FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

"Well Kenneth, your vitals are strong and your blood pressure is optimal. Your muscles are in decent shape, which is surprising considering how many people atrophy their bodies by playing neurogames and gambling. You've got a healthy body fat ratio, your immune system is working flawlessly, and you don't have any allergies or debilitations."

"Yup! It's a shame we have to waste all of that. It just figures that we'd get a perfectly healthy specimen for the procedure! Either you spent a lot of money on your health, or you're one of the few people who still know how to take care of themselves."

I fidgeted in my seat nervously, looking between the middle aged doctor and his perky young assistant. They hadn't told me anything at all about what to expect; All I knew was that they'd be morphing my body to match the local wildlife, and that I was supposed to explore and collect data. I coughed a bit to clear my throat, swallowed audibly, then raised my voice to answer her. I had a voice somewhere between a tenor and a baritone... not low enough to be sexy, not high enough to stand out of a crowd. "Th-the second one... My family didn't have much money, health boosters weren't something we could afford. Mom taught us how to eat right and exercise, how nutrition three hours of activity a week could save a two hundred credit health booster every month."

DePierri, the doctor, nodded with a thin lipped frown. He was a tier one morph; mostly human, but his eyes had the telltale gleam and wire pupils of an avian mutation. Not at all uncommon; enhanced eyesight was popular among technicians and doctors, and the golden hawk's eyes had probably saved someone's life before. His hands only had three fingers though, four if you count the thumbs... I couldn't imagine how that might tie into his job, but most people in high risk jobs specialized towards their craft. Maybe they were steadier? I don't know. His mouth may as well have been a beak though, for all it moved; he'd been frowning the entire time, even though he was getting theoretically good news from the readouts. He had a low baritone that failed to add any inflection onto his words. I'd hear A.I.'s with more emotion.

"That's good. Not only is it cheaper, health boosters can't actually keep you healthy... it puts a strain on your body, and excessive use can shorten your life span by years. I'm glad you know how to work though, you'll need to take care of yourself down on the surface. Do you run?"

I shook my head, smiling slightly as I did. "No, that was always too boring for me. I play Sneak Attack with my friends at the local terrain park."

The younger assistant's name... I can't for the life of me remember, even though she told me not fifteen minutes ago. She was a poster child example for tier two mutations; she was covered in a short fuzz of bright pink fur, with some kind of cat's ears atop her head that flickered expressively. She even had retractable claws, which she had very happily shown off; any kind of mute that could conceivably be a weapon required a psyche exam and a license. No tail adorned her posterior which was good... I had a thing for girls with tails, and I didn't need to be staring at her ass.

She laughed through her sentences with a bright soprano voice, and the smile on her face seemed unshakeable. "OOOH, SNEAK ATTACK! I love that game... I can only play it on Friday night rave nights though, I stand out too much otherwise."

Yea, that was an understatement. Sneak attack was a game about stealth and reflexes... the rules were simple. Everyone had a zap baton and a basic torso guard with a neck piece. Tagging an opponent on the neck or torso sent a slight shock through the equipment, de-activating the enemy's "knife" and tagging them as killed. You collected their "knife" and moved on. FFA, team death match, Capture the flag... There was a different mode every week, with matches Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, and it was a fun way to stay moving.

Doctor Serious nodded again, but he still failed to smile. "Excellent... good reflexes and sharp eyes will help. We'll give you new reflexes and eyes, of course, but you have to know how to use them for them to be any good.

That scared me just a little bit... I figured I'd get a T3 alteration, something massive and life changing sure, but enough that I'd still be me. With the way they went on about it... "So, tell me... what exactly is about to happen? I know I'm being sent down for reconnaissance and exploration, but I don't actually know what that entails."

Professor McSullen-Face looked at Kitty Bubblegum, then back to the machines. She nodded with a giggle, then flounced over to my chair and right into my lap. If not for the fact that she'd been hanging on me all day, I would have been shocked, but I was used to it by now; most T3's, and sometimes T2 mutations bring a little bit of instinct and mannerism from the animal(s) they pull from. Bubbles was feline, and had an unshakeable love of physical contact, especially being scratched behind the ears. That, or, she just really liked me and was using it as an excuse. It was hard to tell sometimes.

"Well Crash, it's about like this. We can't tell what the atmospheric conditions are or what nutrients the plants and animals are composed of. This wouldn't be a problem, but..."

