Reroll

I don't watch my sister come back.  Given the general theme since that blasted contract, I really don't expect her to reform with her clothing… that's why I provided some simple clothes. Selective Illusions gives me a status update for when my minion finishes the spell: I can hear the verbal components on the casting, so I know when those stop, it'll be done.  Considering, I have the ship switch the walls from an outside view to plain white.  I don't want to shock her, after all.

It's a long wait.  

I call out to her as soon as the spell is done, “Relax Sam,” short for Samantha, “You're safe now.  There are some simple clothes waiting for you.  We can get something more to your tastes after we have a chat.  You can come out when you're ready.”

“Kenneth?  What's going on?  Why am I naked?  The last thing I remember is I opened the door and there was a flash of burning pain…” I recharge my minion's expended resources while I'm waiting for Sam to catch up, “...is this Heaven?”

“No.  It's not the other place either. You're alive.”  I still don't really know what I'm going to say.

“Hang on… why aren't my nails painted? And that scar on my leg is gone…” she pauses, “Bro, level with me: What's going on?”

“Someone who doesn't like what I've been up to bombed the house, killing you along with Mom, Dad, and Sarah, to strike at me.” I pause, “but I have some seriously strange resources now, and can fix death on a small scale. You're the first, but I do fully intend to bring back Mom, Dad, and Sarah.  The missing scars, unpainted nails,” and perfect teeth, probably, “and lost hairstyle all have the same cause: You're in a brand-new body.”

“You have got to be gaslighting me…” I suppose the truth is a hard sell in this case.

I audibly sigh, “Little sis, put on the clothes, come on out, and I'll demonstrate well enough that the rules of reality as you knew them no longer apply to me.”

“Fine… but why does this have to be so drab?”  She finally grabs the robe, and comes out with it on.

Because my hormones are turned way up and I do NOT want to jump your bones, that's why, “We can get you something more suitable later.”

I look Samantha over: She's wearing the plain white shadow robe I built for her, which mostly hides her fairly generous curves; D cups, as I recall from doing laundry… but that was a few years ago, and I think she's grown a little. Her brown hair is hanging down just past her shoulders and is neatly trimmed… interesting that the spell restored the cut but not the style… but I suppose hair is a natural yet disposable part of the body.

She points her brown eyes straight into mine: “So what's this proof of yours?”

I start by simply folding my legs like one might do to sit down on the floor… without going down. Gravity has no hold on me anymore unless I want it to.

She pauses, “Okay, that's a good trick. Where are the wires?”

I shrug, “Find them if you think they're there.”

I wait patiently as she walks all the way around me, waves her arms over my head a few times, swipes her legs underneath me, pokes me to make sure I'm not a hologram (my armor is real enough, which is what she actually touches, but my illusion is very comprehensive)… and eventually….

“OK, you're not lying or insane.” Jury’s still out on that second one, “So where are we, exactly?”

I shrug and unfold my legs, standing again, “In a cloaked interstellar starship in orbit around Earth. I own the ship, and it's run by a crew completely loyal to me. I have a couple of buddies in a similar situation. I have a few other bombs to drop,” one literally, although it's technically a missile, “but I'd prefer to wait on that until we have everyone together.”

“Ah… that's a serious stretch bro.”

I turn a bit, “Ship, switch back to the default view for the walls.  Also, this is my sister, Samantha, AKA Sam: Assign this cabin to her.”

“Confirmed: Cabin 002 now assigned to Samantha.” I have the captain's cabin, which isn't numbered.  My shadow crew doesn't sleep, and so doesn't use the cabins at all.  I have the guests from the mostly-botched rescue assigned to the colony quarters, which start at 100.  I can keep my family close, no problem.

Sam gasps as the walls and ceiling seemingly vanish, replaced by a view of the outside… and we're in a low orbit around Earth at the moment, with the big blue and green marble wrapped in fluffy white clouds taking up the entire left wall.  “This… this has to be a trick.”

I shrug, “They're projection screens, but they're showing a live feed from the outside. Tell me, though: If this was a trick, how much would it cost to put it together?”

