Quality Assurance by Pent Ghelsburg
Disclaimer: The characters depicted in this work are purely fictional. Any resemblance to persons alive or dead is purely coincidental. They are the original and rightful intellectual property of their creators. I use them with permission and respect. This work involves underaged characters and transformative content. You have been warned.
The day is old and one looks out the window to see the sun setting as it always did. The middle-aged man groans as he just wants the day to be over. Yet, he knows full well that the day is far from over. The dreaded weekly meeting is in mere minutes and despite it being about something different, he didn't have high expectations for the often mundane expectation. He tapped away at his computer, already done with most of his daily expectations with more free time than he usually had.
Nathan was a software developer, past the prime of his life. He was an outgoing guy, always trying new things, spurred on by the idea that they would make him feel younger. The man didn't much care about who he was with, so long as he wasn't alone. Being as busy as he was, he sometimes found it difficult to remain connected with his friends as many of them had already gotten married and had kids. Nathan was the only one who didn't have a family of his own.
The office buzzer sounded signaling that it was time for the meeting. Nathan groaned as he got up from his chair. The thought of the end of the day and what his mind do afterward floated around in his head. The man made his way from his office to the conference room, which was on the opposite side of the hall. He peered in through the glass wall that separated the conference room and saw that people had already made their way inside.
Nathan made his way inside.
"Ah, you're late Mr. Leon. But I suppose better late than never. We were just discussing testing for Project M." The man's boss chastised him as he entered.
Nathan looked over at her. "Late? But the meeting was supposed to start at 3 wasn't it?"
"Correct and it's 3:15. Anyways, we're not here to instruct you on punctuality. We can speak later in my office," She motioned toward an empty chair by the wall.
The man sulked. "Sorry, ma'am. I guess I lost track of time."
"Anyways. Project M is reaching the end of the Alpha stage and we are needing testers. Our testing team isn't the target audience here, so any ideas?" The woman asked as she folded her arms.
One of the younger team members spoke up. "Well, we could always use employee's kids since that's who are target audience is, no?"
"Any volunteers? Mind you this is for younger kids so those of you with teens or adolescents need not raise your hand."
There was a shared moment of silence as most of the people at the office had an older kid or no kids at all.
"So it seems we are at an impasse unless we reach out of the office and reach out for volunteers and I'm not sure that people will volunteer their children for a work-related project." She scratched her chin as if to think about it.
Another member of the team sounded off. "Well, we could just use an older kid?"
"We could do that but the results will not be accurate for our target demographic. Any other ideas? I'm game to try anything." The woman huffed as if frustrated.
A younger man in the back of the room spoke. "We could do a simulation, perhaps?"
"How would that help? That doesn't solve our participant problem." The woman eyed the young man on the other side of the room.
The man leaned forward. "It's an experimental program that puts the participant in the state of mind of whatever the target is. We've never used it before."
Nathan cocked an eyebrow thinking of using it as a way to get on the boss's good side. "I can volunteer for that."
"That would make up for your perpetual lateness. Then it is settled. Mr. Leon will be our participant for Project M. Get him started on the program tonight if necessary. I do not think he will mind, considering the circumstances as of late." The woman stared at the middle-aged man.
The older man nodded. "Yes, ma'am. Anything for the company."
"Meeting adjourned." The woman showed herself out of the conference room.
"Come, we will get you situated then." The younger man rose from his chair at the back of the conference room.
Nathan picked himself up and followed the man to his office. He had no idea what the other man had an idea but figured it didn't matter. The idea of testing Project M somewhat appealed to him. Project M was the first software they had developed for younger kids and he thought the thing would resemble a game.
"So…what do I need to do?" Nathan watched as the younger man rifled through one of his drawers.
The man said nothing until he pulled out a small box. "You don't need to do anything. Hold out your hand."
Nathan did as he was told and placed his right-hand flat in the other man's own.
"This might sting a little bit but I promise there will be no blood or anything of the sort. It's something I've been developing for a while but never tested…so you will be the first." The younger man pulled out a prick machine and held it over the other man's palm.
Nathan couldn't help but close his eyes as he was almost certain it would hurt. A moment later he felt the cool feeling of the plastic press against his hand but no prick.
"All done." The younger man patted the older man's palm to indicate he was finished.
