Transformation Dynamics (Tarantula) (Patreon)

It was wonderful! Absolutely exotic! It was everything Transformation Dynamics had promised.  Reshmi stood before the great mirror wall taking it all in. She was unchanged, for the most part, to her waist (though much thinner than before, much sexier, and her new fangs were quite impressive). It was there the great changes began. Reshmi had kept tarantulas since she’d been a teen. Her mother had always found such “filthy bugs” unacceptable and had made no attempt to hide her disgust. Reshmi loved her pets and loved having them crawl on her arms much to her mother’s horror. She wondered what her mother would say now. Reshmi, having chosen to join the ever growing majority of the 'Evolved', had like most survivors of the past decades, taken on a new form. A huge tarantula formed her lower body now. She was fully 2.5 meters across. Of course, she now walked closer to the ground but could, she was certain, push herself upward to tower over any of the 'Unevolved' she’d had to push past to get into the Transformation Dynamics centre. Her lower body now matched her favourite pet: Cyclosternum fasciatum or, to the uninitiated, the Tiger Rump Tarantula.  

There were, as Tina, her operator explained as she slithered to the console on her great boa constrictor tail, some necessary scaling changes. Her tarantula legs were thicker and much stronger. They weren't entirely hydraulically powered the way a normal arachnid's were.  You couldn’t just take a small creature and make it huge regardless of Hollywood B movie monsters. It would just collapse under its own weight. Her toxin, too, had been changed. Tarantulas didn’t have much for venom but, on hearing the ever increasing violence of the 'Unevolved' and their stupid demand to keep things as they were, Reshmi had opted for some kind of self-defence. The 'Unevolved' were becoming an increasing small minority. Most jobs required modification. Gone were the days when people would just wander out under the hot sun and work. Climate change had seen the end of those times. That’s, of course, where all the major body modifications had begun. If you are maintaining solar arrays across the now virtually uninhabited southern US or the Sahara desert, you’d best be able to take the heat.

Reshmi turned her human body to get a better look at herself. She’d always been spectacularly unendowed. 'Flat' was the way one of her ex-boyfriends of many years past phrased it. Well, no longer. She held one breast up with the opposite hand. Definitely not now. Had it only been three hours since all this started? Mentally, she went back over her recent history.  

She’d arrived in one of the ubiquitous electric autonomous vehicles. No one owned a car these days much less one that burned filthy gasoline. Her mother still shuddered at the Petroleum lynchings of the 2070s. Oil workers, protesting they were just doing a job, found themselves hung from their rigs. That, her mother recounted, was merciful when compared with the punishment of the oil executives. Owners of oil shares and those in charge were treated particularly harshly as 'Planet Murderers'. The Internet made it possible for flash mobs carrying signs 'Petroleum = Asbestos' to form in minutes whenever anyone with any connection to fossil fuels appeared.  She told stories of hundreds slowly boiled in their barrels of petroleum and then set alight. Her mother still had nightmares about those times. By the time the insanity had run its course, the world’s population had dropped to less than 2 billion. The great powers of the twenty first century, unlike past troubles where it had been those less fortunate, had taken the brunt of the change as they’d been particularly stubborn to give up fossil fuels. 

The security robots had to clear the entry track to Transformation Dynamics, of course. Hundreds of the 'Unevolved' still held their stupid marches and threatened to kill anyone who would give up “God’s Image”, whatever the hell that meant. They were, of course, totally powerless when faced with the titanium security robots that patrolled the corridors of the cities. Guns had been illegal since 2080 and even pulling a blade weapon would get you quietly and effectively neuro-whipped.  Such a tendency to violence was a treatable dysfunction and would result in mandatory treatment.  You couldn’t live on the surface of the Earth any longer except in Antarctica, Alaska and northern Canada and Russia. Everyone else lived underground or in the huge sealed cities which were effectively patrolled by security robots that used the least amount of force to prevent violence. You could always tell one of the 'Unevolved'. Stupid people wearing even stupider 1950’s style dresses and suits. They looked like something out of a historical monochrome television show.  No one still owned anything other than a full 3D projections system any more but such anachronisms could still be seen and mocked in museums.

