house behind him. “Mikey, that better not be your homework unfinished I see poking out of your backpack!” She called as she went inside.
“No Lydia!” Mikey called back, a scrambling sound and door slamming following shortly.
Jon went into the house and saw Lydia sitting at the dining room table with a laptop as mom brought her a sandwich. “Are you sure we don’t need to talk about Mikey’s grades sweetie?” Mom asked Lydia.
“No mom. I think the fact his teacher lives in the same house as him and is his oldest sister scares him straight.” Lydia Madison said, taking a bite of the sandwich.
“Holy shit.” Jon mumbled and reached into the coin bag. SISTER was there along with the blank coin, but so was 30 YEARS OLD. Jon put all three coins back in the bag and non-chalantly made his way back to his room to note his observations.
“Giving the SISTER coin made the subject my biological sister. The coin then returned to the bag along with another… trait of the subject. In this case an age, as Lydia Warren regressed to a point where my mom could have reasonably had her without being aged up. In this case, my mom would have needed a teen pregnancy as Lydia Madison seems fresh out of college.”
Jon tapped his chin with his pen. “I believe Zoe is still my sister because it is possible my mother could have had four children if the circumstances allowed. Therefore because a new trait could not overrule an existing one, Zoe didn’t ‘lose’ being my sister. Lydia, by contrast, ‘lost’ her age to accommodate.”
“Therefore, my hypothesis for the blank coin: All traits of a person, even abstract ones, will be made into coins. Ones that cannot be copied are functionally stolen. I’m still not ready to test what that would do.”
The notebook Jon was writing in seemed to make his mouth run dry. “As I cannot lose existing coins, would giving a trait someone already has alter them? How could I ‘double’ SISTER for instance? Giving it to Mikey would probably make him a girl and add BROTHER to my collection, but what about Zoe or Lydia? Twins? Or Mom, giving up MOTHER for SISTER would alter the entire house dynamic.”
Jon tossed the pen onto the notebook and grabbed the wishing rock. “I wish the notebook on the desk in front of me could not be read or edited or destroyed without my express permission.”
Jon again took the bag outside, but this time went down the street to one of his elderly neighbors he knew would be in their yard. One in particular he knew complained about her age of 86 despite still being able to move. “Good morning Mrs. Wilson!”
Grace Wilson carefully raised herself up from her flowerbed and turned around. “Yes?”
“I think I have something of yours.” Jon said, holding out the 30 YEAR OLD coin. If he’s right, it would give Grace a new chance at life.
Several coins fell into the bag. “Why thank you Jon!” The now very much younger Mrs. Wilson said. “Would you like to come in? I made some lemonade. Misjudged how much I needed for the lunch party at work tonight and ended up making two jugs too many!”
“Sure Mrs. Wilson.” Jon said, following the woman inside. Jon had seen it through the windows a few times, walls crowded with tacky displays and a lot of walls. Now it was tastefully decorated and had far more of an open plan in line with modern home renovation television. “So where do you work?”
“Oh please, it’s Grace!” She said, fetching a jug of lemonade from next to two others. “And I’m a night charge nurse at the hospital.” She poured him a glass. “And you’re still in school right?”
“Yes ma’am.” Grace’s cell, an object she would not have had a few minutes ago, rang and she stepped out of the living room to answer. Since he had the break, Jon poured out the coins to see what was added.
86 YEARS OLD, ARTHRITIC, MOTHER, GRANDMOTHER, GREAT-GRANDMOTHER, LUNG CANCER (shit that is scary he basically cured her!) and MISANTHROPIC. Jon could easily guess she didn’t have kids until after she was 30, or at least that birthday, and all the bad parts of her life were after that too.
“Jon, that was the hospital. I need to head out now so run along home please!”
“Sure thing Mrs. Wilson!” Jon said chugging his lemonade.
“It’s Grace!” Grace called to his back as he left.
As Jon made his way home, he’d resolved to keep stuff like LUNG CANCER as far away from people as possible. But his hypothesis was proven, traits incompatible with the coin given are removed.
“Now… who do I test the blank one on?” He mumbled to himself.
