Exosuit: A Love Bug’s Blog
By: Mordy
Chapter 1: It Fits Like a Glove
It all started out so simple. A plain brown box closed shut with wrapping tape and his address written on it in black marker. No return address was given, but that was probably for the best, as it would have aroused suspicion to its contents if anyone had seen it. Overall, it was boring and uninteresting. Of course that was a part of the ruse to keep anyone from trying to get into the container. Though, getting ahold of that box right now would prove to be difficult as it was currently flying about fifty feet in the air.
Why was the package that high up? Well, it was currently being carried by a copter drone. Use of drones was a very common way to deliver packages ranging from small to medium sizes. This mode of item transportation had been worked on for years by a popular internet shopping company as a cheaper and easier way to transport items bought on their website. The idea didn’t really take off until 2021 after jumping through many legal hoops with the FAA.
After its successful launch other companies quickly adopted this strategy until it became the norm in 2030. Thankfully this didn’t completely destroy the transportation industry because one couldn’t move larger items. Also not every mom and pops shop could afford drones. At least not until years later when they could be made cheaply with the vast advancements of 3D Printers and the ease of installing an onboard computer with GPS navigation.
At that moment, the drone sent out a signal, linking up to the nearest 6G internet weather balloon. That signal was then sent out to the phone of the resident of fair sized apartment, letting him know that his package would soon arrive. The owner of said phone glanced at the message as a smile spread across his face as one hand tussled with his black hair.
His phone was your basic modern smart phone with a maximum capacity of 6 petabytes. It was a decent amount for a phone in the year of 2045. The memory was SSD as most drives were these days. Of course faster memory loading drives were supposedly right around the corner and you would bet they’d be showing up in all the latest smartphones, tablets, and VR headsets.
A countdown then appeared on the screen. The timer was an estimation for the arrival of the drone and his delivery. These approximations were always extremely accurate down to nearly the last second.
With a stretch and yawn he stepped out into the hall of his apartment’s building. There were only two floors with about eight residents, including himself. The apartments were like a subdivision with various buildings labeled with zip code numbers and inside each one were about eight apartments. Each building had a basement with washer, dryer, and a mail box at the entrance. A glass window allowed one to see outside so they could let friends into their building without risking opening the door to a complete stranger.
The young man glanced down at the time and looked up to see the white copter drone approaching and about to land just before door outside. He walked over and opened it up as the little robot let go of the box and began to hastily fly away, able to go faster without worrying about the contents it had been carrying.
Without any hesitation he grabbed the box and quickly went back inside to his living quarters. An excited grin plastered on his face as he locked his door and sat down in his desk chair that was before his desktop computer with three monitors.
He reached over for some scissors and carefully sliced open the tape and opened up the cardboard to reveal its contents. Inside were five items: a disk, an SSD with a screen built on top of it, an instruction manually with a note in it, a black suit with turquoise wiring along it, and a cord to hook up the suit and the SSD.
The first thing he did was open the instruction manually to look at the message while he also hooked up the SSD to his computer and inserted the installation disk into the disk drive. Looking over the note basically telling him to have fun, he reached for his phone and with a few flicks and a push, he started to call someone while he ran the installation.
After several rings he got an answer. “Changeling Genetics, Eddy speaking.”
“Hey Eddy!”
“Oh, hey! I’m guessing it arrived?” Eddy replied.
“Yeah, it just got here. I was just wanting to call and thank you guys for getting this to me so soon. I can’t wait to try this baby out!” he eagerly said with a broad grin as he looked over the suit inside the box. It was a whole piece that was meant to cover most of the body except the head, hands and feet.
A chuckle came from the phone. “Yeah, you looked excited when I told you we could give you one so early. But In return…” Eddy began to warn, “We want you to test it out extensively and let us know of any bugs or issues you have. That way we can get out a patch before they reach the public.”
He nodded, even though he couldn’t be seen because they weren’t using their cameras in their phones. “Will do! You can count on me. But I trust you guys nailed most of the problems. I know you got some crazy good programmers and scientists over there.”
