Times of Austerity Ch. 01

Elisabeth noted the sly sideways glance towards Kari at the mention of canines.

"Three minutes seems like a long time," suddenly she realised that although she had been under the attention of the professionals in the make-up room, there was still an irrational paranoia in her own mind that she somehow did not look right. Elisabeth leaned forwards off the couch, rummaging inside her handbag for a compact mirror, convinced in the most irrational corner of her mind that her face had been secretly painted like that of a clown and the rest of the crew in the studio were in on the joke.

"Oh it's not always three minutes exactly," Nina had deposited the notes on the massive circular coffee table in front of her as she looked down on Elisabeth, her legs crossed in a posture that managed to convey all the disdain that she had shown towards her colleague. "Could be as little as twenty seconds, and that's why it always pays to be prepared before you're actually sitting out here in front of the cameras..."

Elisabeth waited for a moment; sure that Nina had just paused for some unknown reason and would get back to making her point once whatever had stopped her in her tracks was passed. But there was something in her expression only a second later that changed the aspect that she presented almost completely. Where before there had been the haughty and superior cast to her features, not even deigning to bother with moving more than her eyebrows to make her meaning clear, now a total transformation was in the process of occurring. Later the fact that it had all taken place in the shortest span of time imaginable would become clear to Elisabeth, but there and then she fell into one of those strange pockets of time in which a single event seemed to be stretched out so that it could be appreciated simply for the sake of posterity.

The new expression that took shape upon Nina's face was one of surprise, at least on the surface it met all the requirements to be read as the realisation of a state of affairs or salient fact that was previously unknown to the subject in question. Though there was more to the thing than would have been required in the case of simply slipping on a wet floor or being shocked by someone who suddenly jumped out of a closet. Mixed in with the basics was a deeper and more fundamental shock, more akin to the realisation of a cold and unexpected hand being felt upon the nape of the neck and from behind than anything else. Her eyes, still supposedly pointed towards Elisabeth, were nevertheless now so distant that she might have been many miles away in terms of what was going on inside her head.

Quite unsure of both what was happening and what the best course of action would be, Elisabeth glanced over to where Kari sat in the hope of finding some clue from someone who might have been supposed to know the woman at least a little better.

But there was no help to be had there either.

Kari was as still as Nina, though her expression was more one of physical reaction to whatever the cause of their apparent paralysis might have been. Where Nina had been caught in the middle of leaning forward to speak to Elisabeth, Kari on the other hand was set quite far back on her section of the couch. For all that her head might have been thrown back a little by the effect of what held her rigid, her hands had gone immediately to her lap, as if there were some clue there to identifying the source of the problem.

It occurred to Elisabeth only in passing that there might have been an argument for at least one or more of the crew to have come running onto the set, supposing that someone amongst them had to be trained in basic first aid. But she was far too swept up in the moment to be able to even think about calling for help right there and then, and so the matter simply went to the back of her mind. Instead she made to get up and collect herself, hoping that in the act of doing so she could think of a better means to figure out just what had happened to the two women with whom she had been unhappily chatting only a few minutes before.

That might be a good place to start, she thought, as she noticed what had appeared behind her.

Emerging from a previously concealed hole in the cushion upon which she had been sat was an object that she could not even begin to imagine the origin of, so unexpected and out of context did it seem to be. Made of what she supposed was a material that either resembled or else actually was smooth plastic, it extended like a finger from the inside of the couch to a height of perhaps six or seven inches before ending in a rounded tip. A shade of white in colour that tended towards grey, Elisabeth could not help being put in mind of the kind of thing she had seen gracing the shelves of adult-oriented shops on the few occasions she had visited such places.

Still crouched on the floor in front of the couch, she reached out, almost unconsciously to touch the thing, jumping herself when it seemed to move in reaction to her efforts, snaking around and coming closer as if attracted by her own movement. There was little sound as it did so, and its method of moving reminded her of a gadget that she had seen in a spy film, which snaked under doors and around corners like a serpent. She soon backed into the coffee table and found herself sat upon its surface as the strange device stopped just short of the edge of the sofa, seemingly unable to stretch itself any further.

Her heart beating with the shock and puzzlement of the whole situation, Elisabeth remained where she was at least for the time being, safe from the attentions of the thing that had emerged from where she was sitting on the sofa and trying to collect her wits before she decided what to do next.

It did not take a genius for deduction to guess that the state in which the other two women were currently trapped was rather a lot to do with the bizarre addition to the studio furniture, and as she was no innocent to the more extreme aspects of human behaviour, Elisabeth was quick to imagine what exactly happened to them. The same as would have happened to herself, had she not chosen that particular moment to go searching through her handbag, a thought that gave her relief as well as a sense of growing horror as to just what was going on here. For some reason the intention had been to get those probes – she could think of no better term to describe them – inside the bodies of all three of the unsuspecting women sitting on that couch. And she was quite sure that she knew which of the available routes the probes had taken, based on the expressions frozen upon their faces.

