PONID-21 Day 6 · 11:12pm Apr 19th, 2020
—private-message—
Sally 1/11/2021 7:55 AM
Lisa? You there? I'm scared.
Lisa 1/11/2021 8:03 AM
My hands are all messed up. Yours too?
Sally 1/11/2021 8:11 AM
Yeah. My middle fingers have smooshed together completely and my fingernails are huge.
Lisa 1/11/2021 8:18 AM
Same. Using a stylus to type.
Sally 1/11/2021 8:24 AM
Can we meet up? I need a hug.
Lisa 1/11/2021 8:31 AM
Come to my room.
#general
Lisa 1/11/2021 8:55 AM@everyone Fill out your changes in #day-6. Take your time, use a stylus or a pencil or something.
I'm heading to cafeteria two. If you want to talk about what's happening or just need a hug, I'll be there. Come in pairs if you don't feel comfortable walking. Contact @Penny or @Bob if you need somepony to help you.
Lisa pinned a message to this channel. See all the pins. 1/11/2021 8:56 AM
#day-6
Lisa 1/11/2021 9:22 AM
Middle fingers merged together completely, nails hard and tough. Other fingers can't bend at all anymore and nails are hard there too. Leg bones have all moved and changed. It's like the skeletal structure of a horse. Tailbone has extended past my rump and has hair growing from it. My nose is flat and has pushed forward.
Bob 1/11/2021 9:24 AM
My hands are still mostly fine. Lost my little fingers somewhere, and my nails have become claws, but I can still type and stuff. I got a tail going on too now, no hair on it. Back is even more sore and I can feel lumps back there at my shoulderblades. Think I've grown another six inches or so and it's speeding up. I worked out what I'm seeing from my left eye, it's heat. I can see heat in the air and can see the temperature of things.
Ass 1/11/2021 9:24 AM
My hands are like @Bob's. My "tail" is way smaller and it has little prickles on it. He says some of my hair has turned into feathers. Blueish feathers. Penny said I'm turning into a bird.
Devon 1/11/2021 9:26 AM
My nose is huge now, and if I stare at it I can see it growing more. My hands are all fucked up like everyone else, legs too. There's things that look like fingers on my back, and my tail is like 6" long. There's other stuff, but I don't want to discuss it here.
—private-message—
Lisa 1/11/2021 9:32 AM
You okay?
Devon 1/11/2021 9:41 AM
I don't really want to talk about it. I'm heading to see the docs.
Lisa 1/11/2021 9:46 AM
If you do need to talk, or just want a hug, just ask.
Subject: Socializing With Test Subjects
Lisa Trent (113822402021) invited everyone to come to the closest cafeteria (cafeteria2) today before tests. I'll be including the footage from the cameras, but I'm sure whoever is reading this can look over their coming examination results if they want to know what everyone is looking like.
I see a group of very scared people bonding closer and closer together over a shared disaster. And yes, I'm calling this a disaster because it is from their point of view. None of them would have trouble passing for human or anything, but each carries changes that I'm inclined to agree with Penny DeSanto (113823902021), they're not just random mutations, they're turning into something else.
This is crazy, and I'm locking these notes away until after this thing is over and we can all look back and laugh at the crazy headshrink, but I'm seeing people growing scales, growing what looks like hooves, fangs, tails…
If Lisa and Penny weren't here, there'd be a riot and all these patients would be beating the doors down to get out of here. Mark my words, if this isn't going to turn into another NIMH Rat Hotel disaster or a mass escape, it'll be because of those two.
They talked about the latest changes, and how it was affecting them. Lisa seemed to be everywhere, hugging the other patients, and in general raising spirits. There was something about her hugging that seemed to reassure literally everyone. The odds that this many people are huggers is startlingly small. Is this another (psychological) side effect?
I'm going to continue to remain in their clique. They've accepted me, despite my not being a subject, and I've even found someone to play chess with. Penny is a remarkable woman herself.
—Doctor Simpson
Subject: Day 6 morning exam results
1/11/21
9:59 A.M.
Subject: 113822522021I'm beginning to doubt my classifications. Subject 113822522021 (Devon Creed) has surprised me by moving from the easily classified to remarkable. I don't know an easier way to explain this other than to say he's showing signs of having his sex changing.