“Thanks, well I need to go. We still have things to take care of on our end. This is a huge launch for us and we don’t want a repeat of last time. So, have fun and don’t get yourself stuck as sheep!” With that, Eddy hanged up the phone.
Setting his phone on his desk he stood up and held the suit before him. Along with the turquoise lines that ran along the suit with points marking joints and other vital parts of the body, on the back it looked almost like a spinal cord leading up to a USB 7.0 slot just below the back of the neck. This was where one could hook up to the SSD storage. On the front on the chest there was a logo of a changeling’s head from the show My Little Pony, nibbling on a heart.
To explain, some years ago Hasbro, the company known for toys and TV shows associate with said toys, made a purchase that the public found very confusing. They purchased a genetics lab for no apparent reason. It was nearly as mind boggling as that one social media network that bought out a fresh upcoming VR technology company many years before. Only difference was that there was less backlash and outrage.
Many inquired about the purchase, but the company kept their lips shut. Many theorized it might have had something to do with the new wave of gene splicing technology. Of course that was still very expensive and just getting out of its infancy stages. However, many weren’t far off from that guess.
Then suddenly, one of the biggest announcements in history was made; the Changeling Exosuit. It was based off the love eating bug like equine from their popular hit show, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (which was still running to this day, but in less frequency in seasons). This suit did something that no one could believe. It allowed them to morph into any living thing on a whim.
People thought they must have been joking, but when that technology company (renamed to Changeling Genetics) brought out their first prototype and had someone turn into a changeling right before their very eyes, everyone became believers. What shocked the world even more was the possibility of turning into creatures that didn’t even exist. The most surprising thing though, was that this technology would become available to everyone very soon.
To commemorate the new suit, special changeling episodes in the most recent season of MLP was aired just before the release date. Advertisements and commercials were shown and the world was pumped. Then the unthinkable happened.
A week just before the suits would be released into the public back in 2038, a few young kids got some early and somehow managed to turn themselves into sheep and were unable to revert back. This caused a huge panic and the product was pulled from shelves before anyone else could get them. This was quickly followed by lawsuits and so much legal red tape it seemed the dream of being a changeling had died before it even got out the door.
Fans were disheartened and even those with no interest of the show couldn’t help, but be disappointed by the news. Everyone thought it was over, but were surprised to learn that the Changeling Genetics were striking back and weren’t going to go down without a fight. They countered every lawsuit and pushed through every law they could, even getting the kids that had turned into sheep mostly back to normal. They would still occasionally bleat out randomly.
Finally the Changeling Exosuit 2.0 was announced. Not only did it fix the original problems, but also managed to make leaps and bounds in other improvements. Soon it would be released to everyone. Which leaves the question as to how our unassuming friend here managed to get one so early?
Well, like most things in life, it’s not what you know, but who you know. This random bloke worked as programmer and was hired on by Changeling Genetics. He didn’t work directly with the suit as he was there for other things. It wasn’t just Exosuit that the company made. They had other projects and other small avenues in technology.
It was there that he met Eddy and the rest of the team. Though, he never did get to meet the lead programmer and scientist. They always explained that it was because she was very shy and busy. Even going so far as saying she would work herself sick at times.
When his work contract ended not too long ago, he got a nice bonus and learned that he would get a free Deluxe 2.0 Changeling Exosuit. Not only that, but he would get it way before the street date, far before anyone else could. That had been a really good way to leave the company.
This brings us to him in the current point in time. Giving the suit a glance over as he looked through the user manual. To get ready he would of course need to put on the suit, but according to the instructions, he couldn’t be wearing anything underneath.
He sighed and stripped down before slipping on the suit. After zipping it up he admired how comfortable it was. The material was snug while softly hugged his skin and yet still let it breath. He wasn’t sure what it was made from, but he liked it!
Glancing over the directions again, he had to press a little button just above the USB. He reached around and felt along his neck till he discovered its location. A quick press and he suddenly had a major knee jerk reaction. A pinching sensation ran along his nerves as he flinched. It didn’t hurt, but it did catch him off guard.
As the sensation went away and he looked at the next step, he could have sworn he heard someone whisper in his ear. Almost a buzzing, but it disappeared as quickly as it came.
