TCD
Read the instructions
Dirk was lazily lying on his couch and staring at his VidScreen when his doorbell rang. When the sound finally registered, he was on his feet and dashing to the door. He threw the portal wide open. Standing on his porch were two large automatons, bipedal service drones with no discernible face on their flat metal visages. In his driveway behind them rested a large armored transport vehicle. Dirk grinned at the sight.
"It's here?" he asked, turning to the nearest robot. "It's finally here?"
"Good afternoon, sir," the automaton replied. "This unit would like to thank you on behalf of the CausDek Corporation for buying a Time Continuum Device Mark 1895. Before this unit may release it into your ownership, you must sign."
The robot tapped its chest and a white display flickered to life upon it. A long, dark line formed on the display. Dirk paused, unsure what to do.
"Please sign, sir," the robot said, pointing to the line.
Dirk tilted his head. He quickly signed his name with his finger on the robot's chest. The signature and line dissolved and then the display went dark.
"Thank you, sir," it said. "Where shall this unit and the other place the TCD?"
"In the back," Dirk said. "There's plenty of room there. I mowed the grass and everything. Well, at least the drone did."
The robot nodded. "Very well, sir."
The robots turned away from Dirk and walked to the vehicle they had arrived in. The vehicle's back opened at their approach, the robots disappearing from sight when they entered. It was not long before one reappeared, carrying the front end of a large, black metal box. The lone automaton continued to step out of the back, more and more of the box's length being revealed until the other automaton finally came into view holding the other end. Dirk marveled at the robots' strength, but most of all he focused on the large piece they carried.
"The TCD," he breathed. He waved at the robots. "Hey, over here! Just follow me!"
The automatons obediently followed the man past the side of his house and through the HoloGate to his backyard. Dirk directed them to the center of the area. They put down the large device upon arrived and turned to Dirk.
"Is that the proper placement you desire, sir?" one asked, perhaps the same as before. Dirk couldn't be sure, for they both looked alike. "Yeah, perfect," he said. "Just perfect. Thank you."
"This unit returns your gratitude. To serve is my existence."
"Right. So..."
"Before this unit departs, I must ensure you receive this." The automaton reached into its chest and withdrew a thick yet small book. It held it out to Dirk. "Please take this. It must be read to fully access your TCD."
"Read?" Dirk snorted. "Isn't there an electronic version with videos or something? And what do you mean fully access?" "Electronic version is inside. Access code for TCD is also inside on a random page."
"Why?"
"TCD use is dangerous. CausDek Corporation is legally required to make you, the customer, aware of dangers to traversing and meddling with the time stream. The manual also contains precautions and helpful tips for a comfortable experience."
"I see," Dirk looked down at the book. "Anything else?"
"No, sir. Have a great day and enjoy your product."
With this, the two automatons left. Alone, Dirk looked down at the book. Dangers? None of the reviews of the TCD, all five stars of course, had mentioned any dangers and neither had the form he had to fill out before. He shrugged and stepped towards the TCD. It was really his. The application process, the payments he would be making for the next fifteen years--all worth it, because now he had his very own time machine.
He put a hand to the TCD's metal frame. Immediately a digital display popped up, reading: ENTER ACESS CODE TO UNLOCK. He sighed and lowered his hand. He would have to read the manual after all. Or would he? Dirk went inside and sat down by his computer. He went to CausDek's site and entered the code within the manual's front cover in their DOWNLOADS section. Once the virtual manual completed downloading, he opened it up and entered a search function for "access." When 98 results came up he didn't care--searching through 98 was still faster than reading seven hundred pages. He only had to hit Next Result 57 times before he found the access code. He hurried back to the TCD and entered the number. The display vanished as the TCD opened.
Upon entrance, the BioLight on the ceiling came on, illuminating an interior that was large enough for around four adults to occupy. However, the only place to sit was in a smooth chair that resided in front of the TCD's operating computer. He took his place in the chair. The TCD's computer powered on with: WELCOME TO THE TIME CONTINUUM DEVICE, WHAT IS YOUR NAME?
Dirk entered his name on the virtual keyboard that appeared on the screen. Then he was taken through a series of diagnostic questions to determine his settings. He paid little attention to them, leaving most of them at default and ignoring any warnings that came up. The only option he truly paid attention to was TCD security. He set it to only open for his optical signature, which was recorded by the camera building within the computer. Soon afterwards, the diagnostic was complete and he had free reign of the TCD. He could travel through time and space within limits he did not truly know, thanks to him not having read the manual. The only limited he was aware of was that he could not travel beyond the current time or the immediate past fifty years during which the TCD had been conceptualized and perfected.
Dirk scoffed at the idea of fifty years, such a small amount of time. He was looking forward to traveling several million. The reviews of the TCD has said that visiting in times before humans led to some exotic sights--sights only seen by those privileged enough to own a TCD. Dirk didn't have a specific period in mind, so he pulled up a list of popular choices. Seeing the Cretaceous Period, he immediately selected it even though it had a red exclamation mark next to it. Growing impatient, he shuffled past the warnings. He was just going to take a little look-see, just a test of the TCD. He probably wouldn't even step out. He held his finger before the INITIATE command.
"Time to..." he paused, unsure what to say. "Ah, screw it."