Eyes glued to the screens, she considers, “Luxury apartment, walls and ceiling coated in TVs… controls could be a buddy on speakers, rendering time…” she considers, “Like a year's tuition, assuming it's a rental.”

“Okay. So where would I get that kind of money, and why would I blow it on something like this… if it were fake.” I consider, and add, “...which it's not.”

She considers, eyes still glued to the screens, “Fine. But this is completely insane, you know.”

You don't know the half of it, “I agree completely on that point.  Mind staying here while I… wake up the others?  I'd like to do the initial ‘hello’ individually… except maybe for Dad, I think Mom will help a lot there.  If you're hungry or want anything you can just ask the ship, she'll have a crewmember take care of it.”

“That's fine…” Yeah, I think I lost her to that view.

I can't say as I blame her, the Earth is beautiful from space, “Great; I'll come get you when they're all up and about.”

I walk out, calling my construct caster to follow, as my sibling idly waves.

Next up is my other sister, Sarah, in cabin 003… which proceeds much the same way.  She's more concerned about why her hair bleaching came undone and where her tattoos went… I did not need to know that my littler sister used to have a “fill ‘er up” tattoo between her thighs… the things people let slip when they're disoriented… but you know what? I'm going to pretend I never heard that: It seems the best policy, honestly.

I get Mom before Dad, but both in cabin 001 (my parents are on great terms, them sharing a cabin is not a problem, and I'm aware that they still… yeah… very regularly…  even though I'm not really comfortable thinking about that too much). Mom is happy as a clam that her stretch marks are gone and that her taps are no longer cracked, but mildly annoyed that she'll need her ears pierced again and that the dye is gone from her gray hairs.

Mom is a big help with Dad, who is mildly concerned that he's no longer circumcised (he was born at a Catholic hospital oh so long ago, and they did it for all the boys at that time), but ultimately decides he doesn't care about that.  He likes the fact that all of his scars are gone along with that naked lady tattoo he got in the Navy.

Of course, once I have all four of them up and about… I can't justify putting off the hard stuff any longer.

I still do, of course, but I do it by preparing.

I talk the ship through setting up the Holographic Amusement Center as our living room as I remember it, complete with the old 60's lamps, the broken springs in the couch, the coffee cup stains on the end tables, and the scratch marks on the wooden rocking chair where the dog I had growing up used it for teething as a puppy. There's some differences: I have to describe it to the computer, there's only so much that words can convey (which is especially problematic for the family photos!), and my memory isn't perfect. But when I'm done, it is recognizable as our living room.

Good enough, I guess, “Ship, save this simulation as ‘Family Living Room’.”

“Confirmed,” comes the response through the ship's speakers, “Set saved as ‘Family Living Room’.”

Putting things off a little more, I personally walk to each of my family members quarters, and knock on their doors.  As the ship's captain and owner, I could just walk in: The door will open for me if I ask. Additionally, as an incorporeal creature, I could just walk through the door without opening it.  

Either would be quite rude, and there's no need.

I find my sisters have availed themselves of my ship's stores and manufacturing capabilities: Sarah has torn jeans and a too-tight T-shirt… with no bra… Samantha is wearing an evening gown. Mom and Dad take a bit longer to respond, and are wearing the robes I made for them… and they're breathing hard… and their faces are flushed… and I do not want to continue that train of thought, thank you very much.

Although… stupid brain, “Ah… Mom, Dad, did you ask the ship for a rubber or anything?”

“Oh honey,” my mom replies, “I had my tubes tied after Sarah was born.  It's not a problem.”

I don't know how to say this: “...and since you're back from the dead, your ears need piercing again, your stretch marks are gone, and every other artificial change to your body is healed….”

Dad purses his lips, “Well… ah… how do you feel about a new sibling?”

As I lead them all to the Holographic Amusement Center, I shake my head, “This ship can support a thousand people in luxury basically forever. There's about a hundred crew and a few passengers, plus us. I have no shortage of space at the moment.  Come on in, that's going to be the least of the bombs droped today...."