Elisabeth looked around, staring for the first time to become concerned by the fact that no one had emerged from behind the cameras to offer a hand or explain what was going on. She might have been quicker to come to the inevitable conclusion that soon followed such a thought, had there not been the distraction of first Nina and then Kari beginning to move once more.

It began as nothing more than Nina lurching backwards so that her posture was similar to the one which Kari had been frozen since the very start, back against the couch, head slightly tilted back, but with her hands cast out to either side rather than in her lap. But then both women jerked slightly in their seats, as though jolted by a small electric shock, which was soon followed by another and then another, each seeming to increase a little in length and intensity.

The impression of their being electrocuted was only made worse by the rigidity that seemed to have taken hold of their limbs at the same time, legs stiffening until they were pointed straight down from their bodies without the hope of bending at the knee. Such was the force of her lower limbs assuming this strange position that Nina's shoes – a rather nice pair of expensive high heels, Elisabeth was ashamed to notice – went flying off her feet. On this occasion at least, Kari's concession to her own height of wearing more sensible flats meant that they remained in place, even as her feet pointed downwards, as though she were a restrained ballerina still trying desperately to go en pointe.

Elisabeth fought the irrational urge to burst out laughing at the sight, so much did the sight of them remind her of two dolls, awkwardly stiff limbs arranged to allow them to sit as best they could upon a piece of furniture intended for bodies capable of far greater articulation. But on another level entirely, she was aware that the two women were being most likely being tortured somehow, stimulated against their will and to what end she could not tell.

The answer came in a most unexpected manner, as she heard a sound that reminded her of nothing other than that of flesh being torn, rendered apart against the way in which it was intended to fit naturally together. Elisabeth knew the sound so well on account of the memories she could not seem to let go of from a traffic accident in which she had been involved in her teens, hearing a friend who had not been as luck as she being pulled in different directions during the chaos of the collision.

But here there did not seem to be anything in the process of being torn apart.

Instead there was definite movement beneath the skirts of the business suits that the women wore, the fact that they were cut to the knee and not more adventurous meaning that what was actually happening remained hidden from view. Elisabeth looked from Nina to Kari and then back again, sure that there was the impression of something making progress from the region of their abdomens and steadily downwards.

If there had been something she expected to see emerge from beneath the hem of Nina's skirt, it was without doubt not the silky black material of her underwear. But all the same, there it was, bunched up and almost lost in the mess of her tights as they too were forced down her legs by whatever was coming after them. But the second that there was the chance to see just what was pushing them forwards, it became clear that it was not some alien thing that had come crawling down from Nina's waist, rather it was her legs themselves that were responsible. The awful tearing sound was on account of flesh, as Elisabeth had suspected, but not of it being rent apart as much as knitted together, as she could now see that the reason Nina's tights and knickers had been removed was that there was simply nowhere else for them to go. She watched as the two distinct limbs merged before her eyes into one, the space between them simply ceasing to exist as the very stuff of her thighs and then knees became united.

This alone would have been enough to make her doubt that she was not simply hallucinating or even awake at all, until she caught sight of the light reflecting off the scales that were appearing on the woman's altered legs, following the progress of the transformation as though someone were scattering a covering of iridescent confetti from an unseen in the lighting gallery above.

Elisabeth glanced over to where Kari was likewise rigid and immobile, and was greeted with almost the same unnerving spectacle. In other circumstances she might have been almost amused to discover that the taller woman had been wearing what looked like a very daring combination of hold-ups and dangerously provocative knickers, but under the current circumstances they were merely details of the disturbing and unfathomable whole.

In the time it had taken her to note Kari's situation, Elisabeth saw when she turned back that Nina's own change had advanced a little more quickly. If there was a reason that it should be so, she was unable to imagine what it might be, save for the simple fact that the latter was of a notably smaller build and therefore maybe there was less of her to be affected by whatever was happening to them. The thought occurred to her, in an instance that made her stomach almost lurch at the realisation, that had she been sitting on the sofa when the probes – that term again, as though they were part of some legitimate and logical process – emerged, she may well have succumbed yet more quickly thanks to her relatively petite stature.

She was forced to put the though aside as she watched the continued changes to Nina's lower half, which seemed a better term now that it was apparent her legs were disappearing with such apparent speed. Her calves were now in the act of being absorbed into whatever that portion of her body was becoming, her knees already having undergone the same fusing and the scales were not far behind, so that even before they reached her heels and covered the whole of her former legs save for the extremities, Elisabeth was able to make a guess at what was actually happening.

It was an insane thing to even consider, but then what could be more crazy than the idea of coming onto the breakfast show and being caught up in some strange plot to insert secret probes into the bodies of the women sitting on the famous red couch before most people in the country had even woken up?

By the time the shape of Nina's feet had been absorbed by the advancing transformation, there was no need for Elisabeth to speculate as to what would happen next.

The broad fin that spread out from the end of Nina's body like some organic parasol confirmed her suspicions, and she noted a similar sound of what must have been expanding cartilage from Kari's general direction mere seconds later.

