{"sf1_id":2040604,"sf2_id":"V1Y2MOye","title":"The First Time","author":"Loosf","words":698,"posted_at":"2023-08-22T01:33:00.000Z","tags":["Automaton","Clockwork","Robot","Second Person","Transformation"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/2040604-the-first-time","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/V1Y2MOye","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/6e/16/6e164aee-02a1-4d01-a29b-fcc60f678923","description":"A vacation from being, turned into a mechanical automaton. Choosing to be like that, enjoying it. Frist time for it, but probably not the last","content":"\"And it's not permanent?\" You ask them.\n\n\"No, of course not. We do have some long-term clients. We are not taking any such positions right now, but everything here is reversible, we assure you\"\n\nYou nod.\n\n  \n\nYou've wanted this. Ever since you heard about it. Ever since you read a testimonial.\u0026nbsp;\n\nThe people who told you about it, they became harder to contact. Hard to reach.\n\nBut every time you reached them, they were all rejoiced.\n\n  \n\nIt sounded too good to be true.\n\nIt sounded impossible.\n\nBut they all said it.\n\nAnd then they went silent. For so long.\n\nYou worried.\n\nThen they came back. One by one.\n\n  \n\nThe story they told.\n\nYou could not believe it.\n\nThey all corroborated it.\n\nThey did not know each other and their stories all matched.\u0026nbsp;\n\nYou were, as far as you knew, their only mutual contact.\n\n  \n\nAnd then they all directed you here.\n\n\"Is it all safe?\" You ask them\n\n\"As safe as anything can really be. Again, everything is reversible. We've never had an issue here\"\n\nHere, they said.\u0026nbsp;\n\n  \n\nImplying that there are other such places.\n\nMaybe others where there have been issues.\n\nBut nothing \"here\"\n\nNot entirely reassuring.\n\n  \n\n\"I want to try\", you say.\u0026nbsp;\n\nYou are afraid. But you are curious. And your contacts, they all swear by it.\n\nThe ones that have come back.\n\nThe ones that reached out to you after you worried.\n\nThe ones you missed.\n\n  \n\n\"Wonderful! I am sure you will have a fantastic time. Nearly everyone does. It is unforgettable.\"\n\nThey lead\u0026nbsp; you from the lobby, to a seemingly empty room.\n\n\"Sit there. A handler will be with you soon\"\n\n  \n\nAnd so you sit in the raised horizontal surface. Almost like a bed. But not soft. There is some squish to it, but it is\u0026nbsp; a rigid material.\n\nYou hope that you don't have to stay sitting there for long, the lobby had comfier chairs.\n\n  \n\nSomeone arrives.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"First time?\" They ask. Their voice is melodious. Sweet.Clear through their mask.\n\nIs it a mask? From what your friends told you\n\nit could be more than that.\n\n  \n\n\"Yeah, first time here\" you say.\n\nThey react to it with joy. \"You are going to love it, I'm sure. First timers get a guide. Some of us return over and over. It is fun to guide as well\"\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Oh, you are a customer?\"\n\n  \n\n\"We are not really customers. No one told you anything about payment did they?\"\n\nYou nod.\n\nIt was true.\u0026nbsp;\n\nNo one said anything about payment.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"Don't worry about a thing. You'll love it\"\n\n  \n\nThey touch your face gently.\n\nTheir hand is cold.\u0026nbsp;\n\nIt feels strange.\n\n\"Are you ready?\" They ask.\u0026nbsp;\n\nYou nod. You are.\n\n  \n\n\"For your first time, maybe the front. Don't worry. If anything goes wrong, we can stop. We can stop at any time. Just tell us.\"\n\nThey take an ornate brass key from a pocket.\n\nAnd they press it against your chest. They don't even take off your shirt.\n\n  \n\nAnd then it goes inside.\n\nIt does not hurt. You are not afraid.\u0026nbsp;\n\n\"It can be disorienting\" they say.\n\n  \n\nAnd then they turn it.\n\n  \n\n  \n\nThere is no pain.\n\n  \n\nBut you are not breathing anymore.\n\n  \n\nYou don't feel a shortness of breath.\n\nBut you can feel it.\n\nOrgans.\u0026nbsp;\n\nFlesh.\n\nBone.\u0026nbsp;\n\nSinew.\n\nYou can feel them being replaced.\n\n  \n\nMetal. Brass. Porcelain. Glass.\n\nRubies. You\u0026nbsp; know they are there. Wheels and cams and sprockets and levers.\n\nYou do not breathe.\n\nBut your lungs turn into bellows.\n\n  \n\nYour skin, blemished, scarred, marked.\n\nIt turns into a gleaming, shiny surface.\u0026nbsp;\n\nSegments, panels.\u0026nbsp;\n\nYou are in awe.\n\nYour body.\n\nIt was true.\n\nEverything they said was true.\n\n  \n\nYou exhale\n\nAnd then you are still\n\n\"Still there? Don't worry. The process. It is all reversible. It is all joy\"\n\nYou believe them.\n\n\"You can be as much of you as you want to. That's the beauty of it.\"\n\n  \n\n\"You can be however you want to be.\"\n\n\"We can make it so\"\n\nThey turn the key again.\n\nYou feel more alive than you've felt in years.\n\n  \n\n\"You can be more. You can be less\" they say.\n\n\"Let us know. We can play.\"\n\n\"We can make you as you want to be\"\n  \n  \n\n"}