She glanced over to The Great Soul Drainer, and he finished her sentence without even turning around. "The sun this planet orbits is a rather remarkable red giant. It's old enough that the light and heat it emits is negligible, but it's bathing the planet in extreme amounts of ultraviolet light. The flora here evolved to convert that UV into visible light and heat, and the fauna evolved accordingly."

I stroked Bubbles' head absentmindedly as he spoke, earning a purr from her. I looked down at her with a quizzical look, and she clamped her mouth shut as she turned beet red. She hastily pulled herself out of the chair, almost falling due to her reckless attempt, and managed to sit in a chair across the room with a professional demeanor. She stared at my hand though, and I could see her legs twitching like she wanted to come back and let me pet her more. I smiled, which only made her blush more, but then Banana Face finished his lecture. I looked back to Bubbles, and she continued.

"That, plus the unknown atmosphere and the guaranteed presence of unknown microorganisms, means that we're going down in full Hazardous Environment Reconnaissance Operations suits. Air tanks, body suits, decontamination suite, the works. This landing craft has a fully operational mutation suite, so that we can make modifications after we touch down."

That sounded a bit better than what I'd expected, honestly. "Okay... so, we go down, take some samples, do some science, and then I'm the guinea pig to make sure you did everything right... right?"

She bit her lip, looked to the Joy Strangler, then continued in an uneasy waver. "Nnnnnot exactly. That would work, but it's a process that would take years , possibly even decades before we would be ready for mass mutation on the Ark. Instead of that, we... ah..." She looked to Doctor Feel Bad, and he sighed before turning away from his machines.

"We're going to capture one of the indigenous life forms and bring it back to the suite, alive. It's easier to copy than it is to create, so we're going to replicate every strand of its DNA, then shape you to match it. You'll keep your memories, but we're going to turn you into an animal. Your neural implant will transmit everything you see, hear, taste, feel, and smell, as well as a complete diagnostic of your entire body in real time. We can have the morph done in three days, and in a month, we can have all information we need about the climate, how the organisms work, what microbiotics to expect... We can get the work of a decade done in a fraction of the time. No trial and error, no surprises, no mistakes. Of course, if you'd bothered to read through the legal notices you agreed to, you would already know you signed up for a Tier Four mutation."

Ouch. He had a point there... I'd just scrolled past and clicked submit. I couldn't exactly complain... and truthfully, I was a little excited. I'd never gone in for a "Genetic Re-Evaluation," so I'd inherited a mixed tapestry of family mutations.

Tier one meant minor alterations: Eyesight, skin, hair, and eye color, blood type, mostly things that were just tune ups or alterations to the human genome. Tier two was where animalistic influences became apparent; fur or scales, claws, and minor physical changes, like Bubbles' ears. Tier three was the kind of anthropomorphic cross that most people in old earth had envisioned when they imagined the future. Bone structure, muscle organization, organ alteration, serious biological mutations that needed to be requested a year in advance to make sure you were absolutely sure you wanted it done. Tier four...

Four's are rare. A four meant a complete genetic wipe, replacing human DNA with animal. Of course, most people added on higher logic, opposable thumbs, and altered mouth shape to allow communication, but fours were people who wanted to live like beasts did. Fours required a psyche evaluation, a five year wait period, and boatloads of money to actually have the work done. The legal and monetary speed bumps only added to the inconvenience, and there was a very, very small group of people with both the desire for a T4 and the motivation to get there. One of my childhood friends, Samantha, had received a T4 three years ago... it took six months of rehab for her to be allowed back into society, and a full year before she was acting like her usual self. She was my best friend, and she was happy with her choice, but it still seemed like a huge sacrifice. Speaking of which...

"Don't T4's need months of rehab to overcome animal instincts? I mean, one of my friends went a T4, and it was half a year before they let her out of the clinic." Bubble flinched hard, leaving it to the Teddy Bear Ignition Specialist to answer.

"They do. However, we want an accurate portrayal of life and existence in the wild. Those 'Animal instincts' could very well save your life. The rehabilitation is for seamless immersion into society, but you're going right back into the wild. Rehab would be counterproductive."

"I... okay, I can see that I guess. What about food though? Will you be feeding me, or..."