They may have been faces made familiar by appearing on television almost every morning, been speaking to her only moments before the whole thing began, and perhaps most cosmetic of all, they may still have been wearing the smart and yet slightly daring clothes that suggested they were thoroughly modern and professional members of the journalistic community.

But there was also no arguing with either the striking red tail that emerged from Nina's skirt or the powerful-looking silver one that accounted for Kari's body below the waist.

They were both mermaids, as sure as they were sitting upon the couch.

Perhaps the effect of such supposedly mythical creatures existing in an everyday setting was somewhat ruined by the way their underwear was still tangled around their caudal fins, but they were mermaids all the same.

Neither woman seemed to have recovered the ability to speak, simply becoming limp once more as their altered bodies sagged into their seats. Elisabeth considered trying to slap life back into one or both of them, but quickly decided that she was simply not equipped to deal with even one hysterical news anchor demanding to know why she found herself transformed into a zoological curiosity, let alone two at the same time.

She weighed her options for a moment, and then came to what she thought was an inevitable conclusion, under the rather unusual circumstances.

Elisabeth calmly took a deep breath, stood up and then ran out of the studio as fast as she was able.

The men who had been watching from the corners of the studio and the production gallery did not feel the need to hurry out onto the floor once the process was complete. Even though they were dressed as members of the crew that would normally have been working behind the scenes to ensure that the breakfast programme went out without a hitch, there really was no one else who could walk in on them and so they were inclined to take their time as they went about their duties.

One of the intended targets had already made an attempt to flee the scene, but that was not going to ruin the mood of the man who was in charge of the operation. He knew that all of the exits had been sealed before things began and she would be found sooner or later, and so he declined to worry about her for the moment.

He took particular amusement from the fact that he was himself dressed as a lowly runner, making the most of the way in which he had always looked younger than his years. In such a position he was able to be everywhere he could possibly need to be and yet never seem out of place or be likely to get turned away from a corner where a particularly interesting conversation was being held. A few days ago for example, it had allowed him to size up the unusual circumstance of there being three particularly diverse and interesting specimens together on the couch at the very start of the show on one morning. From there it was quite easy to schedule the erection of the dummy set and divert the required personnel to make the operation swing into life.

Though the original idea had come down to him from on high, the man in charge liked to think of himself as a believer in the cause and fully behind its execution. He saw it as a neat little package that served all the interested parties very well indeed, the company for which he worked and the network with whom they had struck the deal.

Times were hard, and the broadcaster was being hounded by government ministers to relinquish ever more of its once sacred claim to the licence fee and seek funding from other areas. At the same time there had been a terrible stink kicked up in the press about the generous packages offered to staff who left, golden handshakes that seemed excessive in a time of austerity. So the network was stuck between a rock and a hard place, forced to economise in radical new ways whilst still being at the mercy of high-earning stars who retained lawyers determined to ensure their clients made a tidy sum when they moved on to pastures new.

What, one of the senior executives in his own company had opined to a member of the network board at an industry dinner, would their interest be in a means of making such problematic individuals simply disappear and receiving a considerable sum in the process?

The network had been offended at first, then gone quiet on the matter for some time, before a discreet message was sent to say that they were at least willing to consider being talked round to agreeing in principal.

Nothing could be allowed to leak out, as it was all flagrantly illegal and possibly even an action that could have been classed as both abduction and enslavement, but these were cool-headed businessmen and there was a deal to be made that could benefit both parties. The network needed to be rid of the problem personalities and the company offered a means of doing so as well as a payment in return. What would happen to the individuals in question, the network was keen to be excused the exact details, so long as they were gone for good and there would be no comeback.

The company had been doing good business when it came to supplying the increasingly exotic demands of the secretive entertainment industry that existed underground and behind closed doors. In an age where genetic manipulation and extreme body modification were far more advanced than the average person in the street could have imagined, there was a steady demand for something more than mere human bodies and it was growing constantly. Of course there were examples of people who had quite legitimately signed contracts to become such things as mermaids and centaurs, making serious amounts of money into the bargain, even those who had done so on their own initiative to carve out a niche in the world of adult entertainment.

But there was always the more elicit end of the market to think about, the kind of area in which it was more important who the person in the role of the entertainment was than exactly what they were doing. The company was not in the habit of deluding itself in these matters however, aware that the most prestigious names were out of their league in terms of expense and also best avoided for the want of escaping the inconvenient gaze of the mainstream media.

And that was where the familiar faces of the network came into the equation.

Many were recognisable to those who watched them on television almost every day, and some attracted a small following in their own right, admirers who elevated them to the status of minor sex symbols with the added advantage of regular exposure week in and week out. These were the kind of names that the company was interested in, famous enough to be in demand and yet not globally recognised. Who would be aroused to suspicion if say a news anchor or presenter from a children's show disappeared from the screen? Such people were replaced regularly or left of their own accord to pursue different avenues in their careers. Who would assume that there was anything untoward when they failed to return to the small screen afterwards?