FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Desc: This is the first chapter of an unfinished work in progress, being used as a test upload to the site so that I can learn the ins-and-outs of uploading/tagging/etc. It still needs a bit of work and is lacking description in key places, but it's more of a test of the waters than anything, so my pride will stomach having an unpolished work posted for the time being.

Name and tag suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Both the story name and all character names are placeholders, and I'll need to think of something permanent eventually. "Jeff" needs a full (possibly elvish sounding) name instead of just a tiny tiny human name. "Carl" just might stick, seeing as he was named by humans, but I'd like to keep his name unofficial for now nonetheless.

The first thing Jeff noticed about the compound was the wall, tall and sheer, broken only by the closely watched guardhouses that served as entryways. It seemed oddly fortified, even for a supposedly state-of-the-art facility. After the guards checked his pass and allowed him onto the dirt path on the other side of the wall, he took a moment to examine the terrain; a short ways into the distance, the large industrial style buildings rose over the trees that overgrew the grounds of the compound. This, he decided, was the purpose of the extra precautions; the facility was so large that it wouldn't be reasonable for the staff to attempt to guard against all possible approaches.

A few minutes after he began trudging down the pathway, an odd sound caught Jeff's attention. He froze his pace and listened, fighting down his initial startled reaction; it sounded as though there was a wild animal nearby, hidden by the overgrown woods just off the path.

"You... not from here?" a low, scratchy voice spoke from the brush.

"Who's there?" Jeff asked, turning nervously towards the sound, though whoever was in the foliage, the thick canopy of the forest hid him well in the shadows.

"No, not from here... Carl would recognize," came the response, doing little to answer Jeff's question.

"Come out of there," he said. "If we're going to talk, I'd prefer to do it face to face.

There was a long pause before the voice answered him, with a cautious, "You... not be scared?"

Jeff hesitated for a moment. "Scared of what?" he half thought, half spoke to himself. "No," he said finally, raising his voice to its normal volume. "I'll be fine."

After a few seconds of rustling through the brush, a strange creature emerged onto the path. He stood upright on two hind legs, but that was where his human resemblances ended. Gray fur with darker patches covered him, from his canine muzzle to his padded hind paws. No clothes covered his form, though the canine appeared not to have need of them; the only portion of his frame that wasn't covered with thick fur was the somewhat-thinner patch between his legs, where his more sensitive parts were drawn inside his natural sheath. He held his hands before him in an attempt to appear unthreatening, black pads presented forward.

Jeff's first impulse was to run; this was an unknown and unnatural creature, and he didn't know what to expect. But he had promised not to be afraid of it, and so stood his ground. "What are you?" he breathed, staring in a mix of awe and discomfort.

"No time," the creature responded nervously, glancing both directions down the path. "Need help, get over wall... they find me soon." He took Jeff's wrist in the pads of one hand, pulling it as if he intended to lead him back into the forest.

Jeff blinked at him, staying planted onto the path. "You can't get over that wall, even with my help. It's too high."

"Try... try help Carl. Not much time. They find me soon..."

Jeff glanced back in the direction of the guardhouse, trying to make sense of what was occurring. "The guards already called the compound, to tell them I was on my way," he told the creature as he tried to pull away his arm. "If I don't get there soon, they'll come looking for me."

The wolf paused in his tugging for a moment, eyes lowering to the ground and face tensing in thought. "They find me if you try help," he said after a moment. "Go, to castle. When they not watch you, come back... help," he instructed.

Gratefully, Jeff drew his hand back to his side as it was relinquished, and without pausing to respond turned to continue up the path, walking quickly and glancing back to see if the creature was following, before turning his head forward with a sigh of relief.

"We're on the cutting edge of genetic research at this facility. The more we crack the secrets of the Living Code, the more we can alter life itself! Fifty years ago, no one could even imagine there would one day be such techniques, advanced enough to even create new species and creatures."

"Sounds like fantasy," Jeff responded to his guide. By his earlier encounter, he knew well enough that they had not only theorized and attempted such "fantasy," but succeeded. He was torn between the desires to warn his guide that one of their creatures was on the loose, and the desire to mask how much he knew.

"Hah, indeed. That's fantasy, but you... as a potential investor, you want something concrete: something with potential for profit." He pulled a chair out from in front of a console set into the wall, the screen of which was black except for the lab's logo, which periodically shifted positions on the monitor. "You have been invited to experience for yourself the first ever application of genetic engineering for private entertainment. We have created a series of creatures, designed specifically with the companionship of their owners in mind."

Jeff shot a suspicious glance over his shoulder as he sat, the guide pushing the char in behind him. "What sort of creatures, exactly?"

