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Chapter 3 by Yabusa Yabusa

Who touches the device, and at what strength?

You, at medium-high power

You put your hand on Jane's shoulder, seeing the eagerness in her eyes to understand what this device can do... but you get the impression that she doesn't want to be the one actually using it. You stepped forward. "I'll touch it, I think like Emilia said I can take the time off work and you can keep doing all your wedding planning as needed."

You didn't know why you were so ready to volunteer, but Jane jumped up and down a little in excitement. "Oh, this is exactly what I hoped! It's going to be perfect, being able to see my boyfriend as a ghost! Like in all the movies... but better, because we can control all of it! Nothing tragic has to happen, you'll just poof back to normal in a few days!"

You glanced over at Emilia and squinted. "Again, in theory." Emilia looked at you, but her expression remained unchanged.

"Very well," Emilia said. "John, approach the dome when ready. What settings should I put this at?"

Before you could say anything, Jane interrupted. "Medium-high! Not the highest, I don't want to be cleaning up ectoplasm everywhere, but... I would like to still be able to see him." You looked at your fiancée like she was insane, and she glanced back. "That also would make it easier for you to make excuses for work, since you could probably still videoconference with your boss to say you're busy. If it's too weak, communication is hard!"

With a little sigh, you took a step forward. The ghost part of things wasn't thrilling, but the promise of a large payment was, so you held your hand out to the dome.

Emilia adjusted some levers and pulled a large switch on the ancient control panel. "Device is primed, machine is live. Everyone, please keep your distance. John, when you're ready."

None of this felt safe or up to scientific code... you looked around. Only someone as rich as Emilia could get away with having something like this tucked away in her house and not needing a permit for... you don't know, ghost-manufacturing or something. You glanced back to your girlfriend last, staring at her stunning form but finding the most intriguing feature about her in that moment was her eyes. They were filled with excited anticipation at what you were moments away from doing. Had there been no cash payment, you wonder if Jane would have still tried to convince you to do this. Something about her obsession with the paranormal was really thrilling her with this, and you weren't exactly sure what it was.

You reached out and touched the machine, as instructed. It felt like a static shock that your whole body felt--you could see a burst of blue flashes spill out of the machine and engulf you, in an instant! And then... you were gone.

...kind of.

Your clothes rumpled into a pile below you, but that didn't seem to matter. You had the barest outline of a body, a rather amorphous form casting weak light around at your surroundings as you tried to make sense of yourself. You could see in many different directions at once, thinking it would make you feel ill to do so--but you had no stomach, thus no illness. You didn't really feel anything at all, at least not in a traditional way.

You drifted away from the machine, heading towards Emilia and your girlfriend whose gaze was fixated on you. Emilia had a clipboard in hand, she was treating this like this was a typical day for her. "Okay, John, any pains or other concerns?"

"No, nothing," you said. You weren't really sure how you spoke, you just thought the words and they boomed out from you. You didn't feel a mouth or anything to make words with.

Emilia asked a few more questions, before she set the clipboard down. "That's all I need to know at this time. But, I would like a full report on abilities you discover at this strength level, plus the actual duration that this form lasts. I set the machine at what was calculated to be roughly a week, but don't panic if it takes up to twice as long to revert back into a living form. Now, if you don't mind my curiosity, what is it you would like to do now?"

...What would you like to do? You hadn't thought that far ahead. What was it that ghosts do with their partners? Flicker some lamps? Take a pottery class? "I... don't know." You turned to Jane, who looked like she was brimming with suggestions.

What's your first ghostly act?

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