Roger just smiled indulgently at the independent firecracker of a program Mackenzie was shaping up to be. He'd been a bit worried that her knowledge of the mutability of her existence would disrupt her logic patterns too much for the new personality matrix to properly anchor, but that hadn't seemed to happen. If anything it seemed like the underlying program that had been playing the part of Jon, was excited to not be shackled to that life anymore.
"Well you're in luck; you're single and ready to mingle," Taylor quipped using a phrase from around the era the KS Chronicles was set in. She was a bit of an otaku for 21st century culture, which was a big part of why she'd applied to work on this particular program after graduating from the Venusian Entertainment Academy. They actually tried to avoid having characters be in relationships that predated their introduction to the show if they could get away with it for a few reasons. One, the programs did largely have free will, and the romantic partners they chose for themselves tended to make for more passionate, exciting relationships. You could get the same effect with a predetermined relationship, but it was very tedious to fine tune two characters to fit like that when you could just let it happen naturally. For the parent's generation they had to bite the bullet and do it, but with people Sarah and Karyn's age, they let things develop naturally most of the time. (Also given the simulation's original start was the day Sarah and Karyn met in Kindergarten, most of the Lakeview kids naturally were young enough to have not yet formed non-familial relationships anyway.)
The other reason was that the audience wanted to see that shit, the first dates, first kisses, other firsts. Overall Dr. Ellis gave his programs a lot of freedom compared to some other show runners, and it often worked out. While something like Karyn and Jon's friendship had been a rating's bomb, people loved the unexpected romance between Yuki Meshida and basketball vice captain Deshawn Wilkes. It probably helped that they were two of the most likeable characters, with Deshawn an intentional counterpoint to Steve Farber, and Yuki the earnest exchange student.
"That said, we do need to make a few more adjustments, so I'm going to put you back to sleep for a little while," Roger said. The personality seemed to be taking hold well, but he wanted to make a few tweaks and consult with the other departments. Maybe reign in the flirtatiousness just a tad and work with Taylor to define the familial relationships of the Chois.
"Okay, and hey, maybe next time you can let me get off the bed," Mackenzie quipped before the world again went dark.
Mackenzie came to and realized two things right away; she was no longer in the void, and she could MOVE. She sprung unsteadily to her feet, marveling at the feeling of taught smooth muscle that had replaced Jon's relative wimpyness. She realized she was shorter, and somehow instinctively knew she was now 5'4 and a half, a little over five inches shorter than Jon had been. The room she was in was nice, if a little plain and empty. It had wood paneling on the walls, a large window that seemed to be looking out into the void she'd been in before, three doors leading out of it, and a relatively plush green carpet. The whole thing had a cool color tone, with the ceiling painted a deep blue.
She wasn't alone in the room, Taylor was there again and Josephine seemed to be back. For some reason Mackenzie was paying more attention to their clothes than before, noting they both wore jump suits, though Josephine's was metallic gold and Mackenzie's white. She herself was still nude, her 34 C (She wasn't sure how she knew her bra size) girls bouncing a bit wildly as she stepped onto the carpet. She'd been on the same bed as before, the only piece of furniture in the room, but it quickly disappeared.
"Whoa," Mackenzie said as she ran her hands over her new body for the first time, gently cupping every curve. she poked her left breast and giggled a bit as it quivered, enjoying the tingling sensation that came with it.
"I see Roger didn't make her very modest," Josephine said in a deadpan snark.
Taylor, who looked a little nervous to be working with Josephine directly said, "He turned her modesty subroutines off while we're in this transition period. Didn't want her hiding herself while we we're finalizing things."
"Hmph," Josephine grunted before continuing, "shall we get to it? I've got a meeting with Ellis after this; we're trying to get the new night club finished by tonight as well." Josephine was fairly high up in the art department, modelling both characters and environments.
"Hey, either of you want to fill me in on what's going on?" Mackenzie asked. She'd stopped looking at herself and was now standing arms at her side.
Josephine turned a critical eye towards her, "She's not standing right. It doesn't matter if I design the perfect model if you're just going to let her move around like a guy."
"OOPS," Taylor squeaked as she hastily hit a few buttons on her pad. "Roger must have not turned on her new physical mannerisms after he uh... It's not important. I'll turn them on now, sorry Mrs. Josephine."
Mackenzie's stance instantly changed; with one now practiced hand she flicked her long dark hair back over her shoulder while putting her left hand on her hip and subtly puffing out her chest.
"That's better," Josephine tutted, "but still a little generic."
"Uh, it's just Female Motion Pack 4 right now; we're getting in someone from the rigging team to do fine tuning the day after tomorrow," Taylor sheepishly explained.
"Cutting it rather close," Josephine said thinnly, "We only have the rest of the week to get ready to get back on air. So let's get to work, this is what I was thinking for her day one outfit." Josephine dragged a ball of light from her tablet and threw it toward Mackenzie.
