FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Mark padded across the carpeted floor of the spacious waiting room, and up to the first open receptionist's window, where a kind-faced rabbit sat in front of a touchscreen computer, and asked him his name.

"Mark," Mark told her.

"Last name, my dear?" the rabbit said, looking up.

"I'm afraid I don't have one," Mark replied. The rabbit didn't miss a beat, and began again.

"Okay, Mark Doe..." the rabbit looked up, "I'm going to need you to fill out some forms, and then return them to me when you're finished." She picked up a clipboard-sized tablet computer, and tapped it gently against the side of her touchscreen. She then handed the device to the wolf, who took it, and went to sit down. The chairs were large, and extremely comfortable, so Mark picked one in a well lit corner, and sat down, before beginning his paperwork. He took a look at the screen, and found that already some of the information had been filled in. It had a section already filled in, with information regarding the unit he worked with, as well as some of his identifying information, including his new ID number for the O.R.E.O. The next section included geographical information, which Mark had to fill in. Asked what planet, he clicked the stylus that was clipped on the side of the board, on the board, and the section expanded on the screen. He wrote in Earth, and as he wrote, the computer translated his handwriting to letters, which, when he was finished, searched the database until it located earth, which it then replaced with the ID number for earth.

Mark filled in his local address, and all the identifying information the computer asked for, and pushed the Next button. The following screen was his medical insurance information, which was almost entirely filled out, except for a few things that he had to fill in. He was curious to find that at the bottom of the screen, there was a section marked Account Information, with a subheading of, "For Co-Payments/Other Uncovered Medical Expenses", which was already filled in. There was account information already present, and when he clicked on the account number displayed therein, he was redirected to an account bearing his name. It displayed the current balance, which was currently over 100 thousand of whatever monetary unit O.R.E.O used. He resolved to question Joel about it when he returned, but for now, he let it remain as it was, and went back to the forms.

The following few screens were comprised of a general health questionaire. It was fairly straightforward, asking things about your level of exercise, your opinion of your own health, if you had any known allergies, any medications you were on, until Mark got to the disease and drug questions. He had to read over some of the things two or three times, until he read them correctly. He didn't realize until he reached a new section that some were species specific, and he didn't have to answer them. Finally, he finished, and took the clipboard back up to the receptionist.

"Alright," she said, "have a seat, and we'll call you in in a few minutes." Mark went back to his corner seat, and gazed around the waiting room. It was fairly plain, and reminded him of any other doctors' office. The walls had a solid strip of window, which wound around the whole perimeter of the room, and allowed a fair amount of sunlight to stream in. About a dozen others waited in the room, in seats scattered all around. The carpet was low to the floor, a mixture of dark red, blue, and black fibers that blended together to make a very dull looking floor, nothing ostentatious about it. Various potted plants stood, or hung from the walls, lending a more natural feeling to the environment. About fifteen minutes later, Mark's name was called, and he stood, before following a nurse back through a single door leading back to the offices.

"Hi there," she said, smiling as Mark approached.

"Hi," Mark replied, nodding her way.

"If you'll follow me," the nurse said, gesturing into the doorway. She took him into a small office, and shut the door, before instructing Mark to sit up on the examination table. Mark was rather nervous, as this was the first time since he started college that he had gone voluntarily to a doctors' office. The nurse didn't fail to notice, and commented, "don't worry, young man, there's absolutely nothing to be nervous about. I'm sure you'll be just fine. I'm just going to take your vitals, and ask you some more questions, and then the doctor will be in to see you. Okay?" Mark nodded, and took a deep breath. The nurse asked Mark to breathe in deep, as she listened to his breathing, took his blood pressure, and performed various other basic tests on him. When she finished, she made notes on the computer which sat in the corner, and said, "now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Mark shook his head.

She turned back to Mark when she was done with the computer, and told him, "Now, I'm going to ask you a few questions about your health, and I want you to answer them truthfully. Okay?" Mark nodded once more.

"Alright. Are you sexually active?" Mark nodded, and the nurse checked the box on the computer. "How long have you been sexually active?" Mark thought back, and told her. "Alright," she said, continuing after she made her notes, "During that time, how many partners would you say you've had?" Mark could count on one paw that number, and he did so, before telling her the answer; four. "Have you used protection?" the nurse asked. Mark frowned.

