Text by me. Images by AIs.
It was just another evening at the end of a long day.
After a routine day at the office and a quick visit to the gym, I found myself falling back into my usual patterns. I lay on my second-hand sofa, staring blankly at the TV, watching whatever the algorithm recommended in that moment. This time, it had selected some kind of reality show, couples, eliminations, the usual drama.
Without a second thought, I reached for my phone and opened Grindr.
It was a nervous habit, something to fill the mental silence while the TV hummed white noise in the background.
I swiped through the grid of men in my area, studying their photos with a mixture of longing and envy. I wanted to believe I was putting in enough effort at the gym, that I was eating well, and that I was taking care of my body.
But after a few flicks of my finger, I couldn't help but compare my scrawny frame to the muscular physiques on the screen.
A third episode started playing automatically when I heard the familiar notification chime from the app. I immediately assumed it was a bot or a guy marketing a new party, but to my surprise, the message looked⊠genuine.
He was a bit older than my usual type, but he clearly took care of himself. His main photo showed him in a baseball cap, shirtless on a beachâlikely a vacation with an ex, judging by how the image was cropped. His other photos seemed legitimate: a business suit, a selfie in an elevator. He looked like a real person.
"Hey, stud," his message said.
Another followed immediately:
"I'm gonna guess you're as bored as I am."
I chuckled and sent back a nod emoji.
We chatted for a while until he suggested I come over. I hesitated slightly but agreed. He seemed worth the effort of getting dressed and leaving the house.
Later that same hour, I walked into his apartment building. Polished marble panels decorated the lobby, accented by designer chairs and a security guard at the front desk. The person living here clearly had no financial struggles.
I took the elevator up to the penultimate floor, found his door, and knocked.
Suddenly, an unexpected rush of anxiety hit me. My body commanded me to run back to the elevator. For a moment, I feared my instincts knew something I didnât, but I ignored the premonition.
The door opened to reveal a tall figure in the entryway.
"Eric?" I asked cautiously.
He resembled the guy from the photos, but I wanted to be sure.
"Yeah, hey," the figure said in a deep voice.
"Come on in."
As he closed the door, I took in the space. Just as Iâd suspected, money was no object. There was designer furniture, an enormous TV, and several statues and paintings that looked priceless.
"Oh, sorry, I must've made a mistake," I said, trying to lighten the mood. "I clearly took a wrong turn and ended up at the city museum instead of your apartment."
"What? Oh," he smiled. "One of my obsessions. I try not to go overboard, but as you can see, I fail."
I laughed, and the atmosphere cleared.
After he offered me a drink, we sat in the living room and talked much longer than I expected. I had assumed the "dispelling boredom" line was a euphemism for a hookup, but we simply kept talking for the rest of the evening.
I learned he was a plastic surgeon for celebrities, and he hinted at some big names who had passed through his clinic. He discussed his hobbies as a card magician and his interest in other party tricks. He was a very conversational guy.
In turn, I told him a little about my life. My dull office job, the highs and lows of my studies, and what it was like growing up in a small town. Eric expressed genuine interest throughout the conversation.
Eventually, the conversation turned to body image within the community.
"What are you talking about? You're a total stud," he said, attempting to flatter me.
I laughed and replied, "Thanks, but it never feels that way."
"What do you mean?" he asked, sounding surprised.
"You can see the absolute truth every time you look in the mirror!"
I sighed.
"Tell that to all the guys on Grindr who disappear the moment I send a photo."
He ignored my comment.
"It's just a matter of self-perception."
"No, it's not. If I were big enough, it would be so much easier for me."
"You really think that?"
"I really do."
A brief silence settled between us until Eric spoke again, a suggestion forming.
"I have an idea."
"I'm listening."
"What if I hypnotize you?"
"What?"
"I love this stuff, street magician tricks and illusions. Iâve been learning it now that I have more free time."
"Haha, very funny," I said, rolling my eyes.
"I'm serious!"
I looked at him skeptically.
"Even if it worked, which it probably won't, how would hypnosis help me?"
"It would improve your self-worth," he answered enthusiastically.
"Even if it doesn't help on Grindr, at least you won't feel so awful.
Let me try.
What have you got to lose?"
Not much, I thought, though I felt a flicker of fear about what he might do while I was under.
"I can't make you do anything," he added, as if reading my mind.
"Hypnosis can't force you to do anything you don't truly want to do."
Oh, right. I forgot it wasn't like the movies.
"Okay, fine. But if it doesn't work, you're opening another bottle for me," I laughed.
