CHAPTER 162: Absorbed

 

"There you go, Madelyn, the business plan for the next quarter...see that it is carried out to the letter" said Alan Cuffe to his live-in personal assistant, Madelyn Buchanan.

"How long do you intend to stay here in Granite Falls, Alan?" she replied.

"Indefinitely.  Have the security arrangements been taken care of?" he continued.

"Guards are patrolling incognito all around the grounds, Alan.  You're completely safe...you're in the hands of top men....TOP MEN!" she emphasised.  Alan merely nodded.  "Oh, and here are the Lothario concept covers for your approval and in this envelope are some glossy photos of models who have applied to be Kittens...again, submitted for your approval." Madelyn continued.

"Very good...I will be in daily contact with you.  Thank you for your hard work, Madelyn.  Granada Place is yours to live in rent free...treat it as your home."

"Alan, I'm worried...will you return home at some point?" she asked, a look of concern on her face.

"At some point...." he said, his voice trailing off.

As Madelyn's concerns about Alan's increasingly erratic behaviour grew and his security detachment patrolled the grounds and woods of Granite Falls for any suspicious activity, one seemingly ordinary, normal looking hiker walked past the lodge and noticed Cuffe looking furtive and nervous.

"Good..." the hiker thought.  "Cuffe has been neutralised"

A day later the man, named Luke Kendall, was back in Sim City.  He approached a small house in Newcrest; one that was neat and unassuming but its inhabitant was anything but unassuming.  Kendall rang the doorbell and after a few seconds, the door swung open and he stepped inside.  There, waiting in the hall, out of sight of passers by was a slim, very attractive young woman who was wearing nothing but a skin tight neck to toe bodystocking.  The two gave each other a strange looking handshake greeting by touching index fingers together.

"Probyka, Lurgid"

"Speak in English only...Leanne McGregor...I trust all is well?" said Kendall.  "I see you're wearing a Body Cohesion Suit; You're not losing your form are you?"

"No...but I wear one occasionally as a precaution.  I don't want to suddenly turn into a puddle, Luke Kendall".

"Very wise...I should wear mine more often just in case.  To business:  I am here on a matter of some urgency."

"Then step this way and tell me what this matter is.  Have you a new mission for me?" she asked.

"No...I still need you to lie low for now.  Although things are proceeding as planned, there are still one or two, let's call them 'inconveniences' that need dealing with."

"Did you not wipe John Action's memory of us?" she asked.

"I did...and he still has no memory of me and no clear image of you in his mind either.  All he has are the police reports of various disjointed incidents and they're now safely buried in the vaults of the FBI.  I have just returned from checking on Alan Cuffe...he's become a recluse and living in the wilderness.  We won't be hearing from him and he's too scared to co-operate with the authorities."

"So what are these 'inconveniences' then?" she asked.

"John Action is not someone who gives up easily.  I controlled the minds of everyone who was in the club the night I met with him...I used a perception filter to cloud their minds so they can't remember seeing me there.  But he's persisting...him and his friends.  We're well ahead of them but, I am a cautious person and I want to stay well ahead.  I bear a lot of responsibility as Regional Supervisor and as things stand your name and face are known to one too many people."

"I can eliminate them" Leanne said nonchalantly.

"That would draw too much attention.  No, no eliminations for now."  He said, raising a hand to calm her enthusiasm.

"Then what?  Are you going to send me home?" she asked.

"Oh no, you are my best agent.  You're too much of an asset here."  This declaration pleased her greatly and she looked at him with a seductive grin.

"Then you're plan for me is...." she said, sitting down.  Luke eyed up the empty space next to her and sat down as well.

"You must change your appearance" he said, flatly.

"A change of hairstyle, some coloured contact lenses and altering my make up should do the trick...Hu-manns are so easily fooled." she said.

"Not this time...I require something more than just surface cosmetic changes.  You are to undergo bodily transformation.  I take it you have a transmogrifier here?" he said, looking around the room.

"I do...but I hate those machines.  I hate being turned into..." she couldn't complete the sentence.  Her face went from seductive and playful to sad and apprehensive.

"I admit, the experience of bodily transformation is....somewhat unsettling...." he said, trying to put a positive gloss on what it actually entailed.  "But the risks are too great for you to remain here in your current form."

"The only question now is to choose who you want to be next?  Male or female?  Old or young?  Fat or thin?" he said with an air of finality.

"Can I think about it for a few days?" she said, forlornly.

"I don't think that would be wise:  The hu-manns have a saying, 'no time like the present'." he replied.  "I have taken the liberty of compiling a portfolio of approved looks that haven't been taken by other agents.  We can discuss your next form together."  Kendall passed an electronic pad the size of a clipboard to her and on it was a display of different humans...as he said; male and female, young and old and fat and thin.

Leanne looked at them and instantly made some decisions.  "I like being female...and young.  Have you ever...?" she asked.

"No, this is the only form I've ever been...other than my natural one." he replied, cutting her off.  "Well, that's a start, we'll select young female forms...now this one's nice:  Number 12 looks just like you."

"Hmmm, she's pretty.  A bit cutesy, not what I'm used to." Leanne replied, standing up and handing the clipboard back to him.  "Most hu-manns consider me to be beautiful." she said, pacing the room. "I have been asked on dates many times...even had a marriage proposal!  I have copulated with hu-manns a few times, have you?"