"Like, birth control?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Like a method to prevent the contraction of sexually transmitted infections or diseases," the nurse replied, then added as an afterthought, "and pregnancy."

"Oh, um..." Mark began, trailing off.

"Mark, you need to tell me if you've been sexually active without using protection. I need to know, and I promise that I won't judge you," she replied.

"Well, um, yeah, with two of the four..." Mark replied sheepishly.

"Well, let me just read you the riot act, since I want to keep you healthy," the nurse began. "'Unprotected sexual activity can lead to both unwanted pregnancy, or the contraction of all kinds of sexually transmitted infections or diseases. We recommend to our patients that they always practice safe sex.' That being said, can you tell me if you've had sex with a man, even once?" Mark shrunk down, trying to avoid that question. "Mark, it's alright, you can tell me. Nothing you say will leave this office, I assure you."

"Um... Yeah, I have," Mark replied. The nurse asked if the men were some of those partners he had unprotected sex with, and Mark nodded.

"Alright," the nurse replied, making notes on the computer. "Just a few more questions. How would you rate your mental health at this point in your life?"

"Well, I feel fine," Mark replied. "I'm a little concerned, because everything is happening so quickly, and I'm worried that it might all fall through at any moment, and I don't have a backup plan, if it does. Like, if this all turns out to be a big joke, or if I lose my job with the company, or something, I won't exactly be able to go back to my old life very easily. But, as far as being, like, crazy, or something, no, I feel fine."

"Alright," the nurse said, typing in a quick note on the computer. "Do you have any questions for me that don't need to be addressed by the doctor?"

"Well," Mark replied, thinking, "I haven't been to see the doctor in about two years. Is there anything I should get, any shots or anything, that I should be worried about?" The nurse thought about it, then spoke.

"Well, this examination is not just for your surgery," she told the wolf. "We require all staff members to have an annual checkup. Semi-annually in the case of active-duty explorers, so this will also be a full examination for you. You'll probably have to get quite a few shots, since, from my understanding, Earth medicine is slightly lacking compared to ours."

"Alright," Mark replied. "I just have one more question. This isn't related to my health, but I'm not sure where you guys stand. Do you have any humans working for the company? I mean, I haven't even begun to see this place, but back on Earth, humans are the dominant species, and I haven't seen a single one yet."

"No, we don't have very many humans around here," the nurse replied, shaking her head. "In fact, I believe we may only have one, and he only ever works with us occasionally, when C.E.O, that's the Central Exploration Outfit, sends him over to us. Alduin is his name, Alduin Raptormaster; and, like I said, he officially works for them, so he gets kept moderately busy there, and only comes here on occasion. O.R.E.O is run by the same people that run the C.E.O, so they're pretty much two branches of the same company. Same basic idea and all. Other then him, I've never met a human, and I see a lot of people who come through this office."

"Wow," Mark replied. "One human, among all these people?"

"Yes sir," the nurse said, nodding. "Now, I'm going to go out, and the doctor will be in to see you shortly." She did just that, and left Mark fiddling with his tail. A few minutes later, the door opened, and a large spotted feline wearing a lab coat padded in.

"Good morning, Mark," the doctor said, extending a paw for Mark to shake. When he did so, Mark shook it, and then inquisitively spoke.

"I beg your pardon, but your name..." he began

"Ursine?" the doctor asked, realizing where this was headed.

"Yes, where I come from, that means bear; and your first name is Barry..." Mark explained. "Forgive me, but that's a rather peculiar set of circumstances, given that you're a cheetah."

"I'm actually a leopard," the doctor replied, indifferently. "Different species, but it's alright, everyone messes that up. Yeah, I get that a lot, surprisingly. Now, let's talk health. Give me a moment to take a look at these records, and we'll see what we'll do with you." The leopard sat down at the keyboard, and took a look at Mark's records. He finished, and then opened the file he had on another clipboard-style tablet computer. "Alright, so according to Doctor Sulath, you're here to get outfitted with a permanent breathing apparatus, an ingestion tolerance device, and also to get your immunizations. Is that correct?" Mark nodded. "Any questions for me?" the doctor asked.

"Yes," Mark replied. "What is the process for those devices. Is there surgery involved?"

"Yes, but it requires no cutting. For the PBA, we simply stick the device in your bronchial tubes, and it sits there, and functions normally. The ITD we just have you swallow, and it sits in your stomach, and does its' job."

