A Scientific Exploration

"So you still haven't found a job?" Axel asked.

I chewed as I raised an eyebrow at him, a non-verbal reply to his obvious remark. I had just taken a mouthful of food and figured he'd get the hint. He smiled in a hopeful way, "For my defence, I haven't seen you for a fortnight. It could have happened."

We were sitting in a greasy spoon in the city, which served the best fry up money could buy, and most importantly, at a fraction of the price of the gastro pub down the road. (If you could stand the shabby decor and the rather shifty clientele.)

If I was getting my usual regular income, I'd probably be in the gastro pub, but this meet up with Axel was my one indulgence in my current scrimping and saving.

I looked across at my friend, Axel, as he sipped at his coffee. He was such a sweetheart. We'd known each other since high school, both metalheads alone in a sea of Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake wannabes.

Even though that was a decade ago, we still retained a heartfelt love of all things alternative. His long green hair was neatly pulled back in a ponytail (I hadn't the heart to tell him after all these years, he looked like one of his anime characters) and he was wearing his favourite Rammstein t-shirt and ripped jeans. He now, however, had to smarten up a bit during the week for his job at the lab, but on his days off, he could at least slum it with me.

I brushed my long red hair back over my shoulder, as I took a mouthful of greasy bacon. This would probably cause my pale skin to break out, but it was worth it. As I carried on bravely making my way through my plate of assorted fried meats, I made an effort to add a verbal response to the previous question. "There's just nothing available Ax. I've sent my CV out to half the design companies in the city, had a few interviews but with no replies. I'm making a bit from working in the bar, but I really need the design work coming in too."

"Something will come up." Axel said, sipping his coffee. " Who can turn down the design work of Morgan Le Fay?"

I muttered, "Everyone apparently" as I mopped my plate with the bread. "You haven't got anything going at the lab have you? I know you guys normally pay a bomb for drug testers." I fake-begged, "I'll be a willing test subject for hallucinogens. Seeing pink monkeys can't be any worse than working at the bar when there's a hen party."

He laughed, but considered this for a moment. "I knew they were after participants in one of the studies, but you have to meet certain criteria. I've got to go there off-duty this afternoon, I can ask around and ring you tonight?"

"God Ax, you'd be a lifesaver. Even if it's a one off money drop, it'd be better than nothing." I grinned at him.

"I probably wouldn't go into that too lightly Morg. You know we have some pretty freaky shit going on at the lab." He wasn't meant to tell me much about his job, but he'd let enough slip that it sounded like something out of Doctor Who. But what could it hurt right?

"Oh you worry about it too much Ax. I'd be fine. You know me. I weather most storms."

"I'd rather not see anything happen though, if it's all the same to you." He drained the last of his coffee, as I sat, vaguely touched at his concern.

"Soppy git." I stuck out my tongue at him.

"Yeah, well. I've got few friends as it is, I'd rather not have to try and round up another one this late in life."

Technically we weren't just 'friends'. At one point, we'd made a go at the relationship thing, but we found it too formal. Now we're just friends who casually hook up when they're single, horny, or I'll be honest with you, bored. I knew his dirty little secrets. He knew mine. Somehow, all that gets encompassed by the term 'friends.' The word didn't seem big enough.

I pushed my plate aside and finished off my tea. I went to grab my purse out of my bag, when he pulled out his wallet and placed enough money to cover both of us on the stained gingham. I glared daggers at him, which rolled off his bland expression like water.

"Ax, we've been through this. I'm not that bad off. You know I don't like you paying for me.

He shrugged, conveying his usual argument at me without need for words. That he liked to take care of me. That he liked seeing me eat. That he had been brought up to look out for those less fortunate. (He did normally say this smiling, so I was never too insulted when it was applied to me.)

I grabbed my purse, and out of a fit of stubborness, left some money for a tip. I grabbed my bag, thanked the tired looking waitress at the desk and walked out, holding the door out for him as he followed behind me.

We both winced as the cold wind and rain hit us, buffeted along with passers by before Ax pulled us over to cower under a nearby bus shelter. Winters in England made you fondly pray for Summer.

