"The way I see it," Karyn said, "our problem with this last wish is that we weren't specific enough. We just wished for some replacement disease that wasn't harmful, and we got it. It's completely off-the-wall and irrevocably alters people's lives, but it's not physically harmful."
Jon nodded. "Sounds about right," she said. "So, then, what we need is to come up with a new replacement that's harmless and explicitely limited in its effects. How about we just take that to its logical conclusion?"
"What, like 'a condition whose only symptom is a mild sensation of knowing that you're sick?" Karyn asked.
"Makes sense to me."
Karyn looked concerned. "Me, too, but on the other hand, there's a lot the two of us don't know about the human body. What if we're accidentally screwing up some key component of the immune system by doing this?"
Jon shrugged. "Couldn't we just wish to know whether that'll happen?"
Karyn laughed, tail swishing. "Yeah, I suppose we could," she said. "Damn, I'm not used to this idea yet."
Jon grinned. "You're 'just not thinking fourth-dimensionally,' huh?"
Karyn chuckled. "Yep."
"Well," the doctor said, "everything seems to be in order. Your daughter's pretty upset, obviously, but physically she's a perfectly healthy harpy-girl. I'm no ornithologist, but I believe she's some kind of hawk. Given that, you may find her gravitating toward a more meat-oriented diet. That's fine, but try to make sure she still gets some balance."
"But doctor," Mikey's mom said, "how is she supposed to adapt to this? I really don't know the first thing about raising a bird-girl!"
The doctor shrugged. "There's not really a lot to know. She's still a normal kid, just in a different body. As far as coping with the physical inconveniences, that''s really not that hard to figure out; you obviously did so yourself, getting together those clothes she's wearing. The only thing you need to know that isn't intuitive is that, since she's twelve, she'll be starting oviposition instead of menstruation."
Mikey's mom was visibly surprised. "Really? She doesn't look like a bird in that area."
"She's not. Harpies are one of those odd sorts of transformee; there's a lot of bird in their lower half, but they have mammalian reproductive equipment, except that they lay eggs. Drives the taxonomists crazy. Just make sureyou discard her unfertilized eggs before they start to decompose."
"Ah, okay." Mikey's mom did a double-take. "Wait, unfertilized eggs? You mean she'll lay them without being pregnant?"
The doctor nodded. "Yes, on roughly the same cycle as a human woman. Remember, it's basically the same thing, except that human eggs are small enough to escape notice when they exit with the menstrual fluids."
"Well, how big are harpy eggs? Won't that hurt?"
"Somewhat smaller than ostrich eggs." The doctor held up both hands to demonstrate. "And it will be uncomfortable, but there's no danger of distension or tearing, so don't worry. She's built to take it. Considering that the discomfort only lasts a couple minutes plus a little residual soreness, you might even say she's got it better than human women."
Mikey's mom nodded. "One last thing. She was talking about this whole thing being the fault of a 'magic rock,' and I'm a little worried about her. Are delusions like this normal?"
The doctor shrugged. "They're not unheard of; everyone reacts to the change in their own way, so this is probably just her coping mechanism. But if she becomes obsessive over it, or if it persists longer than a couple months, I would consider taking her to a psychiatrist."
"I will." Mikey's mom smiled. "Well, thanks again for everything." She stared out towards the waiting room, looking at Mikey, who was upset and sullen, having spent the morning being poked and prodded in places she'd never even had before. "Oviposition," she murmured. "Wonder how's going to react to that?"