He initiated the TCD. The doors closed and the TCD began to shake and rumble. The BioLight intermittently flashed on and off as the device worked to move Dirk from here to then. The interior of the TCD was suddenly cold. Dirk shivered and then it was hot and then cold again. He did not find himself enjoying the trip so far. He had been expecting some sort of flash display, but nothing like this. After that, the TCD ceased vibrating, the temperature normalized, and the BioLight's illumination stayed consistent. He had arrived.
Dirk looked at the computer's screen, marveling at the sight it showed him. He saw a similar, but different world, one that had yet to be touched by man. The TCD was situated in a thick, verdant forest. Since he had not inputted any coordinates, the TCD had not moved him at all. He was in his backyard, albeit 68 million years ago.
He looked at the images longingly. It couldn't hurt to go out, could it? He didn't see anything out there and it would only be for a moment, really.
Dirk pulled up the door controls and hit the command to open them. They slid apart, allowing him to feel the cool air from outside and smell its freshness. He got to his feet and walked towards the opening, ignorant that the computer screen changed from showing a life feed of the outside to a blue background overlaid with a warning in black letters: DEPARTURE OF THE TIME CONTINUUM DEVICE IS NOT ADVISED. IF USER LEAVES, MEASURES MUST BE TAKEN TO ENSURE MINIMAL DAMAGE TO THE TIMELINE.
Unaware of the dire warning, Dirk put one foot through the door and into a different time. Instantly, the limb shifted to match its new setting so that his foot was now a clawed and four toed, one more prominent than the other. His leg was now covered in green scales and thinner, yet more muscular. Losing his balance due to this strange alteration, he tumbled out of the TCD and onto the dew covered grass below. The rest of his form likewise adjusted just as quickly, leaving an adult raptor where there had been a human only a moment before. The new reptile shakily got to his feet. He was only able to maintain his balance for a few seconds before he fell over again. It was then that he noticed he had changed. He tried to speak but all that came out were unfamiliar hisses and roars. Turning his head to the TCD, he shrieked as the device closed. He got to his feet once more, this time walking carefully to the TCD. He tapped it. When the digital ocular check came up, he pressed his eye into the virtual test. It scanned his eye and flashed red. He shrieked again. Of course it wouldn't recognize him now.
Dirk backed away from the TCD. What has just occurred? Why was he a raptor? Had there been something about that in the manual he hadn't read? Most pressing of all, what was he to do?
The new raptor felt something nuzzle against his hindquarters. He turned his head to his back and saw another raptor like him gazing at him curiously. Dirk was at the same time relieved and annoyed. At least he wouldn't be attacked, but he needed no distractions if he was going to think this through.
"Go away," Dirk meant to say, though the words were lost in a bestial garble.
The other raptor tilted its head. Dirk hissed at it, causing it to back away. Good. He had to be alone now. Perhaps this was temporary, a flux in the--
The raptor pressed into Dirk again. This time Dirk swept his tail across the other raptor's head, an action that did not dissuade it but only made it more interested in him. Dirk did not notice, however, as he was busy scratching at the TCD. Maybe the first display would come back and he could enter the access code. It had to work like that, right? He wasn't stranded here as this, it couldn't be possible. The reviews hadn't mentioned anything like this ever happening! Maybe internally the TCD was already recognizing the problem and had sent for--
Dirk grunted as the other raptor pushed him down. He glanced back in confusion, just in time to see the raptor climb atop him in a sort of way, as if it were going to--
Dirk squealed as the raptor mounted him and pressed its reptilian member near his cloaca. He tried to struggle, but the other raptor was stronger and some instinctual part of him was keeping him down, as if this was normal, as if two male raptors really--
The former human's mental processes were temporarily put on hold as the raptor inserted his cock into Dirk's soft folds and began to thrust in and out. It was at this moment that Dirk considered the possibility that he hadn't just been turning into a raptor; rather, he had been turned into a female_raptor. This realization horrified _her, but there was nothing she could do. She was caught in the throes of rutting, overwhelmed by instincts and the pleasure the act brought. While the male raptor continued to press into her and her walls clamped down, she found that she wanted to be bred, she wanted to carry her mate's young and propagate their species. Most of all, she never wanted the sexual bliss to end.
It was a bittersweet time then when the male came inside her, flooding her fertile chambers with seed, and leaving both the reptiles in the satisfying aftermath of sexual stimulation. After a moment, the male climbed off, nipped Dirk's neck gently, and ran off. The exhausted Dirk didn't even have the energy to watch him as he left. Instead, she lay in the grass and panted as the sticky results of their coupling oozed in her nethers. She lay her head down and fell asleep.
While she slept, the TCD flickered and vanished without a sound. The timeline had been corrected.
Dirk awoke hours later, somewhat drowsy but energy restored. She looked up, admiring the beautiful sky before remembering her situation. Even though she was panicked, she got to her feet in a more adept way this time, noticing that her abdomen felt slightly heavier. She looked around for the TCD but it was nowhere to be seen. Had the male moved her in their act together? No, she remembered staring at the black frame of the device the whole time during the rut. Where was it then? It couldn't have just disappeared! She couldn't be left here, not like this, not gravid, not with a belly full of eggs--
She felt something nuzzle against her. The male was back, the same one who had impregnated her and he seemed cheerful. Dirk lowered her reptilian muzzle. At the least she had him, if nothing else. Still, could she really survive in this world away from her usual comforts and without her true body? Could her mind truly take it?
Dirk whimpered and pressed her body against the other raptor. If she somehow got out of this, she would read the TCD's manual, every single page.