As Jon stood in front of the mirror, a sudden realization struck him like a bolt of lightning. Despite all the other compulsions he had tested and experienced, there was one crucial aspect he hadn't explored yet—the transformation of his voice.
With a mixture of curiosity and trepidation, Jon took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak, although not quite sure what to say.
"Uhhh... like, testing?" Jon's voice emerged in a surprisingly high-pitched tone, laced with a hint of breathiness that he hadn't anticipated. He blinked in surprise, startled by the unfamiliar sound that emanated from his lips.
"Oh my gosh!" Jon exclaimed, his voice dripping with girlish inflection. "I sound like, totally like, a girly girl!"
He couldn't help but giggle at the sound of his own voice, a sound that felt simultaneously familiar and utterly foreign.
Emboldened, Jon decided to narrate his thoughts out loud, relishing the exaggerated girly accent. "Okay, like, so I'm gonna, like, keep testing out my voice? Like, see how super girly I sound and stuff?"
The effects were comprehensive. His cadence was consistently girly and he stressed the last word in each sentence, elongating the final syllable.
He couldn't resist the urge to vocalize his thoughts, as a playful smile tugged at Jon's glossed lips, "Okay but, like, seriously... this voice is literally, like, soooo girly... but, like, sexy too. I mean, listen to me! I sound like a total doll and stuff, right?" He flashed a flirty pose in the mirror.
"And, like, oh my gosh, don't even get me started on all these other compulsions," Jon continued, his voice dancing with excitement. "I'm, like, always primping? ... and touching up my makeup? My makeup is a total must-have! I can't leave home without it!" Jon realized he meant those words, as he checked his appearance even as he spoke.
Fixing his hair yet again, he continued, "And I like, always move so sexy now! It's like I'm, like, always trying to catch someone's eye! It's, like, totally crazy, but I, like, can't help it!"
"And, oh my gosh, don't even get me started on, like, the sexy clothes and heels," he exclaimed, after striking a pose with exaggerated flair. "I, like, always have to wear, um, short skirts and, like, low-cut tops and stuff. They make me feel super, super sexy!"
As he spoke, Jon couldn't help but laugh at himself. The absurdity of it all—the high-pitched voice, the incessant need for makeup touch-ups, the girly mannerisms—was strangely exhilarating, "I mean, seriously? I feel like I'm in some, like, dream or something. Like, who knew I could sound this sexy? ... and, like, an absolute ditz at the same time?"
He pursed his glossy lips. He loved the high, slightly breathy quality, but he really did sound like a total ditz, didn't he? The valley girl-like phrasing came naturally to Jon's lips without him thinking about it. "Would anyone, like, ever take me seriously if I, like, sound like this all the time?"
With a determined expression, Jon decided to experiment further. Putting all his effort into lowering his pitch, he said, "Okay, I'm gonna try to, like, not sound so high-pitched," he announced, attempting to modulate his voice to a more respectable tone but to no avail.
Instead, he tried to choose his words purposefully and to speak slowly.
"Okay so maybe if I, um, concentrate really hard, I can, like, sound more, you know, normal? I want to, like, sound intelligent and, you know, not so, like, ditzy and stuff?"
The effect was quite the opposite. Even when he tried his hardest, it was like the only words he could even think of to say were naturally in his new valley girl accent.
Feeling only slightly frustrated and mostly bemused, Jon could only marvel at the extent of the transformation wrought by the machine. He had asked for this, after all. And, with a thrill, he knew that the machine would not let him undo changes for three months, only add to them. It was yet another reminder that his new reality was governed by forces outside of himself, reshaping not just his appearance, but every aspect of his being.
He was momentarily lost in contemplation as he gazed at his transformed reflection. To an outsider, not one remnant of the Jon of before was evident.
