It is not original idea but I have it from an old story that forgot the title. There is an organization with agents working as reality correction. They change the fate of people to its "right path". So, What if, instead of being adopted by a wealthy family and having excellent degree, a young man's fate were "corrected" to be raised by a construction worker?
A bit of a longer one! Hope you enjoy and thanks for the requests! Any feedback is welcomed!
âThis isnât a road you want to go down.â
Looking back, maybe Thomas shouldâve listened. At the time, though, he couldnât even begin to understand what William meant.
âHe was my father, just as much as he was yours,â Thomas had shot back. âYouâre not cutting me out.â
Their father had been obscenely wealthy... real estate, contracting, the kind of empire that didnât leave room for doubt. And like many men in his position, heâd had affairs. Thomas was the result of one of them. But instead of denying him, their father had claimed him, raised him, given him every advantage. Now, after his death, that decision was being dragged back into the light.
âFather shouldâve never...â
âWell, he did,â Thomas cut in, already tired of the argument. âAnd he loved me. He wouldnâtâve approved this. He wouldâve wanted me to...â
âI warned you,â William interrupted coldly. âYouâre not getting a thing from this estate.â
âExcellent report, Thomas.â
He smiled at his bossâs praise. âThank you, sir.â
He hadnât needed the family business to succeed. His work ethic and easy charm carried him forward at a startup where he was quickly making a name for himself. He was building something on his own terms. Something he could be proud of.
Later, changing for an evening walk, he queued up a philosophy podcast and grabbed an iced green tea.
âAlright, letâs...â
A knock interrupted him and when he answered, he was greet by two men in suits.
âAre you Thomas Lancer?â
"Yeah, that's me.â he said slowly. âIs something wrong?â
âWeâre with the Department of Ontic Corrections. Youâve been identified as a potential infringement.â
They were called "docs". Agents of the DOC. Most people didn't want to run into these guys.
âWe ensure predictability,â one agent explained as proceedings began. âAnd in predictability, we find stability.â
Thomas sat in a stark room, surrounded by agents, judges, lawyers. William sat across from him, smirking. Thomas could only listen as his life was dissected into probabilities, reduced to numbers. And after several hours of discussion, the head judge spoke.
"Thomas Lancer, it is our belief that your existence itself deviates significantly from the expected trajectory based on the most likely statistical outcomes. Moreover, this anomaly has significant ramifications for the Lancer family and therefore confers necessary corrections."
Thomas swallowed hard. William had won. Embarrassed him. Demeaned him in front of everyone.
âFine,â he said bitterly. âI donât need his money. You can have it.â
âAh,â the judge replied, âbut removing you from the inheritance does not resolve the underlying deviation.â
Thomas frowned. âWhat does that mean?â
William smirked. âIt means you shouldn't have been raised as my brother.â
Thomas felt his blood run cold.
Thomas barely had time to process what William's words meant before he was dragged by the DOC officers to a sterile white room filled with strange pod-like devices.
"Welcome Mr. Lancer." A man in a different suit greeted him outside the pod, "I'm DOC Assessment Officer Davis. I'll be overseeing your correction." He smiled and looked down at his tablet.
"Correction?" Thomas whispered, "I don't... what're you going to do to me?"
Davis didn't look up, "We reconstruct the life you were statistically meant to live, introduced directly through our system. As those layers integrate, the pod makes corresponding physical adjustments so your body aligns with that history. Itâs comprehensive, seamless. You wonât experience it as loss, Mr. Lancer⌠if thatâs what youâre worried about."
âBut... I built my job myself... my life is mine now.â
Davis gave a small, almost sympathetic smile, though it didnât reach his eyes. âBut the core deviation is still there. This outcome was never part of your probable trajectory. Weâre not taking anything from you, Mr. Lancer, weâre aligning your life with the outcome you were always most likely to reach.â
âThatâs not restoration,â Thomas argued, pulse pounding. âYou can't do this. I won't just...â
âYou don't have a choice.â Davis replied softly, gesturing toward the pod as it hissed and opened, "Now please undress."