Nathan opened his eyes. "That's it? Are there any side effects I should know about?"
"How should I know? You're the first one after all. Silly question to ask. Now…go home and try not to be late tomorrow so the boss doesn't fire you. Testing starts in the morning."
The older man rolled his eyes as a strange feeling came over his body. Nathan ignored it and waved goodbye to the other man. He was looking forward to going home as all he wanted to do was play games. He made his way out of the office and towards his car. Occasionally he glanced at his hand and there appeared to be an indication of any sort of insertion. The sensation finally died down as he got into his car, peering behind him to pull out.
The drive home was always tiresome as the traffic was normally congested. Nathan hated driving but the place he lived didn't have very good public transport. Heading down the main road, he seemingly hit just about every traffic light. Lurching his body back and forth each time he came to a stop. His frustration was building but he didn't let himself get upset. Still, the strange sensation of itching soon returned to his body and he tried to satiate himself by scratching it.
It wasn't much longer before he arrived at his apartment. Nathan lived alone in a small complex that was home to many other families. Stepping out of his car, he was immediately hit by a rush of cold air. It was autumn and the temperature sometimes got chilly. He wasn't much for cold temperatures and immediately it made him shiver. Nathan bundled himself up, the feeling of cool at least replacing the itching sensation that seemed to have gone away.
He rushed inside through the entryway doors of his complex and followed the stairs up to the second level. Opening the door, the feeling of warm air rushed past him. He wasted no time in going inside and shutting the door behind him. The man couldn't help but feel relieved. It wasn't cold but he still wasn't used to it as the climate where he lived was rather warm. He stood at the door for a second taking a deep breath.
Nathan made his way inside and thought for a second about what to make for dinner. His stomach rumbled, further reminding him that he was hungry. Looking at the clock it wasn't quite his normal dinner time but he didn't care. The man loosened his tie and flung the thing over a bar stool. He was a bit fed up with work and didn't want to think about it his mind was somewhat vacant of thought except for the desire to eat.
He made his way to the oven and groaned. He knew heating the thing and waiting for it would take a while. Nathan simply didn't have the patience to wait tonight. His day had been long and all he wanted to do was relax. He sighed and turned on the oven. It made the familiar humming sound that it often did when it was running. Rummaging through the freezer he looked for something simple that he could make in as little time as possible. Then he saw it…a microwave dinner with an unfamiliar design on it.
The man pulled out the boxed meal and held it in his hand. Looking at it, the thing had a large penguin on it. Nathan hadn't recalled buying a microwave dinner with that design on it. Holding the thing in his hand, thinking about it he could remember the penguin character from his childhood. A mascot often used to sell kids healthier meals that were guided by the colorful outlay on top of it. The box couldn't help but make him feel nostalgic as he saw there reminiscing for a moment.
The sensation of tingling soon returned to him as his mind began to blank out. He couldn't think straight. All he could focus on was the colorful box in front of him. He didn't care that the meal didn't look healthy or not. Nathan stood there a few more moments as his clothing started to become looser on him. The feeling soon died away, only to be replaced by the rumbling of his stomach. No longer wanting to wait he ripped open the box and peeled back the plastic wrapping over the cardboard tray inside.
He popped it into the microwave and pushed the three buttons. The machine hummed and lit up as the little carton inside spun around. Nathan turned around to dispose of the box, noticing something rattling around on the inside as he moved it about. Nathan looked inside the box to see a small toy appeared to be inside the box. He reached in and looked at the thing. At first glance, it appeared to be designed to look the same design as the penguin on the front of the box.
Nathan took the thing out of the box and held it in his hand. Looking at his hand closer there appeared to be some light fuzz around his palm. Cupping his hand he turned it upside down to look at the back of his hand. Sure enough, the same light fuzz appeared to be there. He had remembered having more body hair than that. Bringing it closer to his
eyes, he saw no signs of darker body hair. It all looked to be peach fuzz, except it was long enough to touch.
The microwave beeped before long, signaling that the meal was ready. Nathan swapped the toy to his other hand and opened the microwave. The steam of the cooked food escaped from inside. It immediately hit him in the face. He reached inside with his free hand and tried to wave off some of the steam. Touching the cardboard carton proved that it was hot. He quickly snapped his hand back as he burned himself.