"Alright," Mark replied. "Is there any risk of death with these procedures?"

"Minimal," the doctor replied. "I've performed over three hundred of each, and I've never had a complication." Mark nodded.

"Okay. As to the shots, what do I need?" the wolf asked inquisitively. Ursine turned to the computer monitor, and looked through the recommendations.

"Well, according to your medical records, it says you need a whole host of them, including but not limited to your basic disease innoculations, your advanced disease innoculations, your sexually transmitted disease and infection innoculations, and some other specialized innoculations required by active-duty explorers. Fortunately, we can administer those in about three shots, none of which hurt. I would prefer to wait until after the operations, though, if you don't mind."

"That's fine," Mark replied. "So, how is this procedure done? With me awake, or asleep, or what?"

"Well," Ursine remarked, before unlocking a cabinet, and pulling out a sealed syringe, and a bottle. "If you're ready, I can perform it right now; I just give you a little shot, and you go to sleep, and when you wake up, it'll all be over. It's far easier that way, then with you awake." Mark nodded.

"Alright," Mark said. "You can stick me then; Doc. Just get it over with." Dr. Ursine pulled a small amount of the liquid in the bottle up into the syringe, and placed the bottle back in the cabinet, before flicking the end of the syringe to shake out any hidden air bubbles that could be in it. He turned to Mark, who looked away from the needle, (one thing that grossed him out), and then poked the wolf in the arm. Mark turned around, and said, "that wasn't so bad. Jeez, it doesn't seem like it even-" His words were interrupted by the medicine kicking in, and rendering him unconscious. When he woke up, his first reaction was to check himself to see if the doctor had maimed him in any way.

"Feel okay?" Ursine asked. Mark mentally checked himself over, took a deep breath, swallowed, and nodded. "Good. Now, the first couple of times you use it, you may want to take a standard apparatus with you, until the PBA adjusts to your body, just in case. Same thing with the food, you may want to go easy on foreign foods, until it adjusts. I have the vaccinations ready for you, if you're okay with getting them now." Mark nodded, and the doctor pulled a small tray with three new syringes, and three separate bottles. He drew each one, and then poked Mark in the right arm with two, and the left with one. These hurt slightly more then the first shot had, but not enough to elicit a reaction from Mark. When he finished, the doctor placed the used needles in a container, and patted Mark on the back.

"Only one thing left to do," the doctor said, matter-of-factly. "I have to check you for hernias, and I have to recommend you see a dentist, to get a dental checkup; so, stand up, and drop your drawers." Mark was not used to check-ups, and so he didn't realize at first that the doctor was serious. When he found out that he was, Mark stood up, and lowered his pants to the floor, feeling awkward beyond belief. The doctor instructed him to turn his head to the side, and push out his stomach as much as he could, and Mark yipped slightly when he felt the doctors' gloved hand touching him below his privates. He pushed out his stomach, hoping for this awkward moment to be over as soon as possible. When the doctor finished, Mark pulled up his pants, and avoided eye contact as the doctor disposed of his gloves, and washed his hands. He turned to Mark, who was now staring at the wall, and said, "everything checked out alright, so I'll just tell you to go see a dentist, though you aren't required to. Check out on the way out, and have a good day."

Mark thanked the doctor, and followed him out of the door, before hurrying down the hall to the checkout window. The same receptionist who had checked him in wheeled over to check him out, and he received a list of the medical services provided to him, and a piece of candy. His insurance covered every cent of the procedures, so nothing was deducted from the bank account that he didn't know anything about. Mark walked out the door, and walked into Arath, who was just coming off the elevator as Mark went to get on. "Oh, hey, you," Arath replied.

"Hey," Mark said back, inclining his head in greeting.

"Well, I have to stick around until they have the test results back, so would you mind if we go explore HQ a little, until they call me?" the dragon requested.

"That's fine," Mark said, eager to just be out of the doctors' office. "But at some point, we're going to have to get something to eat."

"Alright," the dragon replied. "They serve a wonderful dish here, that's made back on my planet. Now that you're capable of eating whatever you want, you just have to try it. It'll set your tastebuds on fire!" Mark wasn't sure if he was looking forward to that, but he agreed, and followed the dragon onto the elevator.