Two months ago, Howard Johnson saw a way out of his normal routine when he entered an office drawing to try and win himself a free vacation. At first he hadn't heard where it would be, but then information began to trickle in about it being a month to the brand new North American version of the Transformation Park that had been so popular in Germany and other European countries. His hopes of being one to win were low, but he submitted his name anyway. Finding himself less interested in the destination itself and more concerned with being away from friends and family for a whole month of paid vacation time, Mr. Johnson prayed that he would be chosen as the winner.
Howard worked for the Stonewall Chronicle, the newspaper for Stonewall, Idaho (as so few papers even remained in circulation this late in the twenty-first century). A manager in charge of internet subscriptions and advertising, Howard made a good very decent income. It allowed him to provide for his wife of ten years and his child of eight. It was a plain and simple life until She came into it.
She was Amy Winehouse, a woman of African-American descent that had been assigned by Howard's boss to be his newest secretary. Howard's existing secretary had gone missing and presumed dead through foul-play as best as the police of Stonewall could figure. It was an unfortunate situation as Howard and Daniel had been good friends since high school and it was Howard who had gotten him the job. Needing someone to replace him as fast as possible, Howard's boss Willard Mercer assigned Amy over from a department that was being downsized anyway.
Amy was a Home-wrecker, plain and simple. Her life since becoming Howard's secretary involved doing her work in whatever way would make it appear to the entire office that she was moving in on Howard. She always timed her actions and words in such a way that Howard would be seen in a compromising position to her. Eventually, during a "take your daughter to work day", Amy made so much a show in front of Howard's little girl Tammy that she told the innocent story back to her mother who promptly hired a private investigator.
Thus Howard's life took a turn for the worse. Amy was so skilled that when he had finally chosen a moment to inform his boss that he was going to file sexual harassment charges (something he'd been reluctant to do, as a man), he had been called to his boss' office about that very matter… reported on by Amy herself.
The P.I. his wife had hired surely had enough to go on, and the suit filed on him was just the icing on the cake. Regardless of how much he loved his wife, Howard found himself sleeping on the couch now… an innocent man in all of this. Just before he was to leave for his trip to try and get away from it all… to have himself time to think… his wife filed for divorce against him. He was told that she wouldn't move forward on the paperwork too fast until he returned from his trip because she still loved him (so she said), but Howard knew how that would end. The courts almost always sided with the mother when it came to custody of the child.
So, while Howard had never been a Furry by his determination, he'd also not been turned off by the concept of being a human and animal hybrid. The US Government had eventually succeeded in agreeing upon legislation to allow them to be accepted in the United States, and though investigations showed a few horror stories here and there, overall the scientific process of the whole thing really seemed to stand on its own two legs (or four legs, depending). After all, with the removal of 'forced response' (female heat, and the male's drive to satiate it) in breeding of the American animal versions of the TF Park, acceptance of it as a getaway location had slowly gone increased during the three years it had been open.
With patrons returning with a greater tie to nature, a lot more green energy legislation had been passed. Electric cars became more populous, and pollution had lowered to the point where an overheating of the globe followed by a new ice age became a fear of only recent memory. Tree-hugging hippies took on a new and humors connotation, and the park was known to take in repeat visitors during the time since their doors opened, as well as the trial period before that. The truth was that there were as many new stories to be told about their experiences as their were about the science, and some had sold those stories off to publishers as both fiction and fact.
Howard found himself as a man of reasonable standing in an unreasonable situation. His wife, whom he loved, believed he was an adulterer. His little girl wouldn't likely understand what she had seen until she was much older, but by then his wife would have filled her head with stories of half-truths… and her hate of her father would grow as she became a teenager. Amy was a bitch, and she had taken his life from him. Why? Perhaps she was looking to have his job, or maybe she just did it for fun. Some people did.
He stood there in the "Changing Room" with the woman who had greeted him standing somewhere outside. Naked, he ran his hands uneasily over his arms, looking at the very simple options there upon the screen. All of the animal choices were a simple 'Human Crossed With X' kind of thing. There was an option for "Cloths or No Cloths?" with some simple selections if he chose Cloths. The choices for gender were Male, Female, and Random… Random? he thought, Why risk it?
There was a short note that unless otherwise specified, a user would be heterosexual after the change. The only other option, he saw, was to be bi-sexual, or again, random… That doesn't seem fair to some, he frowned, not that he was in that group. Might also be part of the legislation… maybe I could run a story about that when I get back. he thought, 'Don't Ask or Tell… They'll Choose For You' he frowned, then gave a deep sigh. "No more thinking about work… for a month," he said to himself and composed himself. Making his choice, he reached up with his hand to touch the screen.
"Rest and relaxation; Here I come," he said evenly as he hit his four choices on the screen.