He looked around for an oven mitt and placed it on his hand. Reaching back in he grabbed the microwave dinner and delivered it to the bar table. Placing it on the wooden platform he quickly snapped off the oven mitt from his hand and peeled back the remainder of the plastic that covered the cardboard carton. Looking inside he could see dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese. The steam escaped to hit him in the face but it didn't bother him much.
Nathan quickly retreated to gather himself a fork before returning to the bar table. He leaned in and tried to smell the food, the scent of the cheese invaded his nasal passages. Beginning to dig in, starting with the mac and cheese. Twiddling it around a bit with his fork before spearing a few pieces of it. Airplaning it into his mouth, even making a gimmicky zoom sound finding that he was rather enjoying playing with the food while eating it.
Nathan felt the feeling of warmth spread through his body as he took the first bite. The cheese was savory and thick. It smacked against the top of his mouth as he let it sit there for a few seconds. He closed his eyes as the sensation of tingling returned to him. His mind washed over again, thinking of simpler times. At times when he was a kid, running through the yard with his friends without a care in the world.
The meal reminded him of those days, making him feel even more nostalgic. The shoes on his feet began slipping off as they became too large for him to wear. The rest of his clothes became increasingly baggy on his form, though they continued to be held up by the chair he was sitting in. His stomach growled again as he snapped out of it, the sensation dying down again as he came back around.
He finally chewed and swallowed the mouth full he was eating. Extending his hand back and forth, he hesitated a second as he looked at his arm. The formally short fuzz had grown into a much more noticeable brown hair. Nathan reached forward and touched it. It was almost like it was thick enough to be fur. Looking at his arm up and down the appendage appeared to be rather thin. Yet it didn't appear off to him.
Nathan felt a bit giddy as a smile crept on his face. Taking another spoon fool of the mac and cheese into his mouth. His teeth and mouth ached a bit as he opened it to bite down. Still, he was too hungry to care or worry about it. He continued to work through the small portion of cheesy noodles until they were all gone. He then moved on to the chicken nuggets, not feeling it necessary to pick at them with his fork.
Instead, he began plucking at them, one by one with his hand. Taking each of them into his mouth. The breading was thick enough to give it a slight crunching sound when he bit into it. Nathan worked through the chicken rather fast as there weren't that many of them. Still, there was enough of them to satiate his hunger once he finished them. Looking at the tray in front of him, the only things left were the apple sauce and a small tray of fudge dessert.
Nathan hopped off the bar stool, the pants and underwear he was wearing completely falling off him as he did so. Stopping to look down at his fallen pieces of clothing, he noticed his legs were just as hairy as his arms were. He stepped out of the garments and kicked them to the side. His mind only thought of how law and boring they were. His shirt completely draped him but he couldn't recall why he was wearing such a dram piece of clothing as this.
Still, he wanted to finish his meal and he decided to go bottomless for the time being. He leaned over the counter and grabbed himself a spoon, finding it difficult to reach. Nathan jumped up a bit to grab it before returning with the spoon to his chair. Wasting no time before digging into the apple sauce. The sweetness of the mushy slush hit his tongue. He slurped it readily, working through it in mere seconds.
Looking at his tray again, the only thing left was the desert. He wasn't about to skip out on the desert. Not bothering to check if his spoon was clean of the apple sauce, he dug right into the fudgey goo on the far side of his tray. Already his mouth was watering and he couldn't wait to taste it.
"We have to lift off…" He said in a much higher-pitched voice as he rose the spoon to his mouth.
Nathan allowed the warm substance to hit his mouth. He closed his eyes as the tingling returned to his form. His butt beginning to hurt but he was so focused on the tantalizing morsel in his mouth that he barely even noticed. Before long the tips of his fingers and even his mouth began to hurt. His teeth ached to the point where he couldn't help but reach up to rub underneath his chin. Touching it, he felt the underside of his mouth extend against his finger.
Nathan moved his mouth a bit in hopes of easing the discomfort. Satiating it a bit but biting the bottom of his lip in the process.
"Ow…" He said as he finally swallowed the gooey goodness in his mouth.