It had taken a few minutes to get through the hundreds with their paper signs (Paper?  Really folks get with the times) and stupid chants. Once inside the complex, with the insanity of the conservative past safely locked outside, she was escorted into the reception area. Her escort and transformation operator, Tina Kimiana, met her and offered her a snack and refreshments. It was an easier way to get the inducer chemicals into her body than by injection, she explained. While they waited for the first stage of Reshmi’s transformation to begin, they chatted about inconsequential topics. Finally, Tina noticed the growth of dark hair on Reshmi’s legs.

“Let’s get you to the transformation chamber,” she announced.  "It's beginning."

Reshmi merely nodded, grinning, and followed her guide as she slithered down the hall towards one pair of huge golden doors.  Several such pairs lined the corridor.  It was quite an impressive display.  Reshmi smiled a bit at the ostentatious display. The doors probably were gold these days. With the Supernova power plants in the deep deserts of the world and high over head producing electricity and any isotope anyone could want in abundance, the precious metals mining industry had virtually collapsed. When you could take just about any matter, subject it to insanely high temperatures (she’d heard billions of degrees but that couldn’t be correct) and pressures, you could perform alchemy on a scale that the medieval alchemists could not have dreamed of.

The doors opened silently revealing a room dominated by the glass cylinder of the Transformation Dynamics system. Reshmi, having never undergone the process because she’d only recently stopped growing at 20, was dumbstruck. Transformation, by law, required a stable adult form.  She expected a somewhat more scientific and Spartan piece of equipment than this piece of modern art. Tina smiled. Many of the younger transformees had a similar reaction.

“The early ones were considerably less elegant,” she offered, gesturing towards the cylinder. “No sense having them ugly when they create such great beauty.”

“No,” Reshmi smiled. “ I guess not.”

“The process, though somewhat lengthy, isn’t painful.  Some do experience strange twinges as muscles and bones are moved or reformed. Part of the cocktail you got in your refreshments will minimize that.”

“Oh, thank you,” Reshmi looked about the room. Off to her right was a mirrored alcove. “For after?”

“Of course. You’ll want to see your new form in all its wonder.”

“Yes!” Reshmi breathed.

Tina led her to the great cylinder. Reshmi was about to climb up the stars when Tina stopped her.  

“We’ve got to make sure we get everything correct before the full process starts.”

“I thought …”

“The first changes can be easily reversed if there’s problems. Once you go through the whole process, you won’t be able to change forms again for at least 6 weeks.”

Tina turned a huge panel towards Reshmi. Reshmi noted a series of selectors for species, toxins and other choices displayed on it. All were for the changes she’d chosen over a month previous on the main website of Transformation Dynamics.  

“If everything is as you desire,” Tina gestured to the panel. “Just press the button at the lower right.”

Reshmi did so and it flashed once.  

“Choice locked,” a synthesized voice announced. “Please enter the chamber.”

The glass cylinder retreated into the ceiling with a quiet hiss. Tina inclined her head and Reshmi mounted the steps. Once inside the cylinder, she looked about wondering what was to happen next.

“You’ll have to undress,” Tina smiled. “I can leave if you want privacy.”

“Of course not,” Reshmi shook her head. “Those ‘unevolved’ outside may be living in the 1950s or maybe 1850s, but I certainly won’t.”

Tina took Reshmi clothing and handed it to a robot that had entered the room through an unseen door. It took the clothing, carefully folded it, and left the way it had come. Reshmi could barely see the door it had come through.

“We’ll arrange for clothing that will better fit your new form after you’ve changed,” Tina offered.  

“I doubt jeans will fit a human-sized tarantula,” Reshmi mused.

“Too true,” replied Tina.

Tina, once Reshmi was reasonably well entered in the cylinder,  slithered down the stairs to the main level and pressed the button on the panel a second time.

