"Jon," said Karyn when they got inside his house. "What are we going to do? I wanted a world with unicorns in it, but not for them to be slaughtered for food! Or for them to be used to squeal whenever someone loses his or her virginity!"
"Hang on a moment," said Jon, pulling out the U volume of the family encyclopedia. He found the listings for UNICORN -- and also, after it UNICORN STAMPEDE, and entirely new kind of natural disaster.
As he was reading, Karyn decided to turn into a unicorn. When she did, she felt something happen to her brain. It wasn't like when she had turned into a chimpanzee. But it was more than her just having her humanity in her mind, too. She felt a tremendous intelligence, knowledge joining her brain. It was an awareness of being part of something very old, and very wonderful. She looked around the room and realized she was seeing colors she'd never seen before, colors she had no name for.
She almost began to regret her wish to keep some of her humanity in her brain. How marvelous, how indescribably wonderful it would be to let go of everything that was human and completely submerge herself in the mind of this fantastic creature.
Karyn changed back and held her rock. She thought hard, and carefully.
"I wish -- I wish that the unicorns could talk. I wish that they could control their urges, especially the urge to attack anyone who isn't a virgin. In fact, I wish they didn't HAVE that urge anymore!"
Jon and Karyn both felt a tremendous lurch all around them, as if reality were shifting. They discovered that the house had changed. It was now one story, with open, airy windows and doors.
Jon was dressed strangely. A beautiful, small unicorn was in the house with them and said "Jon, will you do your trick for me again?"
"Sure, Harmony." and Jon immediately did a handstand. The unicorn stamped its feet, apparently in glee.
"Jon," asked Karyn. "What are you doing?"
"Who's this?" asked Harmony. Did Mare and Pere get a mate for you? But I thought they were going to take me with them when they chose one!"
Karyn began to feel very queasy in her stomach.