"There is quite a variety. In fact, in a few moments you will choose one to... experience for yourself. You see, we have modified these creatures to be semi-genderless; all the working parts are there, but their reproductive organs have been redesigned. The organs that replace them allow the creatures to convert a certain key bodily fluid into a specially designed hormone. Without it, they become more and more... playful."

Jeff felt sick to his stomach as he listened; he could guess easily enough what "key bodily fluid" the guide was referring to. "You mean to tell me... that you've created succubae?"

"In both male and female versions," the guide nodded, "without the mythical demonic connection, of course."

"Wouldn't that be incubi?"

"No, an incubus would be in a dominant role, and we have yet to work out a way in which a dominant creature would be able to metabolize bodily fluid into our key hormone."

Jeff stood from the seat, pacing back a distance. "Have you and your colleagues no decency?" He asked through clenched teeth. "You've pioneered the ability to build genetics from scratch, and the best you can think to do with it is design whores?"

"We understand your hesitance, I assure you. In truth, the compound is seeking investors not only for monetary reasons, but testimonial as well. There are no laws against our practice as of yet, and we need to show the world that it's harmless in order to keep it that way. You can help us with that, and make your cut of a fortune along the way. Surely you see the mutual benefits of this arrangement."

Jeff completed the circuit of his pacing, returning him back to his seat, though his host redirected him towards the computer before he could start another pass. "What's this for?" he asked, gesturing towards it.

"That is for you to make your selection for this evening," he explained, touching the screen to open what appeared to be a digital catalogue of various nude, hybrid animal and humanoid females. To Jeff's surprise, most of them appeared to have posed for their photos, in various cute or provocative positions.

"They're all animal crossbreeds," he observed.

The guide nodded again. "Legally speaking, if we sell a human, modified or not, it's a slave. A modified animal, however, is a pet. You see, what we are doing here is far from cruel. These creatures are designed for your pleasure; they'll enjoy the activity more than you will, I assure you."

"It's slavery either way, even if you've designed their brains not to notice," Jeff grumbled.

The guide shook his head before stepping away, ignoring the comment. "I'll give you a moment to think about it, and make a selection if you so choose."

He paced away from the chair, leaving Jeff to examine the screen alone. The creatures, in their coy or shameless presentations of themselves, presented arousing images indeed, but that only served to disgust him further. He flipped through several pages, filled with an assortment of large-breasted mammals and reptiles, all of whom were oddly attractive in a wild sort of sense.

Out of curiosity and a desire to keep his instincts under control he pressed the tabs at the top of the catalogue, changing the screen to view the male counterparts of the creatures. Initially, they seemed to mimic the playfulness of their female versions perfectly; the first entry on the page showed an equine humanoid lying on his back, grinning up towards the camera behind him with the hooves that replaced his feet high in the air, his flared erection running up his chest and belly.

Jeff quickly changed pages, and was surprised to learn that not all of the entries appeared so enthusiastic. Many of them seemed to be nervous, or even frightened, turned away from the camera or hiding their faces. With growing concern he scanned the screen, until on one page he happened across the image of a humanoid, gray-patched wolf. He blinked at the screen in recognition, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

After a quick glance over his shoulder his curiosity got the better of him, and he selected the canine's image before motioning his guide over. "How about this one?"

The guide looked at his selection with concern, running a hand over the back of his head. "Before you do anything further, I must warn you: we've had difficulty with the brain construction of some of the male succubae. We think the submissive encoding conflicts with the natural dominance of the males in more predatory species, causing confusion and frustration that manifests outwardly as hostility. To be frank, the psychology of altered species is a nonexistent field, so we're not certain of the cause. You are, of course, welcome to proceed, but be aware that the release you signed to enter the facility places no liability for events that occur as a result of such decisions."

Jeff gave him a weak, crooked smile as he shrugged back. "What's the worst that could happen?"

"This one has given us trouble in particular," he explained. "He refuses to cooperate with our potential clients."

The smile disappeared momentarily, replaced by a concerned frown. "He hasn't hurt anyone, has he?" he asked.

"No, of course not; he would have been put down already if he had. However, we do worry about what might happen should a client become too... 'insistent.' Why, just this afternoon he managed to escape somehow. We caught him wandering the grounds, examining the walls."

Jeff shrugged, temporarily burying his concern beneath feigned coolness. "I won't try anything stupid. We'll see how things go, and if he's as stubborn as you say I'll just have to try a different creature tomorrow." He forced himself to swallow his discomfort for the situation, hoping that his guide wouldn't notice his hidden hesitance.