It was then that he had to plug his suit into the SSD. This step was to make a backup of his DNA in case anything went wrong. The very moment he plugged it in the screen on the SSD lit up as a download bar appeared. A slight tingling sensation was felt behind his neck as it happened. It didn’t take long for the upload to complete as the bar filled up in a matter of seconds. A confirmation was given and he was notified that he could disconnect himself.
When he looked back at the instructions as unplugged the USB, they had a very vague next step. It told him to make sure he had some space and wait. That was it, nothing more, nothing less. It confused him to say the least, but he did as they said and stood in the middle of his living room.
Seconds later was when it happened. His hazel eyes widened as a green flame consumed his whole body in less than a second, only to disappear as quickly as it came. The short ordeal left him disoriented and confused.
As he brought up a black holed hoof to rub away his dizziness…
Wait… black holed hoof?
He did a double take as his jaw dropped and he began to stare at the unfamiliar appendage. One could see right through some of the holes and on closer inspection you could make out the hard black surface to be similar to a shell. He reached up to touch the skin only to realize his other hand was now a holed hoof as well!
With wide eyes he ran or rather he stumbled to his bathroom, tripping over all four hooves as he struggled to not fall over as he went in. He noticed that he was definitely shorter only coming just above where his waist had been. As he peered over the sink, two large turquoise orbs with small whites where his pupils should have been stared back at him.
Pulling himself up with his fore hooves, he was finally able to get a good look at himself. Black chitin covered his body and two fangs poked out of his now equine like mouth. A long large black horn erected from his forehead with two gossamer insect wings on his back. He had become a changeling, just like the ones from the show.
Truthfully, he shouldn’t have been surprised by what happened considering that he knew what the suit was supposed to do. So, there really shouldn’t have been an excuse for him hyperventilating at that moment. However, he wasn’t exactly scared. Yes he was afraid, but more in the thrilling kind of way. You know, the kind you one would get when riding on a rollercoaster.
As the thrill started to die down and he began to think a little more straight, he realized that he might have overreacted just slightly. He began to take in his features and trace a hoof over his skin, or rather his chitin. When he got back to normal breathing levels he just stared at his reflection for the longest time.
It was a few minutes before he started to speak to himself. “This is… this is… this is…” he began as he stared in disbelief at his image. However, very slowly a grin began to spread on his face. “This… is… so… AWESOME!” He pushed his hooves against his face doing his best excited Rainbow Dash impression.
His next thought was an odd one that probably should have taken a back seat, but still excited him as he shouted out, “I gotta tell all my friends on the internet!”
With that, he rushed to his computer tripping and landing on the carpet hard. That wasn’t enough to wipe away his toothy smile. He merely picked himself right back up and hopped into his spinning desk chair, twirling around a few times making him slightly dizzy as he struggled to stop himself without his long legs to touch the floor.
After his movement ceased and the passing feeling of nausea, he reached out and quickly found a problem with what he wanted to do. How was he supposed to use a mouse and keyboard with hooves?
He glared at his appendages and then back at the desk. Grumbling he looked at his mouse and reached tentatively only to accidently push it away. He growled in frustration at his newfound clumsiness. All he wanted to do was just move it around a little bit…
The mouse suddenly glowed with a green aura and it moved slightly, causing him to jump with widened eyes. He looked up and noticed that his horn was also radiating the same green color. Somehow he could feel the mouse in his grasp able to move it almost exactly as if he still had hands.
“No way…” he whispered as he used his mouse to move the cursor and then even click it to open up his programs and bring up a notepad application.
The whites of his eyes drifted to the keyboard and with a little bit of thought power his keyboard started glowing green. With ease the keys began to press in by themselves and he was able to type out a simple message: “Hello World!”
The newly turned changeling had to lean back as this all became increasingly surreal. He never dreamed of being able to do something like this. Of course this wasn’t magic he was using. It had to be some sort of psychic power. At least he guessed, he didn’t recall this being advertised and should have been a major bullet point. He wasn’t going to complain though.
With a deep breath, he opened up his internet browser with a broad grin. “This is going to be fun!”