Subject's penis has shrunk by (according to his own measurements, and I have no reason to doubt an adult male wouldn't know his) around sixty-five percent. Furthermore, his scrotum has pulled tight against his body and a large crease has appeared down its center line. Ultrasound examination reveals his testes have shrunk and are pulling deeper into his body along the line of a growing mass of tissue I can only surmise is a vagina forming.
This is remarkable, and if I weren't putting my patients through a literal hell that will see my medical license stripped, I could write a dozen papers on just this aspect of the change.
More, a pair of mammary glands have begun to form low on the milkline, just above his crotch. Whatever is happening to him, it is happening fast.
—Doctor Howards
Interview with Devon Creed
male
age 23
ID: 113822522021Transcript of conversation with notes added from my clipboard.
DC (Devon Creed): Thanks, Karen, for getting me out of there.
Notes: I responded to a private message from Devon over chat. Two medical staff were trying to do more invasive tests and he didn't feel comfortable. I pulled rank and called in Peter Howards to release him into my care for an interview.
KS (Dr. Karen Simpson): That's part of why I'm here, to kick ass when the staff go too far.
DC: Like turning us into creatures? That's what Penny said.
KS: That's certainly one ass-kicking I've already scheduled. Do you want to talk about what happened?
DC: How private will this be?
KS: I'm recording it. If you want I can stop that and go off the record, but I can promise you that once I've written down what happened, the recordings are deleted.
DC: Ah what the fuck. I've already let those doctors poke a whole bunch.
KS: You didn't let them, Devon. They had a duty to ask you to continue, and I can promise that they will be held responsible for anything that happened in there.
Notes: What almost "happened" would be bordering on rape. I'll be having words with Peter about this, and if he doesn't, I'll be contacting the police.
DC: C-Can I have a hug?
Notes: I didn't hesitate. Call it training from Lisa, but it seemed like everyone was more into hugging now. In all I sat on the couch with Devon for nearly half an hour. He cried for a bit, he talked about some things that I'm not including in this transcript, but suffice to say I've made his mental health my top priority. The rest of the interview takes place with him still hugging me.
DC: Thanks.
KS: You're welcome, Devon. Any time you need a hug, you can come here.
DC: Lisa offered me a hug earlier, before I went to the—went to the doctors. I should have taken her up on it.
KS: Lisa is a very smart young woman.
DC: I'm not. A woman, I mean. Or smart.
KS: You are exactly who and what you want to be, though I would say calling for help was a smart thing to do.
DC: But I'm turning into one, aren't I?
KS: Your body seems determined to, but whether that makes you a woman is another thing entirely.
DC: I—I thought all that—I thought it was a load of…
Notes: Introspection is a good sign. He's not in shock and he's not thinking about what might have happened. He seems focused on the future.
DC: What will it mean if I do turn into—
Notes: We hugged a little more in silence.
KS: You are you, Devon. That will never change. The only thing that has to change is this.
Notes: I helped him stand and walked into the attached clinical room that contained a toilet. Walking over to it, I sat down.
KS: Everything else is up to you.
DC: *breaks into laughter* Karen, you're crazy.
KS: No. I'm qualified to say I'm not crazy. You're not crazy either. Do you want to be a woman?
DC: Not really…
Notes: He sounds unsure.
KS: You don't have to decide now. Nothing is going to show since it will all hide under your clothes. Just don't tell them until you're ready.
DC: Thanks, Karen.
KS: Devon, my door is always open and my chat client is on alert. Wake me if you need to. Even if you just need a hug.
Notes: We returned to the couch and hugged for another twenty minutes. It ended up being his phone beeping that broke things up. Lisa was asking if he was okay.
DC: I should go. Lisa's like a mother hen about some of this.
KS: Remember, my door and chat is always open.
Post session notes: Devon is having a hard time, and I can't see it getting easier for him until he does some soul-searching. I hadn't planned to interview him today, but I'm glad I did. I'd rather sort this out without prescribing him any medication, but comfort is very important right now and I don't want him missing sleep due to this.
