Leslie Gordon was at the airport.
It had been quite a long day, and he was looking forward to getting back to Lakeside. He glanced around the airport, and the various transformed and never-transformed people... or even those that changed back. It was not really possible to tell them apart from the never-changed.
The world had become very used to them all. Leslie himself was also quite happy- not that he had ever been unhappy... but trying to find a cure for the simple nobility of trying to do the right thing still arose a lot of emotional sentiment amongst the changed. Those that were happy, and those that were not with their situation... some wanted him to succeed, others wanted him to fail. Leslie never succeeded, and given there was a magical element to this it was unlikely he would have.
It was a bit of a shame he never got out as much. They were...fascinating species, from his biological background. Leslie was quite glad he didn't change though. Mainly because it was one less thing to worry about in taking care of his family- and in his work. Leslie was a scientist, and viewed himself as a guardian of dignity and human life. He was a man who firmly believed that a plague was one of mankind's greatest challenges in the future, and devoted most of his life towards facing that crisis- before the sun changed.
In a way, he was glad that there were now a huge variety of humanoid life... it meant that life was far more secure then it ever had been- it was just that it came at the sacrifice of being human. A sacrifice that Leslie felt at times, was a very high price... he didn't want humans to die out, and was glad that it doesn't seem likely to happen, now that an equilibrium of changed and unchanged existed in the world.
The new species still didn't change the need to guard against new viruses. Indeed, he was now currently involved in work that might mean viruses could easily jump the animal barrier and affect everyone. That is, before this new star suddenly shone on the Earth, and he had to advise the government on possible issues.
After an hour or so, the plane was ready to board. It was a modified plane, with a 'transformation' class seating as well as regular seats for humans. He saw a family of pixies sitting near the front, protected in an alcove for the small-changed. There was also a young looking spider-taur girl looking... mildly annoyed. Leslie was able to glance at her passport and- realised she used to be a somewhat older human male. Perhaps a recent transformation? It seemed unlikely, though not impossible. Some humans avoided the sunlight still... just in case. Until they were exposed, and by luck or fortune, they changed.
Was it luck or.. meant to be?
There was a lot less seating in transformation class, as often they needed more space to work with. It wasn't as simple as removing the seats, as they had to be secured in some way to comply with flight regulations. A lot has changed in travelling, for the last five years. People adapted though.
Leslie had one quick look at his belongings, as he went to the 'human class' seating- at the back of the plane. Not for any other reason other then, it was easier to build it that way and to get the changed in the plane quicker. Fortunately, everyone paid about the same regardless of how much space they took- an issue that the aviation industry was challenging.
Equality between humans and the transformed was seen as important in today's world- though there were still some on going debates when it came to tax breaks and such, or if a heavy or light changed needed to pay fuel duty... Nothing that didn't happen before the sun changed though- albeit under different considerations.
Leslie looked at the photo of his children. One a transformed squirrel-girl, that looked about thirteen, looking a bit embarrassed at the photo and another normal looking thirteen year old girl sporting a slightly different hair style. Despite one being an animal and the other human, the similarity between them was uncanny.
Behind this photo there was another, their third child... now five years old. Leslie took out the photo, looking at him. He looked...a lot like his father really. A human being too. He was going through a phase where he would 'pretend' to be like his transformed sister, and use two belts like a set of tails similar to her, and wore a set of 'animal slippers'. He absolutely adored Lilly. Stacy would sometimes get a bit jealous of that, but the child was playing the two of them for favourites, especially if chocolate was involved.
A woman next to him glanced at the pictures. "Twins?" she asked smiling. "You're so lucky."
Leslie chuckled. "Well, they weren't always twins... but I suppose you could say that."
One hour into the flight, and Leslie was bored... Looking outside, he saw a curious thing- a rainbow... but that wasn't the strangest thing of all. The rainbow... was getting closer. Leslie knew how rainbows worked, and he knew this had to be impossible... perspective did not allow a rainbow to get closer... and closer...
... a wall of light... shimmering with hues that seemed impossible.
He felt something sharp, in his pocket. At first he thought he had sat on his keys, but he realised it was something else. He took out a curious object attached to his keyring, that looked to be made of acrylic. It was shaped as a triangle, with a mix of green, yellow and tipped red. At the moment, the red bit was... glowing.
The scientist frowned. His daughter Lilly gave him this. It was a school project of hers from her study in magic. She claimed it a magic detector... and right now, it was actually glowing. It was supposed to just work like a compass but it looked to be vibrating with strange energy.
To react like this, meant there was a lot of power somewhere... and they were getting closer to it.
The rainbow... was closer now. They were about to brush right into it!
Leslie quickly got up. "I have to talk to the captain!" He shouted. "Turn! Turn! Don't get any closer to that light!"
The stewards were on him like a shot to restrain him. "Settle down sir-"
"No you don't understand! Don't fly into the rainbow! Don't fly into it!"
A few minutes later, and the radio for the flight Leslie was on, went dead.
At the control tower, there was a grave concern as they realised they had lost contact with the flight.
