Max gripped the handle of the warehouse door, gathering his courage. School was out, not just for the summer this time, but for good. He had just barely managed to graduate with a 2.0 average, and even that had been a partial gift from a science teacher who didn't want to see him yet again in summer school. Unfortunately, he not only lacked brains, but brawn - at 5-foot six and not much over 120 pounds, the skinny young man was often mistaken for a Junior High student.
So why was he even trying to apply for a truck loading job here at Atlas Shipping? He looked at the logo painted on the door he was still afraid to enter. It showed a heavily muscled draft horse morph shouldering a giant globe - an equine version of the classic Greek Atlas. The logo was more than just artwork - every employee of Atlas Shipping wore some form of horse Animcostume, one of the anthropomorphic products of Transanimal Tech. Even after thirty years, the bio-suits were both expensive and still somewhat rare, at least in the lower-middle-class neighborhood Max had grown up in. Which made Atlas Shipping's total commitment to them both unique and intriguing. Especially for Max - if he could convince them to give him a try, he might end the day as an 8-foot tall draft horse morph capable of lift a half-ton with ease.
Sighing, he pushed the door open and went inside. The first thig that hit him was the smell - it wasn't bad, just strange. This is what a stable smells like, he thought. Almost like the locker room at school, but with a dry scent of straw or hay underneath. The entrance room was large and clean, with some simple chairs and a table covered with outdated magazines. He had to smile when he saw copies of EQUUS and HORSE AND RIDER.
"Mr. Logan?"
He nearly jumped out of his skin at the loud, braying voice that came from the side. Jerking around, he saw a humanoid donkey wearing a loose tent-like dress. From the pitch of the voice and clothing he guessed it was a female. "Uh, yes... m'am.?"
""A bit early. Excellent! We like that trait." Was she smiling? It was hard to read the animal features. "I trust you read all of the agreements, regulations, and requirements online?"
"Um, yes m'am." In truth, Max had just skimmed over the multiple screens of legal disclaimers and clicked the 'AGREE' button. Who read all the fine print anyway?
"Excellent. I just need you to sign a hard copy for the files." She went over to a large, battered desk that sat in the corner and pointed at a thick stack of papers. Her hands were three-fingered, and ended in hooflets. "Disclaimers, waivers, employment contract, benefits statement. All the usual things."
Max went over at stared at the stack of forms in dismay. It would take hours to go through all that! "Ummm, can I just sign?"
This time he was sure the donkey-woman smiled. "Of course! Just initial at the yellow highlights, and sign at the green ones." Even with this shortcut, it took a while before Max finally set down the pen. The donkey woman scanned the forms quickly, finnisg one place he had forgotten to initial, and then nodded in satisfaction. "All done. All that is left is for you to pick your new body."
Max felt his pulse quicken. "You mean I get a choice?" He'd expected to be stuck in a donkey suit like the woman's, or maybe a pony due to his small stature. "Could I be one of the big drafters?"
"Of course!" She started moving toward a large door in the back of the room. He was aware of the solid clop of hooves, and realized she was equine under the dress. "You do know the trade-off, right? Majority Rule?"
He nodded and swallowed nervously. Animcostumes were usually scaled to fit the wearer, rather than mimic the size of the natural animal. The 'costume' was actually a synthetic flesh 'suit' of sorts that literally bonded to the wearer and tied into their nervous system through use of nanite technology. The costume also carried mental programming with it to allow easy adjustment by the user. As the relative size of the costume increased in proportion of the mass of the user, the physical and mental traits of the costume began to have more dominance. In one famous case from more than a decade ago, a scientist had decided to explore the Artic Circle in a Polar Bear Animcostume. He had disappeared until more than two years later, when a polar bear was captured for tagging as part of a wildlife preservation effort. Although there was still enough of the costume's ID to determine it was the missing scientist, the animsuit had actually converted the former human into an actual animal. He had been far more polar bear than human to start with, and the genetic manipulation had been allowed to go unchecked. Other cases included people who had chosen to become endangered species, and even one woman who had become a collie to start in a TV show.
"There you are." The donkey-woman led them around a corner and stopped. Max's jaw dropped. In front of him was a rack holding huge animsuits - he recognized the tan and white Clydesdale, a black Shire with white feathering, a large mule, a donkey not much bigger than the woman, and even a zebra. They were all anthropomorphic versions, of course. "The smaller ones are less likely to have side effects. I will tell you that the Shire and Clyde bring bonus pay, both for the higher risk and the far greater amount of work they can manage." She turned to leave. "You will have to strip to put one on. Whatever you choose, it will be yours until termination of your contract." She left while Max stared at the costumes. There was no need to wait, though, He had known what he wanted to pick before he came here - he just hadn't thought he would actually get a choice.