Kyle beats him to it

Thomas looked down at the keyboard, a sudden grin creeping onto his face. The things he could do; the power he had at his disposal. He thought back to the quiet whispers his housemates had said behind his back, calling him pervert, and the way the girls kept a distant eye on him. He could change all of that; for the better!

He was about to type something when Kyle pushed him back and grabbed the machine.

“I’ll be honest Tom, I don’t really believe you. I have a hard time wrapping my head around the idea of a machine that changes the world.” He paused, turning the black box around. “But, there’s no denying that look of pure shock on your face.”

Kyle spared a glance at the two girls, both who shared a look of idle curiosity. Bianca took that moment to add “I second that; for a moment, it really seemed like Thomas truly believed he changed the world.”

The man with the machine shrugged. “One way to find out!”

Shaking his head, Thomas frowned and kept his mouth shut at the sudden turn of events. He slowly got up to his feet and stared daggers into the back of Kyle’s head.

The moment Kyle touched the machine, it flashed again. When it cleared, all evidence of Thomas’ involvement had vanished, instead showing the log in screen again.

New user detected. Please enter user’s name.

Silently, Kyle entered his full name and answered ‘yes’ to the following questions, doing his best to ensure that his experience was the same as Thomas’. He stopped when he got to the familiar text editing screen.

“Here goes nothing.”

And with shaky fingers, he typed in ‘Kyle Winters has two fifty dollar bills in his pocket’, pressed enter, and watched as the screen flashed. When it clear, he reached into his pocket and took out the two bills that the machine has suddenly conjured.

“No fucking way!” he yelled, eyes awed at what he just did. “It does work!”

Behind him, Bianca rolled her eyes. “Please, you expect us to believe that you just magically produced two fifties with an antique?”

Even Thomas was wide eyed, it being the first time he saw a live proof of the changes being a reality. Although it was hard not to believe that those fifties had been in Kyle’s pocket the whole time; he had experienced the machine's powers first hand, and knew that those bills hadn't existed prior to this moment.

Pocketing the money once more, Kyle turned to face the girls. “Come on, I’m telling you this thing works! I don’t know how but it does!” He shot a glance at Thomas. “Tom, back me up!”

But his call for aid went unanswered. Thomas was still too angry and insulted.

Even Pamela was frowning now, shaking her head between the two men. “Okay guys, are you pulling a fast one on Bianca and I? Because it’s not very funny. In fact-“

Kyle shot his hands in the air in frustration, interrupting her. “Gah, fine!” and he turned back to the machine and typed quickly on the interface.

0001: Pamela Burr and Bianca Nelson believe in the powers of the World Processor.

The screen flashed and suddenly both girls were staring wide eyed, their gaze focused on the antique before them.

“Oh! Oh! Let me try!” Yelled Pamela, nearly jumping in anticipation. “There are a few things I wish to change about the world!”

Bianca grinned next to her. “You and me both, girl. There are way too many things wrong with the Earth right now.”

Behind them, Thomas slowly started sulking in the corner. His plans were vanishing before his eyes; he’d need to find a way to grab that machine from Kyle.

“Listen, listen.” Kyle started, trying to calm the women down, “Before you jump knee deep into this, hear me out. While I agree this thing has loads of potential, and that we should definitely use it, we can’t act rashly. We are literally changing the world.”

That visibly calmed them. Taking a deep breath, Pamela inquired further. “Okay, so what do you propose Kyle?”

He grinned, and started typing.

0002: Starting at midnight tonight, Thomas Mekkar, Bianca Nelson, Pamela Burr, and Kyle Winters can only make one change per day on the World Processor

However, when he pressed enter, instead of the traditional flash, a second text message appeared.

User Kyle Winters’ changes involve the World Processor itself. In order to preserve consistency between users, would user Kyle like to make this change permanent?

He blinked. “This thing’s amazing.” And typed ‘yes’.

Behind him, Thomas swallowed his fit of rage. This could not be happening right now.

At the stroke of the enter key, the bright flash engulfed the room again. When it cleared, he turned to his housemates. “Everyone okay with that?”

The three of them nodded, Bianca even going as far as adding “Of course; I never planned on making more than one change a day anyway.”

Kyle smiled. “This will also ensure that everyone’s changes are worthwhile, since you only get one a day. Now, what I’m going to do is lock the attic and keep the key so no one can get back in. At the stroke of midnight, I’ll leave the key in the kitchen. After that, the machine’s free game.”

He stood up and let loose the biggest grin.

“Let’s make the world a better place!”