"Deal." He shook my hand playfully.
Eric directed me to an armchair. I kicked off my Adidas and settled in, enjoying the texture of the fabric.
"Okay, I need you to relax. Close your eyes and give yourself permission to let go."
"Yes, doctor," I joked, but I complied.
I trusted him enough to let myself surrender to the experience.
"Alright. Now that you're comfortable, listen to my voiceâŠ"
Eric continued, and I slowly drifted out of consciousness.
I woke to the sharp snap of his fingers.
Dazed, I opened my eyes and realized I was no longer in the luxury apartment. It was hard to see as the daylight blinded me, but I realized I was in some kind of cheap motel room.
"Good morning, sleepyhead," Eric said, standing by the door.
"I'll be back in a few minutes. Try not to freak out too much."
Before I could speak, he stepped out and slammed the door, locking it behind him.
I tried to process my surroundings, but my thoughts and senses were sluggish. I was groggy, sinking into the fog that had settled in my brain.
How did I get here? What time was it? Was this a dream? Was I still hypnotized, or had he drugged me?
Many questions ran through my mind, but only when I managed to shake off the grogginess did I see what was really going on.
The heaviness wasn't just in my mind. My limbs felt heavy as lead.
My body⊠if it was even my body⊠felt foreign, a massive and unfamiliar weight.
The chair creaked beneath me. I stared at my arms, thick and roped with muscle, covered in coarse, dark hair I'd never seen before.Panic surged.
What the hell is happening?
I struggled to stand. I had to find a mirror, to find a way out! But when I finally managed to get out of the chair, I lost my balance and had to lean against the wall. Steadying myself, I realized my perspective had shifted. Had I somehow grown taller? Why was my head almost scraping the ceiling?
Heart pounding, I reached the bathroom and shrieked in terror.
Who is this person in the mirror!? Is that me!? It can't be!
In the mirror, a stranger stared back, a mountain of a man, over two meters tall, a hulking creature of muscle and mass. I reached out a trembling hand to feel the coarse stubble on his face.
My horror deepened as I studied the features of this unfamiliar person. His brown eyes were not mine, his black hair was not mine, his flattened nose and crooked teeth were not mine.
My face was gone.
My identity was gone.
Everything felt wrong.
I struggled to remain stable on legs as thick as hairy tree trunks. And no wonder I couldn't. With these new giant feet walking was a procedure I wasn't ready to handle.
I was about to check beneath my waistband when the sound of the lock turning cut me off. Eric stepped back inside.
"So, what do you think?" he asked with a toothy grin.
I stared at him in horror.
"Whatâ" I stopped, jolted by the gravelly voice that erupted from my throat.
"What did you do to me!?"
"Exactly what you asked for. It came out great, didn't it?"
"There is no way in the world I asked for this. How did this even happen!? Are you⊠Is this real? Did you hypnotize me into thinking I look like this?"
"Absolutely not. What you're seeing now, all 150 perfect kilos of it, is you and only you."
"Perfect!?"
"Don't pretend. You chose him yourself."
"What!?"
Eric chuckled and took my hand, leading me out of the bathroom.
"Come with me." My hand looked enormous in his. I could have covered his entire face with it. He sat me back in the chair and took a seat opposite me.
"Looks like I worked you a little too well. Let me explain."
"When you came over and we got to know each other, I felt like I saw something beyond just a cute guy. I saw untapped potential in you. So much pain, so much unnecessary shame. I realized I could change a life, and I decided to do it."
"By what right do you think you can just change someone's life!?"
"Not 'just like that,' I promise. After you fell under hypnosis, we had a long conversation. You told me how much you longed for a different body. You told me about your swapping fantasies. Fate brought you to me, the man who could make them a reality."
A deep anxiety washed over me.
He couldn't have known those things unless Iâd said them.
He was telling the truth.
"So I got to work. I kept you under prolonged hypnosis to ensure you remained focused on the plan. You've been here for the past few months while I made that fantasy a reality."
"First, I wanted to understand exactly what the ideal body you wanted looked like. We went through hundreds of photos of men until you found the one whose body would make you feel whole. Not a bad choice, honestly."
"This. Is. Not. Ideal!" I roared in that new, heavy voice.
"I would never choose this!"
"Shhh," he hushed me. "Let me finish." As if by magic, my throat tightened, and I couldn't make a sound.
"It was a long and complex process. I'm very proud of the work that was done here."