"If their food might be toxic to us, our food might be toxic to them. You'll have to hunt or gather everything yourself. If you're in danger of starving, we'll come out and hunt down some animal for you, but only as a last resort. This is a diagnostic of their social structure and lifestyle as much as it is a scientific venture."

Okay, that was a weight off my chest. At least starvation wasn't an issue. Don't get me wrong, I was still going to try and fend for myself, but now I wouldn't have an overhanging paranoia if I failed to catch a meal.

"So, in short, you're gene ripping me into an animal and setting me loose on the world to act as a living camera where I'll explore unknown and potentially hostile terrain, for almost no reward except the goodwill of my people?"

The Glumpster's face didn't even waver, and Bubblegum bit her lip and looked to the side.

Well, it still sounded a hell of a lot better than my day job.

"Alright then. When do we start?"

Bubble's face brightened considerable as I smiled though, and she visibly relaxed. The Scowl Sultan even let a glimmer of emotion cross his face. Was that a glint of respect I saw? Naaaaah, no way he'd ever look at me with respect. His hands were already moving though, opening drawers, grabbing... things... doing doctory stuff. I'm no medical, I had no idea what half of it even was.

"You start now. We'll inject you with a nanobot virus to help us manually control changes, but that'll take a solid twelve hours to spread throughout your circulatory system and saturate your body. After that, we'll start the basic DNA destabilization process, which'll probably take another day, but we'll have you in a pod by day after tomorrow. There, we'll temporarily integrate your consciousness into the electronics as a failsafe, and by the time that's done, Mace and I should have a specimen captured. Do your best to relax, this is going to hurt."

At least he told me ahead of time. He swapped my arm, gripped it firmly, and pushed a needle into my veins with practiced precision. As the lever depleted, I could feel my veins bulging slightly from the added pressure, but after ten seconds, the syringe was empty and he pulled it smoothly out, just in time for Bubble to swab the skin with bio-glue.

"Only one injection? I thought Nanite saturation needed at least four or five."

"It usually does, but these are special nanites, they'll replicate using trace minerals in your blood stream. They take longer to take hold, but they need less injection, and they don't need booster doses every week."

"Wait... so they're permanent? I know people who would kill for something like that!"

Nanites, when interfaced with an exterior control, allowed pinpoint body alteration. Most nanites filtered out of the blood stream after a week, two tops, but most high classes got booster doses every week.

"Brand new technology, developed especially for the mission. Consider it your payment."

He cleaned up and walked out the door then. I guess I was dismissed? Bubbles grabbed me by the arm already tittering some happy spastic nonsense as she pulled me through scouting ship. We landed in her room, where she revealed that she had a modest collection of videogames. Her words suddenly snapped into focus as she said something that set off a small warning bell.

"But anyways, since we'll be spending the next few months together, I thought we could get to know each other a little more first."

Ahh... now it made sense.

"So, in plain words, you want to have a date with me before I turn into a feral beast?"

She flinched and blushed furiously, dropping the controller she'd just picked up. She turned away from me and spoke softly.

"If... if you think I'm just being nice to you to get into your pants, you're dead wrong! I just... Mace is always busy, and you know he doctor well enough... I just wanted a friend on this ship..."

Yea, I'd gone too far. Tact wasn't my specialty.

"Sorry Bubbles, I just... I'm not a fan of beating around the bush, yanno? I'd love to be your friend, but if you want to be a little more than friends, there's no need to play games."

She didn't answer at first, and I was suddenly sure she was going to throw me out. Then she -slowly- started pulling her shirt up, revealing more of the pink fuzz that coated her body.

"I... just wanted to make your last few nights memorable..."

That was all the answer I needed.

Time flew pretty quickly after that. Bubbles and I became good friends, and I became intimately acquainted with her body and everything she could do with it. Two days isn't long though, and soon enough, they had me sealed in a bio-manipulation pod. Having my consciousness simultaneously exist in a biological body and a machine was freaky, but time had an odd relevance for me. The part of me that was a machine knew of each passing millisecond, but the meat bag that was changing below had absolutely no knowledge of time passing. I was having trouble remembering things though... the machine that housed me wasn't very good at writing new memories, and as a result, I was missing large chunks of what happened while I was in the bio tank. I was dimly aware of my body changing, and then I felt a stirring in my flesh. My mind fell through wires like water through a funnel. Then I woke up.