I watched all the people pass by, milling around shop fronts, from every walk of life and the sudden realisation I was as insignificant as an ant. I had achieved barely anything with my life. I'd lost my family from a freak accident. I didn't have many friends, aside from Axel. Sure I had made good money whilst I was still working. But I'd left University with hopes and dreams. Where did they go? Lost in thought, I barely registered the nudge at my elbow and I looked up at him. (he was 6"2. It wasn't hard.) "Oi you. Stop getting depressed." He really did know me too well.

"I'll talk to you later." I tried to smile at him and held out my arms for a hug. He grabbed me, lifting me up off my feet, me squealing all the time, and popped me down. His arms were still round mine, and I could feel body heat through my coat. I felt the urge to invite him round later, rather than just hear his voice over the telephone. It had been a while.

"Talk to you later" I said, wistfully as he turned round and headed for where he left his car. Fortunately, my flat was within walking distance from the cafe, and within running distance if it's pissing it down with rain. I came to the front door, panting, and pre-thinking had me with my key in my hand to unlock the door, to save me scurrying through my bag.

I opened the door and plonked everything down on the table, narrowly avoiding stepping on my cat, as he wound his way around my ankles. Titan was a ginger stray I'd adopted when I'd moved to the city after my parents passed. He kept my lonely nights from getting too lonely, and kept the mice down that infested our block of flats.

I made my way to the kitchen, and after feeding Titan, sat down in the living room to carry on with my artwork. I'd been working on a little series of cartoons on the side about cats, mainly because I had a perfect model to hand. Funnily enough, our love of all things 'cat' (or at least 'cat' themed) was something me and Axel had in common. We had laughed about getting a cat together before, and Ax was a firm favourite with Titan. Anyway, afternoon turned to evening, and I'd worked on the comic so much I'd forgotten the time until the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Morg! You're going to love me." I heard Axel's deep voice over the phone. "The lab is still after test subjects and you're in the right age bracket to qualify. All you need to do is turn up tomorrow at 12, fill in some paperwork and you're good to go."

"Brilliant. I do get paid right?"

"About a grand. Should be enough to keep you in cat food for a little while. Oh, and Morg? They're saying this test may have some funny side effects. I'll give you a lift up there, if that's alright? I've got some holiday time to use up and it would save you having to take the bus if you're drugged up or something."

"Funny effects?" I said, starting to worry. "Temporary right?"

"I don't know Morg. They didn't provide me with much insight into what was being tested. But I know that anything funny would have to wear off eventually.

"Great ...so no concrete information of what will actually be done to me." I wasn't unduly worried and grasping at straws at this point.

"Sorry. Not my department. They tend to keep to themselves. " I hear his worry over the phone "Morg, you can back out of this if you don't feel comfortable. I only got the information for the trial, I didn't actually name any names."

"No. I'm fine. It's easy money. I'm not scared to try anything new, remember?"

He laughed "Yeah, but this is a classified drug trial, not a nutella and cheese sandwich. If you're definitely sure about this..."

"Yes I'm sure. See you at 12. Have a good evening"

"Goodnight Morg. Ring me in the morning if you change your mind."

Ax picked me up next morning, bringing breakfast with him in the form of a pain au chocolat from the nearby bakery. I swung into the passenger seat of his old reliable Fiesta. "How are you feeling? He asked, driving out towards the research centre.

"Have to admit, didn't get much sleep."

"You'll be okay. Nothing permanent, and you'll be happier with that cheque in your hand. "

"Fair enough."

We sat in silence for the rest of the journey. My mind drifted back to last night, and the reason for my lack of sleep.

I'd gotten out my battery operated friend to try and calm my nerves,I didn't mean to, but I'd ended up fantasising Axel and I, him going down on me (he'd always been pretty damn good with his tongue) to him flipping me over and fucking me hard from behind. It was a very vivid fantasy, imagining feeling his long hair spread across my thighs as he ate me out, to the feel of his cock stretching me as he pushed inside. I couldn't get this fantasy out of my head, even now. But sadly, I'd been unable to come. I was frustrated as hell.

This underlying feeling of need wasn't helped by the fact he smelled really good in the car seat next to me. He was dressed in his work suit, and I looked over, taking in his pale features and lithe body.

He caught my look. "What? Do I have pastry flakes around my mouth or something?"

"No. You're fine." I smiled at him. I carried on, and with no ulterior motive I asked "Ax, what are you doing tonight?"

He pondered. "Catching up on TV. Not much. Why?" He asked, quizzically.