Thomas hesitated only briefly before complying, folding his clothes with trembling hands as if the small act of neatness might anchor him to himself. He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the polished surface of the pod. Lean, toned, swimmerâs build, smooth skin, the careful maintenance of someone who had always had time to care.
The interior glowed faintly, sterile and inviting in a way that made his stomach turn. He stepped inside, lying back as the curved surface molded to him, sealing him in.
At first, it wasnât pain. It was⌠intrusion.
A warmth spread along his temples, threading inward, and suddenly there was a memory... Forceful, overwhelming something else that had been there. A cramped living room. The hum of an old TV. The sharp scent of cheap beer.
âTommy,â a rough voice called, casual and familiar in a way that made Thomasâs chest tighten. âGrab me one while youâre up.â
The name landed wrong... Tommy- and yet, disturbingly, it didnât stay wrong for long. He could see himself moving through that space, younger, grabbing a bottle from a fridge that rattled when it opened.
A man... Greg, his momâs boyfriend, sat sprawled on the couch, broad, worn, solid in a way that radiated authority without effort.
âAtta boy,â Greg muttered, taking the beer.
Inside the pod, Thomasâs body slackened slightly. The tension in his shoulders eased. The sterile hum of the machine blended with the low drone of that TV, the two realities overlapping until the difference blurred. The memory of his real father- tailored suits, polished offices- felt⌠distant. Thinner. Less lived in. Gregâs presence, by contrast, was heavy, immediate, grounding.
The next shift came harder.
Thomas... no... Tommy... stood in front of a mirror, but the reflection wasnât quite right. The frame was thicker, the edges of muscle less refined and more functional, built through repetition rather than design. His hair looked less styled, more⌠neglected. He lingered there a moment too long, staring, trying to reconcile what he was seeing... trying to understand.
âDonât just stand there gawkinâ at yourself,â Gregâs voice snapped from behind him, sharp with irritation. âMirror ainât gonna do the work for you.â
Inside the pod, Thomasâs breath hitched sharply as sensation followed the memory. His muscles tightened, then shifted, a dull, spreading ache as fibers seemed to knit differently beneath his skin. It wasnât dramatic, not all at once, but it was real. His arms felt heavier, denser. His chest expanded, rising with each slow breath.
"Dial it up." Davis said, watching Thomas's progress closely.
The shift into the next phase did not come gently. It hit like impact. Sudden, jarring, full of motion. Tommy was on a field, the ground uneven beneath his cleats. Someone slammed into him, and instead of fear, there was a surge... hot, immediate, good. Football. Not swimming or golf. A real man's sport.
âGet up!â Gregâs voice cut through from the sidelines, louder than anyone elseâs, full of rough-edged approval. âThatâs it! Hit âem back!â
Inside the pod, Thomasâs back arched as sensation flooded him. His muscles tightened violently, then began to swell... not grotesquely, not all at once, but undeniably. His shoulders broadened, the clean, streamlined lines of a swimmer thickening into something denser, more impact-ready. There was weight to him now.
"Wait..." Thomas mumbled, voice flat and distant.
The next wave came rougher. A flick of a lighter in the dark. The sharp inhale of smoke burning down his throat, making him cough hard enough to double over while laughter echoed around him.
âDonât be a wuss,â Greg muttered, though there was a crooked grin behind it. âYouâll get used to it.â
The burn dulled into something tolerable, then familiar. Again... and again.
Inside the pod, Thomasâs lungs seized for a moment, a phantom irritation scraping through his chest before settling. And then he felt it. A craving. A need for a cigarette. And the memories didnât stop.
A cheap bar, loud and crowded. The sticky floor beneath his boots. Someone bumping into him too hard... and the reaction was immediate. A shove. A shout. Then fists.