Now I need to find an axe, grind it sharp, and hunt down two postdocs who deserve to have their heads removed. I'm sure research would be so much easier if ethics weren't involved.
—Doctor Simpson
Subject: Care of PATIENTS
As some of you have likely heard, Dr. Stanley and Dr. Peter will not be continuing in this study. They have been officially reprimanded and I've sent complaints against each to the FSMB with suggestion that each have their medical license suspended.
Our subjects are people, first and foremost. If I hear anything suggesting that a single person has been treated with less than the best care a doctor can provide, I will be writing further complaints.
Please, see that you do your work and ask patients for their consent before any hands-on test is done.
—Dr. Howards
—private-message—
Devon 1/11/2021 4:22 PM
Sorry about not replying earlier. I've had a bad day.
Lisa 1/11/2021 4:29 PM
Wanna talk about it?
Devon 1/11/2021 4:37 PM
Not yet. Maybe later.
Are you going to be watching movies again tonight?
Lisa 1/11/2021 4:49 PM
Yup. Wanna come? Bob stitched a few blankets together so we can all snuggle under it.
Devon 1/11/2021 5:11 PM
Yeah.
I'll be there after dinner.
#general
Lisa 1/11/2021 5:30 PM@here We have another movie night tonight! My room (most of you know where it is, if you don't, ask). I've got some action movies I downloaded, so come on over and we can celebrate the best Christmas movies ever together. Hugs will be free.
Oh, it's after dinner.
To: Dr. Peter Howards
Subject: Private and confidentialHow likely is this to spread?
—Doctor Simpson
To: Dr. Karen Simpson
Subject: Private and confidentialPre-exposure to SARS-CoV-2 should make you immune. This is a viriphage—a virus that infects other viruses. If you have been through COVID-19, this should not infect you.
—Doctor Howards
To: Dr. Peter Howards
Subject: Private and confidentialI wasn't meant to interact with anyone. I guess you have a new test subject, Peter.
—Doctor Simpson
To: Dr. Karen Simpson
Subject: Private and confidentialUnderstood, Karen. What symptoms so far?
—Doctor Howards
To: Dr. Peter Howards
Subject: Private and confidentialJust a cough, but I rarely get the flu and it's the wrong time of year for it. When more symptoms show, I'll contact you for a checkup.
—Doctor Simpson
Penny: you seem awfully fixated on the possibility of tentacles. What would you even do with them?
"Honestly? No clue. Though the others all seem big on hugs, doesn't seem to be my thing so much. Guess that's specific to whatever they're turning into. But, I mean, I guess I could still hug them—and I'd be the best at it."
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The fact that all of our licenses should be revoked is irrelevant to the discussion at hand.
Hugs and Die Hard. I've heard of worse ways to cope with an impending existential crisis.
Oh dear. And Karen joins the ranks in earnest. This is going to be fascinating in the ethically worst way.
So far, I can see one pegasus and one griffin. If they ever able to fly, then I am beginning to question whether any unicorn could cast spell or not.
that answers my question from day 5
its okay karen, youll enjoy being equestrian
10 bits says she becomes nurse redheart.
The situation is getting out of hand here, I'll say.
I feel the need to make comparison to some other similar stories on the site. This actually looks more like Pandemic than Five Score, Divided by Four. The infected experiencing symptoms similar to an influenza, the changing starting with their extermities, and their forming kind of a herd regardless of races or species are reminding me of Pandemic all the time. Both stories revolve around a transmissible viral disease which turns the infected into Equestrian creatures, after all; they are bound to be comparable. Needless to say, the dream and heavy linguistic shift sure look alike to the Five Score-verse stories.
Don't take me wrong. I am definitely not pointing fingers at anyone here. I just couldn't help seeing the resemblances and want to point them out.
This form of story-telling is refreshing after reading so many human-to-Equestrian stories and I sure look forward to more. Your works always pique my interest, Damaged. You have such brilliant concepts and ability to portray them right.
I don't even know what I'm talking about. Perhaps I'm getting way ahead of myself and need to calm down before commenting. I will be back.
5256910 Heh, I have the best defense against any question as to me cherry-picking ideas from those two stories: I haven't read them.
Glad you're enjoying how this is going!