"Can I come round to yours after this? Just chill, watch a movie? Just, y'know, I'd rather not die alone from some weird freaky science experiment gone wrong, if it comes to it."

Cue the eye roll. "You're welcome to hang out with me after this, you know that. I could never turn you away, even if you were to go all Walking Dead on me.

"That wouldn't bother you. I know you have replica swords from Comicon. You'd just behead me."

"Yeah, well. I'm always a fan of being prepared."

He put on his indicators as we pulled in towards the lab, a big ugly industrial building on the outskirts of the city. I'd been there before briefly, mainly sitting in the car waiting for Ax to come out. But never inside. Tingles of apprehension started to bubble in the pit of my stomach and I felt myself start to feel the nerves I'd been bravely hiding all this time. Ax noticed that look. "It's not too late to back out now. We can leave."

"No. I'm thinking of the money. I'm thinking I can finally buy Titan that new litter tray. And I need new art pens. And new shoes..."

This shopping induced monologue kept me going through the security at the front desk, up the lift to the third floor, but it gave out when Ax introduced me to the people who would be conducting the experiment.

"Morgan, this is Doctor Pierce. Doctor Pierce, this is Morgan Le Fey, she would like to be part of the study you're conducting today.

Doctor Pierce was a tall, well built lady with long blond hair pulled back into a chignon. She looked very competent, professional and the complete opposite of my bedraggled self. I think I'd managed to brush my long length of red hair this morning, but I was wearing my usual winter uniform of baggy jumper, skinny jeans and biker boots.

"Welcome Morgan. As Axel said, my name is Doctor Pierce, I'm lead scientist in this particular experiment. Would you like to step this way?" She turned towards the corridor she'd come down, and looked back at Axel. "I'm sorry we can't invite friends or family members to come with you, due to the nature of our experiment. Axel, if you'd like to wait in the corridor, I don't think the procedure should take too long." Axel smiled reassuringly at me as I turned to follow the Doc towards the testing facility.

We walked down past a number of doors, all empty if the windows in the doors were anything to go by. Nothing too out of the ordinary, no covert Hulk-style genetic mutation testings, no screaming and no anal probing. See, I scolded myself, this is why you shouldn't read all those comic books you do. It makes your imagination go loopy.

We stopped outside a door marked 'Testing Suite'.

"I'll take you in here in just a moment, but I'll just need you to fill in some forms, just to confirm a few details about yourself. If you could step this way, please?"

She opened the door opposite and led the way through. I entered into your average run-of-the-mill doctors office. (complete with replica skeleton.)

She gestured to the seat in front of the desk as she took the seat behind it, pulling out a clip board, with some official looking paperwork attached, from the desk drawer as I sat down.

"Right, if you could just read through this, make sure you don't have any of the diseases or symptoms on the top of the sheet." I glanced quickly, and confirmed that no, I hadn't. I read through the rest of the paperwork but there was nothing there that would disqualify me from applying.

"It looks like I'm good to go." She handed me a pen and pointed to the last paragraph. "If you could just sign at the bottom, and fill the bank details required then we'll be all set. Is there anyone you'd like me to contact in the event an incident occurs?" Her face softened at my look of panic. "Only for procedure, don't worry. We've never had an incident occur before."

"Axel. He's my ride back."

"Perfect. Let's begin then." She said, with a smile, leading me back across the hall.

Opening the door to the testing facility, it looked strangely...normal. I don't know what I expected, but I wasn't expecting something that looked like your normal GP's clinic. There was a changing screen in the corner, and an examination table in the centre of the room.

She motioned towards the screen in the corner. "If you could get behind the screen and strip off all your clothing, there is a robe provided for your modesty. Just leave your clothes and shoes on the chair, we shouldn't be too long."

I walked around the screen as directed, sat on the chair and began removing everything. I put on the paper thin robe, which did about as much for my modesty as it did for my warmth, and I nervously peeked my head round the screen.

"If you're done Miss LeFay, if you'd lie up on the table and we'll get started." I padded across the cold tile towards her, and pushed myself up into the table, trying to maintain my dignity as I swung my legs onto the vinyl top. She'd placed a thin sheet of paper over the length and I heard it rustle near my head, as I made myself comfortable lying on the flat surface.