“Confirm choice?” the synthesized voice asked.
“Absolutely,” Reshmi stated.
“Enjoy your new form,” the voice replied.

A soft hiss announced the glass cylinder was returning to its original position. A quiet thunk announced it had sealed itself to the floor of the chamber. Overhead, eight bluish lights came on and began to bathe Reshmi in a changing fractal pattern. Reshmi found she could move only with difficulty. A hologram formed just in front of her. She noticed it was her and adjusted her position to match that of the hologram. As each part of her body got to exactly the position in the hologram, Reshmi discovered she could no longer move it.  It took several minutes, but Reshmi finally was in exactly the same position as the hologram.

“Thank you,” the synthesized voice stated and the hologram faded. 

Reshmi felt a slight pressure over her entire body. Curious, she tried to move only to discover her body was now firmly locked in position.  The transformation field lifted her from the floor slightly. She wondered whether she’d become uncomfortable standing like this for the duration of the transformation. Tina, having seen a large number of novice transformations, smiled at her discomfort.

“Just relax. The transformation field is supporting you now. Your muscles won’t cramp or become tired.”
“I was just thinking about that.  How did you know?”
“It’s a common question for novice transformees. About the third or fourth time, you just relax like you were meditating or getting ready to sleep and let the chamber do its work.”
“I like that!”
“Thought you might.”

Reshmi started her meditation routine with a breathing exercise.  Despite her mental calm, she still felt the changes even though she couldn’t really see them. The inner glass wall, though smooth and somewhat reflective, distorted the image. It was too bad she couldn’t see the whole process as it happened.

“Would you like to watch?” asked Tina noticing the direction of Reshmi's eyes.
“Oh yes,” Reshmi beamed.
“Very well then,” Tina stated as she returned to the panel, slide her hand to reveal a second set of controls and pushed a button.  

Reshmi’s hologram reappeared. Her legs were already subtly distorted, shorter and thinner than they’d been minutes prior. Over the next few hours, Reshmi watch as she developed what looked like a brown bustle just behind her hips. This grew and extended backward, held in the transformation field’s embrace. Reshmi had wondered when she’d be able to feel her new body and was surprised to discover she could feel the changes as they occurred. She could sense the muscles in her new body as they formed just has she could in her shrinking legs.  At first her new abdomen simply grew from her hips but, within half an hour, it pinched slightly. The brown chitin began to spread around her hips until she was completely covered to her waist in the centre of her back. Reshmi decided it was a good thing she was in the transformation field because her legs had continued to shrink until the vanished entirely. She was now literally floating about a meter off the floor of the chamber.  

Her new thorax and abdomen continued to grow until they reached their final size. Reshmi wondered where the extra material was coming from. After all this was science and not magic. She decided that the beams coming from the cones in the ceiling must be providing the material as needed somehow.  Mass transport beams were commonplace on construction sites after all. The next change was the development of bumps along her thorax - ten in all. At first she was puzzled then realized the form she had selected had a pair of fangs in addition to the eight legs it walked walked upon. The front pair were definitely fangs, she decided. Flanking her still visible labia and pubic hair, these quickly grew to the size her thighs had been. A slight twinge of pain at their tips announced she had sprouted fangs through the chitin at the tips. Soon her fangs were shiny and dark and fully 20 centimetres long. ‘And sharp, too,' Reshmi decided.

One pair at a time, she developed her walking limbs. The limb bud first grow out to form a short segment beneath the bottom of her thorax. A second bud appeared in the centre of the base segment and began to expand. It would grow out to the required size and then pinch off, another small bud appearing at its centre. Each leg, when complete, had six segments attached to the base segment. The skin on each new leg tingled in a very pleasant way as the sensitive fur grew in. The beams switched to the end of her abdomen. Reshmi felt a pair of new legs or bumps developing there though she couldn't turn the hologram to see exactly what was happening.

“The spinnerets are just about finished. We’re just about done,” Tina announced in the quiet of the chamber.

