One earth, things continued.
There was a sense of wonder as people gazed into the sea of iridescent stars, cascading their rainbow lights... And Earth's only 'normal' sun. It was a juxtaposition few really gave thought on.
The church of Selene were quite public in saying that their goddess will be with them, (and other religions follow suit) that all things must have a reason. This was not the end of the world but perhaps Earth had 'outgrown' what could be achieved in the normal universe.
Anne Flores, was a very ordinary, very kind human woman. A young adult now just past her teen years. Her best friend in this strange time of her life was Ricky.
Anne knew her life would never be the same after meeting Ricky. She had the distinct 'honour' of having one of the most unique transformations ever... That of a 'clockwork girl'. A mechanical construct of curious gears and a wind up key giving her a touch of a 'doll like' nature. Anne winded her whenever she needed it. She almost had a sixth sense of when her friend needed to be winded...
Of course Ricky was not the only clockwork girl. There were two others and all had known the other in this life as humans. The diminutive Belle was Jeff's girlfriend but was now just the size of a fairy. Jeff herself was... ' a giant, but also regressed in age.
Sadly Jeff never... Grew up.
Anne didn't think any of these changes were coincidence. Why these three? What was special about them? She didn't resent them at all, they were her friends... but she was curious.
At the start, Jeff was a bully, Ricky was his stooge, and Belle was Jeff's girlfriend and also Ricky's friend. So... something about their relationship to the other formed this perfect triad that she knew on some level had to be the key. All these factors must be the key to a transformation state under the sunlight, especially to such a unique one as a clockwork girl.
In the past, everyone changed... Anne, much like Bryan took it for granted that they will change one day, but they never actually walked into the sunlight. Each for their own reasons. Bryan was afraid and regretted it in the end... he found his courage just a second too late. Anne was not afraid exactly. She wasn't sure what the reason was, other then her parents likely objecting. Maybe there was a little bit of fear in making such a step but... there was a part of her that wondered if she could 'choose' her own form. If she had it in her mind, pictured it as she went into the sunlight... would the light give it to her? But what to choose! There were so many wondrous creatures in the world, and she loved watching them all.
She drew hope when she heard of rare transformations by the sunlight... that eventually it would happen to her. She was also concerned of Jeff's disapearence. The giantess was a lot more fragile then most would think.
Still after so many years reacting to situations she felt she should... Take actions now. She spent a lot of her life sunbathing. The culture of doing so had taken a severe hit due to the power of sunlight. It still had a chance to change people...But Anne, never did. Once she saw an entire line of sunbathers change, one of them into a little bunny girl... But not Anne. How 'lucky'.
That was when she got into contact with this new company. They called themselves Prism. Not even Ricky knew she was here and she didn't want her to know. Anne had always been the optimistic one but... Years of dashed hope had started to take a toll. Sleeping practically outdoors every day hoping for a change to happen but... Nothing. What harm would it do to look at a company that was looking at induced transformations?
She was let into a waiting room for a while then let into an interview room. The man there was a human wearing a lab coat with Prism's logo.
"Anne Flores?" Said the man looking at a few documents.
"Yes," smiled the girl back.
"I'm Dr Reyna. It's... quite rare to have a human come through our doors. Everything said here will be in strict confidence. Let me see if I understand.. You desire to 'be' a changed?"
Anne nodded "Y-yes. My friends have such interesting lives. I hear some even go to worlds far away and... I'm just on earth, living my.. human life."
"Is it really such a bad life?"
"No! Not at all! I love my life... I just... I just wish I could see another world, through new eyes."
The doctor noted the sun kissed skin Anne had. It we pretty obvious to anyone what she had tried to do.
"Can you... Make the iridescent light artificially?" Anne asked hopefully.
"Sadly no Anne. But... That doesn't mean we can't help you out. We 'do' have one magic we are perfecting. Synaptic transference implantation."
"And that's..."
"... Brain swapping," said the doctor with seriousness. "Now... We have a severe shortage of people on your... side of the fence. There are hundreds on our list who would want to be you rather then what the sun did- and didn't change them back."
Anne looked tensely. How would anyone like that exist? Why would anyone want to be a boring human? "H-how will this work?"
"We would have to perform a complete psychological profile on you. Some of this you will have to be out under hypnosis."
"H-hypnosis?! Why?"
"Changing you into a form which your subconscious can't handle would be very destructive. It's something in the magic. We don't know what it is but we are seeing patterns. We have a computer program that will model your brain, your dreams and desires.. everything. We can then anticipate the likely reaction to a swap."
"Do you do the same to those who want to be human again?"
The doctor tensed. "That's a can of worms politics will not let us go near. As it stands someone like you would be considered... Ill. By most humans."
Anne huffed as she leaned on her chair. The doctor was being honest with her, no question...
"Let's try a few easy things first. Fill out this form and I'll show you our database of potential matches."
Anne filled in the forms and started to use the match making program. With only half the psychological profile done though her matches were very low. She was almost 90% compatible with those she found... But only 3% on backward compatibility. Those she found the most interesting she found wouldn't switch with her. Harpies, snake girls, fairy's, slime mould, even a rat girl! There was one very unhappy looking changed girl who was blue with bat like wings on her back and a long tail. Her clothing indicated something odd on her torso, possibly extra breasts? She looked so cool! Anne was 98% compatible to her but got a 0% back. She was crestfallen.
"Why can't I find anyone!" She said angry at the touch screen.
"Two reasons" said the doctor. "First you only have your conscious desires on file. We need to access your subconscious to project a decent match... Secondly Anne, you are looking at the most 'exotic' forms of life. I'm sure you have noticed but... It tends to be males who get changed so profoundly."
Anne made a face at that. "And a man so changed wouldn't want to turn into a girl like me," she said wistfully.
"That is so but... Don't give up hope. You might find a match once we do a hypnosis interview."
"Assuming I'm successful... What happens?"
The doctor nodded "Well I would strongly advise you to claim the sun changed you.. We will send your body to some other country you won't likely see it again. Also don't bother looking for Prism for a good few years.. You won't find us. The magic girls have tried to stop us from 'interfering with fate' as they call it...But it's your life and we simply offer a choice."
"And... could I swap back if I don't like it?"
The doctor sighed. "Anne, we have not been able to perform a reversal. The method we have stumbled upon seems to be.. permenant. You have to keep that in mind, above all else. Whoever you swap with, will be for the rest of your life."
Belle mulled over her choices. She never took risks... Never. Maybe that's why the sun never changed her? Maybe she was like Bryan after all.. Who was she really? Would she really be okay saying goodbye to her old body and never see it again? Also the magic girls didn't like this company... Even if it wasn't illegal it grew from a company seeking a cure... And it had one. Sort of. She was volunteering to help somone and in return maybe get what she most wanted back.
"I'll.. Try the hypnosis."
"Very well. Just remember, until we hit the button... you can say no, at any time. Now I hate to ask but... have you covered the fee for this?"
Anne tensed a little. "Y-Yes."
"It's a lot of money for one girl alone..."
"I know. I had... help." Being Jeff's friend certainly had a perk when it came to money. He was very generous to both her and Ricky. Ricky kept it all, but Anne knew exactly what to spend it on...
