//------------------------------//
// Ellen Briggs - Gaian 
// Story: The Conversion Bureau: Transhumanism 
// by Leobracer 
//------------------------------//

With a loud grunt, Ellen Briggs lifted up the crate from the ground. Up until a few months ago, Ellen wouldn't have dreamed being able to lift a crate as heavy as she had. That changed when Ellen went to the conversion bureau, and took the Gaian potion. Most took either the Laputan, or Nephilum variants of the Transhuman Potions, to either be able to fly or use magic respectively. Ellen however chose to become a Gaian, as she didn't see the appeal of flying, as she felt that being able to use magic was overrated. Technically Gaians also used magic, but it was more or less increasing one's physical strength and endurance. Gaians were described as having a 'Connection to the Earth', and that by tapping into this connection, one could temporally make themselves stronger than normal.

Even before taking the Gaian potion, Ellen always felt that she had a connection to the Earth, as she lived out in the country side away from urban areas, and would only come to town for work. To her, taking the Gaian potion helped to 'awaken' her connection to the Earth, and with it, she felt as if her full potential had been freed. Using this connection allowed her to lift the heavy crate that she had in her hands from where some idiot had left it behind, and placed it off the side where it was supposed to be. Wiping off the sweat off her forehead, Ellen looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall, and saw that her shift was just about done. "Thanks for moving the crate Ellen." her boss Lucian, a trans-Unicorn, said. "We'll take it from here. You've earned a rest."

"You're welcome. Catch ya later boss." Ellen said leaving the backroom.

As she made her way to the punch machine, Ellen past by some other employees, most of whom where 'converts' of different species. Once she clocked herself out, she went for her locker to put her name badge up, and made her way to her car in the parking lot out in the parking lot where she worked. Once she got to her car, she drove out of the parking lot, and made her way home.

Along the way, Ellen passed by the conversion bureau where she took the Gaian potion. Surprisingly, there weren't as many protesters there as there were the other day. If Ellen had to guess, there were probably about twenty or so protesters in total in front of the building. Whether it was because they were either arrested, or had just grown disillusioned to their cause, it didn't matter to Ellen. All that did matter to her, was that people just accepted that the times had changed. To Ellen, the HLF were lunatics who couldn't accept change, where as the PER were also lunatics, but went too far in accepting change. Ellen believed that people needed to accept change in their own ways, and not force people to accept change in their ways.

While Ellen was accepting of the change in times, change in her anatomy was another thing. When she heard the news about the awakening of the leylines, how the energies from the leylines was fatal to humans, and that the initial solution was for humans to change into a different species, Ellen was very hesitant to change herself. She would often drive up to the bureau, and would either step out of her car, and stand in front of the door, or stay in her car, and watch as people would go in, and come out a different species. She would sometimes do it for hours at time. It was only when the new potions that would allow people to not change their anatomies, did Ellen finally make her decision.

Of course, her family was not exactly happy with her decision to go to the conversion bureau, as they had hoped that she would go with them on the Mars Initiative. But Ellen refused, on her belief that she had a connection to the Earth, and that she didn't want to lose that connection. While her family was willing to respect her wishes, they still weren't happy with it. 

Regardless, Ellen didn't need to focus on the past, and needed to focus on the present, as she drove past the bureau onward to her house. Ellen's house was a two-story building about a few miles out in the country side, alongside a few other houses. As she drove into the driveway, she noticed that her ex-boyfriend's car was present. That caught Ellen off guard, as her ex-boyfriend had told her that he was going onto the Mars Initiative months ago. She also noticed that the car was empty, meaning that he was in the house, causing Ellen to remember that she had forgotten to change her security passcode when she and her boyfriend broke up. Regardless, Ellen needed to ask what was he doing here.

Once she parked her car in the car port, and cut off the engine, Ellen walked up to her front, opened it, and as she suspected, there was her ex-boyfriend, Trevor Stanley, sitting on the couch watching the news about the Mars Initiative. "Trevor." Ellen called out.

