As a trial run through the program, Jeff thought it would be humorous to see himself with a bull's tail, so he chose that. He thought the program was a biology simulator, that would allow a person to create virtual organisms with custom DNA patterns and observe their development, hopefully from a single cell. After all, people aren't allowed to experiment with actually human DNA, were they?
He decided "morphing duration" controlled how much of the organisms development would be simulated. Setting it for a few weeks might let you see a well-developed embryo. Apparently, the program would even let him watch the lifetime development of a spliced organism with his own DNA.
Impressed, he clicked the "lifetime" option in the settings and clicked "Save." A message popped up that said "Click save again within one hour to confirm your choice." He rolled his eyes and clicked "Save" again, not bothering to read the fine print. Why does everything you install make you confirm everything over and over again. He just hoped it wouldn't take an hour for him to see the organism.
A spinning hourglass appeared on the screen. He began to wonder if maybe the human/bull DNA was too complex to simulate for a lifetime. After two or three minutes, became more impatient, started to get uncomfortable and shifted in his chair. Soon it felt like he was sitting on something hard, so he got up and adjusted his pants, still looking at the computer screen. Before he could sit back down though, he felt an intense pressure and growing pain. Something big seemed to be bunched up in the seat of his underwear! Pulling down his pants and underwear and gasped when something long and brown flopped out; there was a new weight on his spine as the thing fell down to hang behind him.
His heart pounded in his chest as he got a good look the bull's tail swaying between his knees. It was around two and a half feet long, with a shaggy tassel which went down another six inches, grazing the ground. He couldn't believe it! He'd thought it was just a simulation. Despite all of the transformation-oriented language, it had never occurred to him that this program would actually give him a tail.
He picked it up in his hands and gently pulled it around in front of him, marveling at the feelings from his new appendage. He could feel vertebrae moving under the fur-covered skin as the tail bent around his waist. He waved his hand and felt the tail swing up and down in his grasp. Then he stopped and just held it steady. Remember that he could move the thing, he made his tail swing itself out of his hands and his spine felt the swaying weight again. Looking down at his pants around his feet and wanting to put them back on, he realized there was no way they would fit now. Ever.
His heart sank as reality set in. He had chosen the "lifetime" option--and confirmed it without thinking. He was now stuck with an animal tail for the rest of his life. Fear rushed through him and he felt his tail duck forward between his legs. He desparately tried to pull up his pants but it was hard to control his tail when he was this scared. He grabbed it and forced it down his pants leg. When it finally worked, they hid the tail, but he couldn't sit down without a sharp pain as it bent between the chair and his knees. He had to take them off again.
Jeff took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. He still had the Chronovirac. Maybe he could use it to his advantage somehow. There were size options--maybe he could shrink the tail. He could change his gender--he wasn't sure he wanted to do that, but a nice spacious dress might be more comfortable with this new anatomy. He had also seen an "alter reality" option. He hadn't paid attention to it before, but did that mean it could literally change people and places around him? Maybe even his bull tail could be considered normal?