"We started with the general body structure. I put you on a bulking diet along with a workout plan you adhered to for six months. Of course, that wasn't enough for such a drastic change, so I also included fat injections, testosterone supplements, and a few other professional secrets."
He smiled, beaming with pride.
"In parallel, I performed limb-lengthening surgeries to reach this new height. The right height for you. When we got down to details, I worked with a variety of different techniques. Dermabrasion to match the skin, hair transplants all over the body, various facial surgeries, comprehensive dental work, and actually even an implant of most of your facial organs."
My heart hammered against my new enormous ribs.
This man was a maniac.
"Now, to ensure this isn't just a superficial change, I asked a favor of a friend who helped me edit your genome. All with your consent, of course. No matter how much time passes, you will continue to look exactly like this. As a bonus, your fingerprints and DNA will now identify you as this man, not the person you were."
I couldn't speak, but the tears flooding my face said enough.
He had turned me into a different person.
A creature.
"Oh, right, you're free to talk." Eric said snapping his fingers, but I remained silent.
I didn't know what to say.
Instead, I looked again at this new body, my new body.
As we talked, a layer of cold sweat had accumulated.
I smelled it.
A stale odor.
My smell.
I swallowed in anxiety and was horrified again when I realized that it wasn't even my saliva anymore, but that of the huge creature I was trapped in.
Eric broke the silence.
"Seriously, nothing to say?"
I looked up at him, shaking with rage and grief.
"You son of a bitch."
Eric began to respond, but I cut him off.
"You're a psycho.
Only an insane person would do this.
You stole my identity! I'm someone else!"
"Well, that's what we wanted, wasn't it?"
"You! You wanted it! If I said something like that when you hypnotized me, it's only because I was under your control!"
"You know very well I can't force you to do what you don't want."
I surged to my feet, accidentally knocking over a table lamp. I was startled by my own strength. Iâd barely felt the impact. But I saw the flash of fear on Ericâs face.
I was bigger than him. Stronger.
I was a threat.
"I don't care how," I growled, "but you're changing me back!"
"As I explained, you can't turn back the clock. Your genome has been altered. We didn't back up your old bio-data."
"I don't care!" I screamed, pulling back a fist to strike him.
But Eric snapped his fingers again.
"Okay, enough of this nonsense." The snap froze me in my tracks, forcing me back into a state of involuntary relaxation.
"Listen to me, and listen well," he commanded.
I nodded submissively against my will.
"You aren't in a position to give orders. I can keep you in this state as long as I like. I could wake you up when you're eighty and wrinkled."
"Yes," I answered submissively.
"But I'm not a bad person. I have no interest in being your babysitter. On the other hand, I can't just let you go. Itâs only a matter of time before you convince someone of your old identity and lead them back to me."
Eric paced the room, mumbling options to himself.
And me⊠all I could do was continue to stand in that same relaxed position and pray he would release me.
After a few minutes, Eric returned to sit across from me and began to reprogram me.
"Alright, this is what's going to happen now. In a few minutes, I will release you, but before that, I want you to go into a deep trance. The deepest trance you've ever been in. A thousand times deeper than all the previous times combined."
My eyes rolled back, a wave of relaxation washed over me.
"From now on, your name is Erez. You're going to forget your previous name. It's no longer important. From now on, you are Erez. I am going to give you a new identity.
Erez doesn't work in an office.
Erez is a hard-working bartender at a gay bar by night and a handyman by day.
Erez loves working on his enormous physique.
Erez didn't finish high school.
Erez hates the TV.
Erez uses the word 'bro' way too much.
ErezâŠ"
And Eric continued like this, getting carried away into the new reality he was weaving for me.
"Now that you know who you are, let's discuss the past. You will never speak of me or what you've been through. If you try, you'll find yourself drifting to another topic, pulled back into Erez's identity. And just for my own amusement, I want you to understand that beneath the surface, the original 'you' will always be thereâwatching, unable to stop yourself from acting like Erez. I want you to know what it's like to be someone else, just like you wanted."
A snapping sound woke me up again.
This time, I found myself on a city street at night.
My feet ached.
He probably made me walk a lot so I couldn't find his place again.
I looked at them.
I could still feel the difference from my old height.
I was wearing size 13 boots and dirty blue jeans.
I pulled an old phone and a wallet out of my pocket.
Inside was an ID card belonging to Erez.
Mine.
I took a deep breath, wanting to scream in horror.
But instead, my body betrays me and-
Thank you for reading. Hopefully the next one will come out before 2027 đȘ
I wish I could write faster, but this is just my pace.