âAtta boy,â Greg said later, voice approving even as he handed Tommy something cold to press against his face. âCanât let people walk all over you.â
In the pod, Thomas gasped as his face twitched, a deep, aching pressure forming along the bridge of his nose before settling. Not breaking, not fully, but changing. Less refined. Slightly off. His skin, too, seemed different. Less cared for, faint imperfections surfacing, the kind that came from sun, from work, from not paying attention to things that used to matter.
Inside the pod, Thomasâs body had begun to tell the story before his mind fully caught up. His frame thicker now, muscle settling in with a denser, work-built weight. Fine hairs had started to gather across his chest and stomach, subtle but new. A faint shadow of stubble edged his jaw, and along his arms, the ghost of ink- half-formed lines of tattoos- lingered just beneath the skin, not yet complete, but no longer absent.
This time, the memory didnât force itself in. It settled. Tommy leaned against the side of a work truck, metal warm from the sun, dust clinging to his skin. He shifted and caught his reflection in the window.
Something felt off. He stepped closer.
His frame had filled out. Thicker through the chest and shoulders, solid rather than sculpted. His hair sat uneven, pushed back without care, and a rough layer of stubble shadowed his jaw. When he tugged at his collar, he noticed darker hair spreading faintly across his chest.
Inside the pod, Thomas grimaced as it happened. The itch across his chest, sharper now, as hair thickened. His jaw tightened as stubble coarsened.
âSchool starts next week.â
âYeah⌠donât think Iâm goinâ back.â
No conflict. Just relief. Greg glanced over from where he stood, sizing him up for half a second before giving a small nod.
âFigured,â he said. âYouâre already makinâ yourself useful.â
"St... stop..." He whispered, eyes half lidded. His awareness of the word around him overwhelmed by the memories he was being guided by.
Thomas tried again to hold onto something... an idea, a plan, the importance of what he was losing... but each attempt came up shorter than the last. Thoughts simplified... the need for anything more complex was fading. In their place came something steadier. The memory of a long dayâs work settling into his muscles. The satisfaction of finishing something tangible. The ease of sitting back with a drink, not thinking too far ahead. His breathing slowed. Deepened. The panic flickered... and then faltered.
The podâs hum shifted again. Lower, denser, like it was pressing inward rather than surrounding him.
âFinal correction phase initiated. Cognitive resistance collapse accelerated.â
There was no space for thought anymore. Just overflow. Drowning out anything that was left of "Thomas Lancer."
Nights stacked into each other without edges. Cheap beer burning down his throat after work, laughter he didnât need to explain, cigarette smoke curling out into streetlight haze. Ash flicked away with an easy motion. The weight of his body collapsing into whatever chair, curb, or bed was closest. Exhaustion, release, repetition. Each memory slid into the next without pause, stripping away anything that required reflection to hold.
The morning light woke him up. He dragged himself upright in a narrow, unmade bed, sheets twisted and half-hanging off the side. The apartment around him was dim and cluttered. Empty beer cans on a table, clothes tossed wherever they landed, the air thick with a stale, musky smell that clung to everything. He didnât notice it. Didnât care.
He stretched slowly, arms pulling up over his head, back arching as something popped along his spine. His pits were damp, hair thicker there now, holding onto the smell of yesterdayâs sweat. He exhaled through his nose, scratching idly at his chest, fingers dragging through the coarse spread of hair. A low grunt left him as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.
He shuffled toward the bathroom, bare feet dragging slightly against the floor, and leaned over the sink, staring into the mirror without really thinking about it. Ran a hand through his hair. Messy, sticking out in places, flattened in others.
Scratched at his beard. Spat into the sink. For a moment, he just stood there. Not analyzing. Not questioning. Life wasnât complicated. Get up. Go to work. Get paid. Grab a drink after if the day was rough, which it usually was. Maybe catch a game if something was on. Didnât need much more than that. He snorted softly to himself, rubbing at the back of his neck.