Though startled, Reshmi discovered she still couldn’t move in the slightest. The transformation field still held her in its grip.  The blue ceiling beams began to play across her human portion. Her breasts, still as tiny as when she’d hit puberty, began to expand. Soon they were a perfect size for her, exactly the size she’d selected. Reshmi wished she could touch them, they were beautiful but her arms were locked in the position they'd been in for the past three hours. Her waist was next, becoming thinner than she thought possible. Finally, a single beam played across her face.

The beams stopped moving and faded. Reshmi, still suspended by the transformation field, was caught slightly off guard. The full three hours couldn’t have passed so quickly. Consulting her implant, she discovered that it had. She’d entered the chamber at a little after 10:00 and it was now just before 14:00. The field faded and Reshmi felt herself lowered gently to the floor of the transformation chamber. For the first time, she felt her new body's weight on her new legs. She carefully lifted each in turn. It was odd that she could fell them and move them effectively. She knew from the mandatory history courses that physiotherapy to learn the old cybernetic prostheses had taken months to learn.  She suspected that the knowledge of her new body, like much of the rest of today’s skilled training, had been directly implanted to her cerebellum.

A quiet hiss announced the cylinder was moving back into the ceiling. Tina slithered over to the base of the stairs.

“Ready to try out your new body?” she asked with a huge smile.

Reshmi carefully moved one leg and then the next. It took several minutes to get her coordination and the stairs proved more difficult than expected.  It was one thing to move individual muscles and legs and another thing entirely to coordinate eight legs to move her new body.

“You’ll get used to it in less than an hour,” Tina offered helpfully.
“It’s all so amazing!”
“That it is. That’s why many citizens take advantage of it every year or so.”
“Is it true that it rejuvenates, too.”
“Of course. Just because your old body had problems is no reason to move those same problems into your new one. After all, transformation science was first developed as a healing technique in the mid tenth first century.”
“I just can’t understand the 'Unevolved' then.”
“Most sane folk can’t. Many refuse transformation science even when used for healing alone. They’re a self limiting problem, though. After all, the most they can hope for is ninety years or so. They’ll die off and leave the sensible people behind. Now let’s get you over to the mirror so you can see yourself.”

Tina handed her three beautiful shiny gold rings. Reshmi frowned, puzzled.

“Silly old laws. Pushed through decades ago when the 'Unevolved' were still in charge. You are toxic now. You’ll need to wear these on your upper arms and neck to show let everyone know you are dangerous.”
“Gold?”
“Neuro-toxin. A quick jab from your mouth fangs or body fangs and an attacker would find themselves painfully and quickly dead.”
“Yours is black,” Reshmi noted.
“Haemolytic toxin. They’d bleed to death in a few minutes. Never had to use it though.”
“Seems a silly law.”
“Old laws often are. I remember reading about an old law that required car owners to have a tarp to cover up their vehicles in case they spooked a horse.”
“Why a horse?”
“In the nineteenth century, horses were the main mode of transportation. Their version of the ‘unevolved’ did their best to make car ownership as difficult as possible. I heard stories that some horse riders would teach their animals to spook just so they could inconvenience as many car owners as possible. Took a century to get the last of those stupid laws repealed.”

Reshmi snapped the rings in place and laughed. ‘Tarps,’ she thought looking at the reflection of her rings in the mirror.  

"A lot prettier that tarps, for sure,” she noted aloud.

Reshmi spent the better part of an hour enamoured with her new body. In her mind, she was now perfect. She wondered how Hiro would take the change. Of course, he had a few months to go before he’d be medically certified for his first change and was looking forward to it. Until then, it was going to be a most interesting time. A quiet chime from the panel brought up a message. Tina glanced at it.

“Let’s get you over to the boutique.  They’ve got your new clothing ready for you to try on.”
“Yes,” Reshmi agreed. “I wonder what they’ve come up with?”
“We’ll just have to go and see,” Tina smiled as she led the way out of the transformation chamber. “We’ll just have to go and see.”