"Elle." Trevor said, without taking his gaze off the TV.

Without taking her eyes off of Trevor, Ellen closed the door behind her. "What the hell are you doing here?" she asked.

Trevor then took his eyes off the TV, and looked at Ellen. "You know how I said that I was gonna go on the Mars Initiative?" he asked.

Ellen crossed her arms, her expression not changing. "Yes." She answered. "Why do you ask?"

Trevor then got up from the couch, and walked toward the back of the piece of furniture. Once he was there, he kneeled down... And Ellen immediately took notice that green lines started glowing around his arms, his muscles had grown, and with a grunt, Trevor lifted up the couch above his head. "I've changed my mind." Trevor said as he put the couch down. "I'm not going to Mars."

Ellen was shocked at what she just saw. When they were dating, Trevor had told about how it was always his dream to go into space since he was a kid. Maybe even go to Mars one day. When the Mars Initiative was announced, Trevor had jumped at the opportunity to join them. Like her family, Trevor wasn't happy when Ellen took the potion to become a Gaian, as it meant that she couldn't leave the planet, as her body was now dependent upon the very magical energy that was once slowly killing her. They were surprisingly civil in their break up after that, and they kept in touch afterwards. Still, it came as a shock that Trevor had just given up his dream to Ellen. "You're... a Gaian?" Ellen asked.

"Yeah." Trevor said as the lines on his arms dissipated, and his muscles shrunk. "After thinking about for a while, I came to realize that going to Mars won't be worth it, if I can't be with the woman I love."

Ellen wasn't sure what to think. While she was happy that this meant that she and Trevor could get back together, but at the same time, this also meant that Trevor wasn't going to be able to fulfill his dream of going into space. "You do know what this means, right?" Ellen asked.

Trevor nodded rather solemnly. "Yeah." He answered. "It means that I can no longer go to Mars, or even leave the planet for that matter." Trevor said as he walked away from the couch towards Ellen.

Trevor came to a stop when he was about a few feet away from Ellen, and he put his hands in his pockets. Ellen meanwhile, looked down at the floor. Pursing her lips, Ellen decided to ask the question. "So... I take it this means you want to get back together?"

Trevor kicked the floor. "If you want to." He answered. "I know this is quite a difficult decision. And to be honest, I'm not entirely sure that I've made the right one."

"Nothing's ever that simple." Ellen replied. "I will admit, this has caught me completely off guard, and to be honest, I don't know if we should get back together."

"I know that you prefer to move on from the past, Elle." Trevor spoke up, leaning on the wall. "But I was kind of hoping that, maybe just this once, you'd be willing to go back."

Trevor was right that Ellen preferred to move on from the past. She was quick to move on from the death of her grandmother, due to magic poisoning. While she and her grandmother were incredibly close, she, unlike her mother, had moved on from it within a week. She also wasn't one to dwell on past mistakes, and she always felt that becoming a Gaian wasn't one, but now that she just witnessed that her ex-boyfriend become a Gaian as well, at the cost of his dream, she began to think that maybe it was a mistake. Regardless, Ellen needed time to process this. "Maybe in a few more days Trevor." Ellen said. "While yes, I am willing to get back with you, I think maybe we need to give each other space before we do."

Trevor gave a light nod in response. "I understand, Elle." he said as he straightened himself up.

Ellen moved out of the way as Trevor walked towards the door to leave. Upon opening the door, Trevor turned around to look at Ellen. "Remember where we had our first date?" He asked.

"Yeah. I remember." Ellen answered.

"In how many days do you want to meet there?" Trevor asked.

"I'd say about..." Ellen looked at the roof for a few seconds before answering. "Three days."

"Alright. Three days." Trevor said as he walked out the door. "See you there."

And with that, Trevor closed the door and left the house, while Ellen smiled.