"Yeah," he muttered, voice rough with sleep. "Could be worse."
Inside the pod, there was no resistance left to mirror. Only completion. His body settled into itself fully. Weight distributed differently now, thicker through the torso and limbs, every inch of him carrying the quiet density of years of labor. The last traces of softness gave way to something more permanent, more worn-in.
The site was already loud when he rolled in, gravel crunching under his boots as he hopped out and lit a cigarette.
"Harris!" someone barked.
He jerked his chin up. "Yeah, yeah, I'm here. Damn, canât even get a smoke in first?"
Tom Harris now... had been for years. "Tommy" didnât stick past being a kid. He grabbed his gear, spitting to the side. "Alright, what're we hittin' first?"
Inside the pod, his eyes fluttered beneath sealed lids, a faint groan slipping out as his head shifted against the surface.
Leaning against a truck during a break, cigarette hanging loose from his lips, someone nudged him. "You still lookin' for steadier work?"
Tom shrugged, flicking ash onto the gravel. âLong as it pays better than this crap.â
âLancerâs crew is hirinâ. Bigger jobs. Better hours.â
He squinted slightly, rolling the name around in his head for all of a second before exhaling smoke. âLancer, huh? Yeah⌠sure. Iâll give it a look.â
The name didnât stir anything... no memory, no connection, not even a passing sense of familiarity. Just another company, same as any other, another crew, another paycheck at the end of the week.
Later, filling out paperwork, he barely glanced at the logo stamped across the top.
His pen scratched across the line beneath it:
Signed clean. No hesitation.
The pod opened with a low hiss, and Tom stepped out slowly, his body heavy in that dull, satisfying way that followed deep sleep. He stretched without thinking, arms rising overhead as his back cracked, chest expanding with a slow breath that carried no urgency. The air felt cooler against his bare skin, but it didnât bother him. His gaze drifted lazily to the folded clothes nearby, lingering only a moment as if trying to place them before the thought slipped. They didnât feel like his. He turned instead to the rough denim and worn fabric set aside for him, already reaching for them without question.
âEverything checks out,â one of the DOC agents said, glancing up from the tablet. âIdentification, employment, residency are all aligned. Tom Harris, you're good to goâ
âYeah?â Tom tugged on the jeans, rolling his shoulders as the fabric settled naturally against him, then pulled the shirt over his head. âGood. Didnât feel like stickinâ around here anyway.â
Out in the hall, he slowed slightly when he spotted a sharply dressed man lingering nearby. Something about him stood out... clean, put-together, out of place.
âHey,â Tom said, nodding. âYouâre Lancerâs kid, right? Seen you on-site.â
Williamâs smile came easy, thin and satisfied. âI was curious how things turned out,â he said, voice smooth. âSeems youâve landed exactly where you belong.â
Tom scratched at his chest through the fabric, frowning faintly. âYeah⌠guess so,â he muttered, glancing him over. âKinda weird you beinâ here, though. Donât you got people for this stuff?â
Williamâs expression didnât shift. âI like to stay involved.â
Tom huffed lightly, already losing interest. Still, as he walked past, a faint thought tugged at him... what was he himself doing here? But it slipped loose before it could settle.
The site noise hit him full force as he arrived, boots crunching over gravel, cigarette already between his fingers as he lit it.
âHarris! You dragginâ ass today?â someone called.
He took a drag, exhaling slow. âYeah, yeah, keep talkinâ. Iâll outwork you anyway.â
A couple of the guys laughed and he got to work. It came naturally, his body moving without hesitation, every motion familiar in a way that didnât need thinking. He adjusted his grip, muscles tightening as he lifted, falling into rhythm with the others.
For a brief second, something felt off... but the weight in his hands grounded him again, steady and certain.
âQuit starinâ into space and move,â someone barked.
Tom smirked faintly, shifting the load. âYeah, yeah! I got it.â