{"sf1_id":126013,"sf2_id":"znJd6Pze","title":"Experiments--Prologue","author":"RandomManOfDOOM","words":923,"posted_at":"2010-02-14T19:11:00.000Z","tags":["Plot Development","Sci-Fi","Transformation"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/126013-experiments-prologue","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/znJd6Pze","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/ea/bb/eabb1992-0eb0-48fd-ab2f-058ab9098d50","description":"#1 of Experiments","content":"First Story!\u0026nbsp; Yay!  \n  \nThis story takes place in the Half-Life Universe, long before the Black Mesa Incident occurred.\u0026nbsp; Specifically, it occurs before the Combine can even get to our universe.\u0026nbsp; They are currently experimenting with several different types of teleportation technology in order to carry out the requests of an Earthling named Wallace Breen (you Half-Life fans should know what I mean).\u0026nbsp;  \n  \nThis is my first story that I've been willing to post on the internet, so it's likely to suck.\u0026nbsp; Comment PLEASE!  \n  \n//==========\\\\  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I looked at the machine with disdain.\u0026nbsp; It was a jumble of wires and moving parts that looked as though it would eat you if you got too close.\u0026nbsp; As unlikely as it was, this was the Combine's best shot at upholding our end of the bargain with Breen.\u0026nbsp; If this maiden voyage worked, we would have a sure-fire way of getting the Earth and all its lush resources.\u0026nbsp; The only problem was that past experiments have miserably failed, leaving people stranded on other planets and, in rare cases, other universes.\u0026nbsp; I, being a stupid young scientist, decided I would do my part to help design the next incarnation of the teleporter.\u0026nbsp; Unknowing to me, the Advisors wanted ME to be the test subject.\u0026nbsp; So here I was.\u0026nbsp; The big day.\n\n\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"Are you sure this thing is safe?\" I asked Dr. Powers.  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"Um...you created it, sir,\" he replied.  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"I know,\" I said, \"but, in my mind at least, it looked a lot...safer than this.\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"Sir, this machine is the pinnacle of Combine technology,\" said a lab tech (whose name wasn't important), \"It takes everything within the field of transport and--\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"I know how it works; I invented it\"  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \"Oh...\"  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I cautiously approached the machine.\u0026nbsp; A wire sparked and I jumped.\u0026nbsp; If I didn't know any better, I'd say someone was messing with me.\u0026nbsp; I took a deep breath.\u0026nbsp; \"All right, let's do this.\"\u0026nbsp; I stepped onto the machine.\u0026nbsp; Another wire sparked as the machine began to power up.\u0026nbsp; _Stop that_, I thought, _Don't you dare fail on me_.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The machine was an extremely complicated affair.\u0026nbsp; A charged dark energy pulse was fired into a series of amplifier rings, which opened a small hole in time-space.\u0026nbsp; A dark energy field, generated by small projectors inside the platform, propelled any matter within the field through the hole.\u0026nbsp; Residual dark energy attached to the matter would then guide the matter to its destination, ripping open another hole and unceremoniously dumping the matter on the other side.\u0026nbsp; Unless the destination had another teleporter, the matter could not return.\u0026nbsp; That last part made me nervous.\u0026nbsp; I was supposedly going to teleport to a Combine outpost in Galaxy N2-47S, where a ship would bring me back.\u0026nbsp; I sincerely hoped that this worked; the other teleporters had a bad habit of missing by a couple of yards.\u0026nbsp; We were using the remains of the other teleporters to build this one, and since a couple yards could put me inside a wall, it made me very nervous.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; The pulse emitter swung down as the amplifier rings began to twirl around me.\u0026nbsp; The sound the rings made was unique, a high-pitched squeal that most people would cover their ears for.\u0026nbsp; My ears hurt.\u0026nbsp; I heard Dr. Powers talking about the power levels and \"a small fluctuation\" but I couldn't hear anything else.\u0026nbsp; The emitter charged and...stopped.\u0026nbsp; You piece of shit, I thought, I told you not to break.\u0026nbsp; As the machine's \"punishment,\" I kicked one of the rings.\u0026nbsp; Big mistake.\u0026nbsp; A wire sparked, and the rings began to whirl so fast that they were a blur.\u0026nbsp; The emitter charged from a deep blue color to an angry red, and the squeal was now a full-out roar.\u0026nbsp; Dr. Powers and his tech could only watch as I was flung from the confines of this area of time-space.\u0026nbsp; I remember thinking, _HOLY SHIT, that was NOT supposed to happen..._ before I saw a bright red flash and passed out.  \n  \n//==========\\\\  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I woke up in a grassy meadow.\u0026nbsp; I didn't know what had happened at all.\u0026nbsp; All I knew was that the teleporter had NOT worked.\u0026nbsp; And that someone was in trouble when I got back.  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; IF I got back, that is.  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; I stared at the sky for a few minutes and pondered the star patterns.\u0026nbsp; I couldn't find any relationships (that was never my strong point).\u0026nbsp; I pondered how lucky I was to be on a planet where the atmosphere wasn't fatal to breathe.\u0026nbsp; I pondered why I felt so naked, lying on my back looking at the stars, while my paw traced lazy circles in the grass...  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; Wait, what?  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; My _paw_?  \n  \n\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;I leapt to my feet and looked at my hands.\u0026nbsp; They looked vaguely human, but had pads and were covered in a thin layer of orange fur.\u0026nbsp; My arms had thicker orange fur, and my chest had white fur all over it.\u0026nbsp; I reached up to my head tentatively, not knowing what to expect.\u0026nbsp; I found a muzzle and two fox-like ears.\u0026nbsp; My feet also looked human, and some part of my brain noted that I was still bipedal, not like a real fox.\u0026nbsp; The rest of my brain, however, was concentrating on something else.\u0026nbsp; That something else was a loud scream.  \n  \n//==========\\\\  \n  \nWell?\u0026nbsp; Is it good?\u0026nbsp; Comment and rate my first story!  \n  \n\n\u0026nbsp; (If it's unclear, the main character was originally human and is now an anthro fox.)  \n  \n\n","series":{"name":"Experiments","next":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/129752-experiments-chapter-one.json"}}