I saw her calm face appear in my view of the ceiling "Before we start proceedings I'm going to give you a quick overview of what will happen today. It's going to be a little unusual as the idea of this technology is not within common knowledge, but the paperwork you signed is, as you realise, a non-disclosure agreement. That will mean that what has been tested within these rooms cannot make it into the press. It is our imperative that we keep it confidential."

She held up the syringe in her hand, and I noticed the silvery sheen of the liquid inside.

"The drug you will receive today is not a drug, so much as a sentient piece of hardware, in the form of nanobots. These nanobots work within the limits of your body to alter and affect its physical appearance."

I looked at her blankly, fairly sure I hadn't misheard her.

"You mean..." I stuttered, not sure if I was understanding this correctly "it could cause me to change my appearance at will?"

"Within limits. I mean, it couldn't cause you to say, grow to the size of a dinosaur or grow an extra head. But expanding the parameters of the human physiology shouldn't be a problem. Currently it's testing for military purposes, but as it's a non-invasive procedure the possibilities of this could affect surgery, both reconstructive and cosmetic."

She began to swab a cool liquid to the insides of my elbows and my temples, attaching small sensors. " I'm assuming that Axel is staying with you after he has driven you home?" I nodded my consent. "As he's a member of this facility, he has his own form of non-disclosure. If you wish to discuss with him, as a form of a debrief if you find this procedure unsettling, that is within your rights to do so."

She brought over a second syringe, different to the first. "This is a sedative. It should keep the physiological effects, should I say, of the nanobots change muted to a certain extent." I felt the slight sting in my arm from the injection site and felt a distinct spaced out feeling as it started to take hold. "We want you to experience the changes, but not be too overwhelmed by them."

She brought over the final syringe, and I closed my eyes. "Just relax" she said, putting a comforting arm on my shoulder. "This won't hurt a bit."

I definitely felt the needle this time, and I hissed but willed myself to relax. I heard her voice through the tingling sensation building up inside me. "Just relax and breathe. It takes a little time for them to incorporate into your system, but once it's settled down you shouldn't notice it at all."

The tingling sensation began to climb inside of me, and the only way I could describe it was similar to arousal, muted and dulled by the chemicals in my system. Slowly it settled, bringing me back down.

"Now that the nano-bots have integrated themselves within your physiology, we now need to place a small transmitter near the back of your ear, so if you could turn your head..." I twisted my neck to look at the left hand workspace. "...perfect." I felt her swab my neck, cleaning the area. "You'll just feel a slight sting. The transmitter has microneedles that embed themselves in the surface of your skin." She attached what felt like a plastic patch just underneath my hairline and I felt the sting, almost like a rash had appeared in my neck. "In simple terms, the patch interprets your thoughts, to help control the nanobots changes to your body. It does need to be switched on, which is a simple tap to the top left hand corner. You should be able to feel a slight depression." My hand went up to the patch on my neck, feeling the slight dip in the patch. I pressed it lightly.

She flicked a switch on the side of the table and I looked up - a flat screen panel was revealed on the ceiling. Another button got pushed and the screen flickered to life.

"The nanobots do need a focus." She explained, pointing at the screen. "I'm going to show you a series of images, animals for the nanobots to try and replicate within the constraints of human physiology. I need you to concentrate on the images and the attribute I'd like you to try and emulate."

She clicked onto the first image, a picture of a dog.

"A dog has a fantastic sense of smell, they possess up to 300 million olfactory receptors in their noses, compared to about six million in ours. And the part of a dog's brain that is devoted to analyzing smells is, proportionally speaking, 40 times greater than ours. I'd like to see how your body interprets this.

I concentrated on the image, focusing on my sense of smell, I felt the nanobots surge in my body, almost like the point before an orgasm and suddenly I was able to smell...well...everything. The harsh astringent smell of the antiseptic floor cleaner. The smell of the cigarette smoke outside the slightly open window.. I even recognized the scent of Doctor Pierce's perfume, only because it was the same one I wore on occasion. Doctor Pierce led me through a series of 'smell tests' for lack of a better term. And it carried on through other image tests - next one was a bat, which was my first physical change, and I felt my ears lengthen and distort, and every noise I made bounced off and around the small examination room. It followed on with lizards, chameleons which left my skin tingling as it tried to camouflage itself to the vinyl bed top, geckos that, as Doctor Pierce made me test, made my hands large suction cups, making a lovely popping noise when I pushed my palms on the examination table.