"No...I am too focussed on my work.  Fraternising with the hu-manns, especially copulating with them is frowned upon by High Command.  The risks of discovery are too great." he said with disapproval that she was behaving in such a sexual manner with people.

"Do not worry...I have taken care of all the hu-manns I have slept with.  Two were electrocuted, one was sent home to become part of the breeding programme and the other two...I absorbed." she said with relish.

"Nevertheless, from now on you are to refrain from any sexual encounters with hu-manns unless authorised by me or High Command." he said in an authoritative voice.  "Now, shall we settle on Number 12 and programme the transmogrifier without delay?"

Leanne sighed.  "Yes, go ahead.  Number 12 won't be so much of a temptation for them.  It's sad...I love this body, it's been good for me and now I have to say goodbye to it." she walked over to a mirror and checked herself over one more time, looking fondly at every curve, her brown eyes, long dark brown hair, cheekbones, elegant nose and all the other features she had used to great effect to charm and seduce men.

Kendall, in the meantime, made a few secret adjustments to the basic Number 12 model just to make sure the new form looked different from Leanne's current one.  "Alright, it's settled...take me to your transmogrifier." he said.

Leanne showed him to the bathroom where the device stood...disguised as a shower cubicle.  Luke went over to it and found the secret panel where he plugged in the electronic clipboard and then proceeded to upload the new form into it.

"It's ready" he said, blankly.  Leanne walked gingerly towards the transmogrifier...along with the sadness of losing her favoured form and stunning good looks she remembered what the process was like and shuddered.

"You shouldn't be so sentimental about your form...it's not your real one after all." he said.

"I know...sometimes I wonder if I will ever be my real self ever again." she mused.

"Our scientists say we can return to our original selves...one day.  This..." he said, indicating his own, current form "...is only a temporary arrangement.  It's like changing our clothes; the real us is underneath, interwoven into whatever form we assume.  That never changes."

"The technology is still experimental...when they altered our bodies so we could shapeshift..." she said, nervously.

"We are all volunteers and our mission is paramount.  Besides, with the use of body cohesion suits we can remain solid indefinitely.  It's a small price to pay for our homeland." he said, trying to reassure her.

Leanne nodded and walked solemnly to the machine.  She took off her bodysuit and stepped inside.  Kendall started the procedure and stepped back while the device came to life.  Inside the machine, Leanne braced herself.  First, she could sense her body melting from the top to the bottom.  She became a viscous, flesh coloured ooze churning around the transmogrifier.  More thick liquid than solid, she was broken down and mixed as the machine re-sequenced her to be someone else.  The sensation was uncomfortable and she felt like she was drowning as she sloshed around the cubicle.  Then, after a couple of minutes she started to solidify.  First she was formed into a basic, featureless humanoid shape, like clay and then bit by bit her toes and fingers formed, then her nose, eyes, ears and mouth.  Then more detail was added whilst her skeleton formed and hardened and her organs came into being.  Finally, hair, eyelashes and fine details were completed and the machine stopped, the door slid open and Leanne opened her eyes.

"How do I look?" she asked.

"Very good.  Here, put this back on whilst your skeleton is hardening." he said, tossing her the bodystocking.  She put it on and then went to the mirror.

"I see you changed the colour of the hair to match yours" she said.

"I like that colour" he said, smiling.

"Hmmm, just as I thought:  Cute." she said, looking closely at her face.

"You'll get used to it" he said.  "Right, let's talk some more business" he said, leaving the bathroom.  Leanne remained in the bathroom to look at herself a bit more.  The more she looked, the more she liked this new look.  The skin was a bit pasty and she lacked the glamour of the old Leanne but this form had potential.

She walked back out to the lounge where Luke was waiting for her.  He looked at her admiringly.

"I like it a lot" he said, smiling.  "Of course, I think I'll have to keep closer tabs on you from now on"

"Supervisor Luke Kendall...I hope you're not trying to flirt with me?" she said, coquettishly.

"It would be better with me than with a hu-mann." he said, suggestively.

"If our superiors found out...I might have to absorb you too" she replied in kind.

"But first...business.  As I said before, you are to remain low key.  Just go about your normal business and establish yourself in your new form.  I have a plan that might involve your particular talents in the future so keep yourself sharp."

"I want to try something first...I'll be right back" she said and with that she skipped into her bedroom where she took off the cohesion suit and flung open her wardrobe.  She selected a dress, shoes, underwear and accessories and put them on and then she went to re-join Kendall.

"What are you doing?  You risk going liquid again so soon after a transformation!" he said with alarm.

"Relax...I'll change back in an hour or so.  I want to get your approval for this kind of look.  This is going to be my style, I've decided."

"Not bad...as far as hu-mannns go." he replied, looking up and down at her approvingly.

"Do you find hu-manns to be attractive?" she asked.  "I've started to think so."

"I prefer my hu-manns to be shapeshifted us.  How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I think my skeleton is fully formed now.  I am clear for operations, Supervisor Luke Kendall"

"Well, shall we give your body one more test before I declare you to be fully functional?" he said, suggestively.

"It sounds like you haven't tested all your functions yet...let's change that?" she said, batting her new eyelashes at him.