All at once Mackenzie was dressed and styled. Her long dark hair was glossy and slightly curled. She was wearing a white crop top that showed her belly button and was just a little tight over her breasts. Beneath it she had a bra on, though she couldn't see how her underwear looked at the moment. She was wearing a stylish black leather jacket with bronze detailing as well. Her legs were clad in a dark, tight pair of pre-torn jeans, and there was a pair of heeled ankle boots on her feet, boosting her back up a couple of inches. Around her neck she wore two overlapping necklaces, a gilded shark tooth pendant on a slim gold chain that descended to hang just above her cleavage and another shorter golden chain with a ring on it that rested closer to her clavicle.
She could feel, even if she couldn't see that makeup had been applied, including lipstick and mascara. Her fingernails had been painted; on the left hand the thumb, middle and pinkey were white, while the pointer and ring were black and her right hand had the reverse. Her lobes had moderate sized golden hoops, while smaller ruby studs were snug in the upper piercing. She took a step, very naturally for her first time in heels and twisted around to look at her backside. "Nice choice, I like the colors; not too loud for the first day, but not too timid either. I think I prefer skirts to pants, but overall this outfit's a beaut."
"Fashion subroutines seem to have taken hold," Taylor muttered before clearing her throat and saying, "Looks great, Josephine."
Josephine walked around Mackenzie, surveying her work, "Yes, obviously the program will put together their own outfit's after the first day, but I used this as one of my three example outfits when Ellis was approving the planned wardrobe. According to your note's she's a bit of a fashionista, so it's going to be rather varied and trendy. Her family's wealth level meant I could use higher end clothes, and we've obviously created a jewelry and accessory collection in line with the rest of it. I gave her a slightly alternative aesthetic, but didn't lean too hard into it. I want to differentiate her from Sarah, but absolutely needed to avoid veering into punk or god forbid Goth territory. I still have no idea how that subgroup grew so large in the show."
"So I've got a whole closet full of clothes like this?" Mackenzie asked a little excitedly; she had a sudden interest in what she wore that would have been utterly foreign to Jon. It was one of several preprogrammed initial interests Roger had installed alongside her personality matrix, things that lined up with her new backstory. She'd be left to develop as organically as they could, but given the circumstances, they needed to have some hobbies and passions primed before the new season started. For Mackenzie it was like something was filling up a great emptiness that had been in her life as Jon, giving her specific desires and wants that had been very vague and amorphous as Jon.
"Yes," Josephine said tiredly, clearly not as keen to talk to a program as the rest of the team, "and this is what I was thinking for her room."
With a touch of the stylus, the empty room suddenly filled. There was a queen sized bed with a dark maroon bedspread. A chest of drawers, a vanity in one corner, and a mahogany chest in the other. Two beanbags, purple and indigo, sat on the floor in front of a relatively small tv set. There was a cherry red electric bass sitting on a stand along with an amp, a bedside table with a lamp on it, a small bookcase with a variety of titles, a shelf with a handful of trophies and nicknacks, and a cat bed by the door. "Obviously I don't want it to look too lived in, since the family has just arrived," Josephine explained while Mackenzie walked around the room in awe at her new surroundings. She felt a bit like a broken record, but even this room had more personality than Jon's had.
"Do I play bass?" She asked, picking up the instrument.
"Hmm, oh yes," Taylor said, "you're not a world class musician by any means but you're not bad for a kid your age. You played with a few different garage bands back in Sydney, but mostly you like to jam. You'll have the skills downloaded the next time you wake up, but it'll be up to you whether you want to keep up the practice." They were setting up Mackenzie for a certain trajectory, but the exact course was going to be up to her.
"What are these for?" Mackenzie asked, pointing to the trophies on the shelf.
"Alpine sports, mostly snowboarding and one for surfing," Taylor explained. "Your mom takes you most vacations to somewhere the two of you can board. If you get close enough with either Karyn or Sarah, we're even considering doing a ski trip arc. They're just local trophies, not national stuff; you like it but you're not aiming to be an athlete like your mother."
"What am I aiming to be?" Mackenzie asked, her arms folded below her breasts. "Please tell me my life's goal isn't to be something lame like an accountant or whatever."
Taylor smiled, proud that Mackenzie was already forming opinions in line with her new character; they'd all been pretty worried about getting her to where she needed to be before the show resumed at the end of the week. "That's up to you, Mackenzie. We've given you some pre-existing talents and interests but we haven't locked you into anything like a career path. With your grades and your family's finances, pretty much any collegiate program is open to you, plus your dad's pretty connected if you choose to pursue something in the arts. Heck, if you decide you do want to follow in your mom's footsteps, it's not too late and she could put you in contact with her old trainer."
Mackenzie's red lips curled into a smile, plans forming already in her pretty new head. All that possibility sounded wonderful, it was more than Jon was headed for, but she already had an inkling of what she would do. The show was called the KS chronicles after all, and if after two years she went off somewhere far away from Karyn and Sarah, she wouldn't have much of a place on the show. If that happened they might repurpose her again and she was getting to like the idea of being Mackenzie for a long long time. Better to stick to one or both of them; after all, they said she was meant to be initially a rival for Sarah, but no one said that couldn't develop into a friendship. Besides, she was actually beginning to think Sarah might be the kind of person she liked to hang with, if she could get the blonde to lay off the snootiness. And she already cared a lot for Karyn, and as Mackenzie she could purposefully make a new friendship much more exciting.
