Push it to the limit! (Become a fitness icon)

Joana descended the narrow stairwell leading beneath the east wing of the Talos building. Her footsteps echoed in the concrete shaft, each step illuminated only by flickering industrial lighting. The air was damp, filled with the scent of fresh drywall dust, old cement, and distant, humming transformers.

She paused as she reached the final landing.

A simple push door opened onto the sub-basement. Joana blinked as her eyes adjusted. The space had once been a locker room — or maybe a utilities center. It was hard to tell. Exposed pipes ran along the ceiling, and plastic-covered mirrors leaned against half-finished cinderblock walls. Yellow hazard tape was draped lazily across stacks of floor tiles, long forgotten.

But Robyn stood at the center of it all, radiant despite the gray surroundings. She’d dressed down — blue leggings, tank top, her curls still tied back. Her posture, though, was electric. She moved with a purpose that made Joana slow her approach.

"You came," Robyn said simply, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

Joana gave a half-skeptical glance around. “This place looks condemned.”

“It’s not. It’s in transition,” Robyn said, voice rich with suggestion. “So, have you given it some thought?”

“I want to run an immersion scenario,” she said, bold as anything. It had been an hour since Robyn regained her awareness of the situation, and after claiming she’d want a turn with the RAC, she had decided something monumental needed some thought. And me and this body desperately need some alone time, she’d chided.

Joana glanced up from the console, nonplussed. “You’re going to have to narrow that down.”

Robyn stepped closer, her voice low and serious now. “I’ve given some thought to how the RAC affected me - how it changed everything, and how seamlessly I adjusted. But what if we pushed that? Not just transformation. Not just body. I’m talking full narrative immersion. A setting. A role. Two weeks.”

Joana blinked. “You’re serious.” The idea was tantalizing. And her colleague was offering herself up as guinea pig.

“I want to become someone else,” Robyn said. “Within limits. We can center the change here on campus so you can keep close observation. Primarily focused in one defined location. Fully transformed, fully integrated—just… temporarily.”

Joana leaned back in her chair. “You want to live inside a fantasy.”

“I want to…inhabit a simulation. With controls. Consent. Reversion protocols. You know it could be revolutionary if it works.”

She paused, then added with a crooked grin, “I want to spend two weeks as the face and body of a women-only fitness studio. Mid-twenties. Peak health. Commanding, nurturing, sensual. Someone who embodies strength and sex appeal. A fantasy trainer.”

Joana raised an eyebrow, a crooked grin of her own forming. “You want to set up shop and become queen gym bunny?”

Robyn laughed. “Something like that. But think of the data. Identity alignment. Memory graft cohesion. Reality scaffolding under stress.”

Joana drummed her fingers on the desk. “Where?”

You’ll see…

Joana frowned. “You want to set up shop here? Couldn’t you have picked somewhere more…developed?”

Robyn laughed. “Not exactly. I want to be here. All in. I told you I’ve been thinking about it and I want to see what happens when we push it. Going from condemned basement to high-class studio is as big a step change I believe is appropriate for this test.”

“That’s a lot of ambition for a glorified locker room, but this is reality warping we’re talking about. It will be want we want it to be, but there will be broader ramifications.” Joana warned.

Robyn stepped closer. She leaned forward a bit with both a flirtatious and expectant expression. Oh, she’s using her looks on me knowing I’m still Jon deep down.

Joana stared at her for a long moment.

This was absurd.

It was scientifically indulgent. Unnecessary.

And yet... her fingers itched with the thought, the sexual thrill of this worked as Robyn was hoping it would.

“What happens when it’s over?” she asked quietly.

Robyn stepped forward, close now, her voice low and inviting.

“Then you turn me back. Or... maybe we make something new.”

Joana adjusted her grip on the RAC. “You ready then?”

Robyn nodded. “Light me up.”

Joana keyed the activation. Onscreen, the RAC dumped a summary of the script she had written the night before:

— SCRIPT: ROBYN’S JOYRIDE —-
[TARGET: Dr. Robyn Crawthan]
[ALTERATION: Immersive Overlay - “Fitness Lead”
Duration: 14 days (336 hours)
Body Configuration: Age: 25; Height 5’11”; defined musculature; G-cup bust; mocha skin; Hair: Bronze curls, wild volume
Mental Configuration: Confident, assertive, nurturing
External Perception: Cognitive Anchor preset engaged - preserve baseline personality and intellect of target
[TARGET: Immediate 12m vicinity of RAC]
[ALTERATION: Spatial Recalibration]
Description: High-end, women-only fitness studio; lead instructor & owner = Robyn Crawthan
Scaffold Parameter: ACTIVE (environment will adapt for immersion)
Access: Admin override (J. Kekyll)

“Hey, did you have any name ideas for the space? I’ve got all the other details here.” Joana inquired.

“Oh! Yes! I was thinking…Evoké!” Robyn exclaimed. She was clearly having too much fun at the thought of this.

“Alright, you’re going to need to spell that. Come review.”

Robyn scanned over the RAC’s readout and punched in the studio name, taking a little longer than expected due to the ‘é’ at the end of ‘Evoké’. Admittedly, keyboard support had not been on Joana’s mind with this RAC prototype.

After a beat, Robyn resumed here position. “Alright! Let’s do it.”

And, with little fanfare, Joana pressed EXECUTE.