Coming around again, he opened his eyes. His hands right in front of his eyes had noticeably black nails that seemed to protrude much more like claws now. Looking at the appendage closer it's almost as if it were a paw rather than a hand. Checking his other hand, it was much the same. The whole ordeal was surreal and yet it didn't seem out of place to him. Nathan worked through the rest of the fudge until his plate was mostly empty.
"Clean plate club!" He piped happily and grabbed the carton before throwing it into the garbage to the side.
Nathan hopped off the barstool before prying open the fridge to get himself a juice box. Pulling the first one out that he found inside. An unfamiliar swishing feeling rubbed against his leg. Looking behind him, it appeared he had grown a tail. He didn't seem to care much as he closed the door and skipped over to the front living room. A large tv where his game console waited for him to turn it on.
Nathan played games for the rest of the night, not much worrying about the following day. Having forgotten all about his so-called work engagements the next day. None of that mattered to him now. All he wanted to do was have fun. When it was finally time to go to sleep, he retired to his room and peered at himself in the full-body mirror. Looking back at him a young lion cub who couldn't have been more than 9 or 10 years old. The only thing he was wearing, was the same oversized work polo he had come home in.
He padded over to his wardrobe, a set of dresser drawers that were much taller than he was. Finding himself only to be able to reach the bottom three drawers. Rifling through them until he found something he liked. A colorful onesie that seemed to resemble a dolphin. Putting the thing on, it appeared to fit just right. He yawned and stretched as it had been a long day and he was looking forward to going to sleep.
Walking over to his bed, he climbed onto it. Seeing a familiar plush on the two pillows he clutched it against his chest. His trusty old Teddy Bear, a thing that had been thick and thin with him that he was given in birthdays past. He couldn't remember but how old the thing was and the fact it was worn certainly didn't bother him. Cuddling it, he tucked himself in and allowed sleep to take him over.
The following morning, Nathan awoke to the same alarm. The boy assumed it was a school day but something in his mind told him that all he had to do was login for virtual learning. Not bothering to change out of his onesie he grabbed a banana from the fridge before padding over to his computer. Hopping into the chair, he powered it on as he waited for the machine to turn on. Nibbling on the banana as he waited, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do.
Sure enough, when the screen turned on an unfamiliar person appeared on a voice call.
"Ah, hello there Nate. You're only assignment today is to finish the module labeled Project M. Don't worry it's not a project. When you're done, take the short little test and you're done for the day." The same guy from work that had placed the implant on him spoke to him from the office.
The screen flickered and a window opened with the boldened assignment showing up on him. Like an obedient good boy, he opened it, the screen taking a second to load as the program loaded in. The cub was greeted by the starting screen of a video game called "Lion Guard" a spinoff of the tv series by the same name. He couldn't help but get excited at the prospect of playing as his favorite lion cubs from the show.
He began to play through the game. Only the first few levels had been developed and they weren't designed to be overly complex. He made his way through the obstacles with ease with only the puzzles offering him any challenge. It took him a few minutes to work through the challenges, they had been focused on math and he couldn't recall having been taught math that difficult before. Still, he tried to fudge his way through it.
The final level was a boss battle that was nothing short of a rhythm game. It was one of the sing-a-longs that the show had taught to its audience. It was a tune that Nait knew by heart. He sang with it without much issue, even scoring rather high. The fell beast on-screen falls into submission, showing him the end credits. The boy was somewhat disappointed at how short the game was but still enjoyed himself all the same.
Another screen showed up with a small survey, reading "Test" for the young cub. The thing only has three questions. Nait kept his answers as short as possible despite them asking for much more. Pressing "turn in" he couldn't help but feel a sense of completion. The game seemingly exited by itself showing an "assignment complete" screen. The lion hopped off the chair and headed off to have breakfast.
From that day forward Nait's life would forever change. For a short time, he would serve as the software developing company's singular testing subject for their kid's games. The business would continue to provide for him despite him doing no other work, even going as far as having his basic needs delivered to him. Eventually, they had to discharge the boy, though only because of the guilt and inner conflicts they faced from employees within the company.
They would find him a foster family who adopted him without issue. Nait would turn to much more childish endeavors finally enjoying things kids his age would find solace in. His new family soon enrolled him at school so that he could get a formal education. The implant in his body soon dissipated and eventually, he forgot all about his so-called responsibilities and his past life. The cub found in himself true happiness, a feeling he had not had in ages and one he would not soon forget.
