"We're both cats," Elle said, looking rather drained. Her brother stared at her for a few minutes. Cats still weren't the most preferable thing to be turned into by a cruel government who cared little for human rights, but it was better than, say, a pig or a chicken. Cats were never slated for slaughter and, as far as either of them knew, weren't required to breed.
"Cats huh?" Steven asked, flipping through the pamphlets scattered on a nearby table. "That's not so bad. At least we'll be clean." He laughed at his own joke, noticing the look on his sister's face. "Calm down Elle, it could be worse. You don't want to be a pig do you?" She shook her head, and he started reading. "Okay, says here that our tasks include hunting mice and companionship for the farm children. As much as I hate THAT particular thought, it's better than having my throat slit and being served as bacon. We'll have to be fully transformed of course, so we can hunt easier. But we'll be reduced to a six month old state, and age pretty normally. After ten years, we can return to normal. That's about it." He looked up at her, smiling despite himself.
Elle nodded. "Yeah, I suppose out of all of the random choices, cats are definitely the most preferred. I mean, I just got a call from Whitney. Remember her? She's off to be a dairy cow. And we could have been silkworms on a silk farm. 10 year term of service my ass. We wouldn't make it through the month." She let out a dry laugh. "So little brother, looks like we're going to be kittens in a few weeks. Better get a taste for milk and fish before then." She ruffled his hair then, laughing, ran off to tell their parents, with Steven following in hot pursuit.
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A week after getting the phone call outlining their new fates, Steven and Elle arrived at the Regeneration Centre. Their parents had offered to drive them but they turned down the offer, wanting to have one last private conversation on the way over. The siblings walked up to the reception desk and signed in receiving the standard issue collars with their species written on them. Sitting down in the reception area, they took a look around them. They saw a number of different people condemned to a number of different fates. One young man was slated to become a breeding sow, while a young Asian girl would apparently be spending the rest of her brief life as a squid. Soon, they heard their names called. Looking up they saw a young man with wire rimmed glasses and a white lab coat walking toward them. His hair was cut short, and was a rather nice shade of brown and his hazel eyes looked warm and friendly. He smiled, and beckoned for them to come with him. Rising, they gathered their meager belongings and walked through the door he had come through.
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"You guys lucked out, didn't you," the man asked, chuckling to himself. "Not only did you get a relatively secure position, you also got a doctor who doesn't have a hankering for groping his patients." Noticing their surprised look, his smile faded. "Yeah, a lot of my... coworkers seem to think it's okay to fondle our guests. I guess they think that since a lot of them are going to be violated by their classmates eventually, it doesn't matter. That sort of attitude makes me sick. I've even heard of people soliciting sex in exchange for getting the person out of the program, only to inject them right after they're done." Noticing their looks of shock and disgust, he smiled again. "Don't worry, you have nothing to fear from me. Believe me, I know exactly what you're going through. I had just turned 22 when this law came into effect, so I managed to get out by the skin of my teeth. My little brother wasn't so lucky. He's a cat now too. Fortunately we managed to keep custody of him, since we run one of the farm units. He does get rather lonely though. Fingers crossed you wind up on our farm, yeah?" The two siblings nodded and the doctor laughed again. "I'm Derek by the way. Derek Kirkland. What are your names?"
"Steven," Steven said, smiling sheepishly.
"Elle," Elle replied, grinning more openly.
"Well Steven and Elle, here's hoping you wind up in rural Tennessee. And if you happen to see a gray and white kitten named Sam, give him a whack for me, would you?" Derek said, laughing. "Although, just to make sure... Don't want you winding up with some fat loaf with a bunch of whiny brats now do we? Hand me your forms." They complied, and he took out a stamp, pressing it down on each of their forms. "There, now I've officially got custody of you, so instead of being shipped out, you'll leave with me. Not exactly legal, but we've had people take pig and horse morphs for themselves for worse reasons. Okay. Here we are. Go in there and get changed into the gowns. Put all of your personal effects into the tray. Once we're done here, I'll drive your stuff back to your home in your car, save your parents the trouble. Also gives them a chance to see how cute you look. They're welcome to come up and visit any time of course, I'll leave directions with them." He patted Steven and Elle on the shoulder. "Don't worry guys. It'll be over before you know it. You'll be asleep for most of it." Smiling more freely now, the two siblings stepped into the room, watching as Derek closed the door.
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"Well, that was weird and oddly convenient." Steven said, changing his clothes and slipping on the hospital nightgown. He dropped his watch, wallet and other personal effects into the tray next to his bed before turning and looking at his sister.
"Yeah, it was wasn't it?" Elle said, doing just about the same thing. "Not only will we be on a nice farm, we'll have another cat to talk to. Pretty nice setup."
"Right. So, shall we get this show on the road?" Steven asked. When Elle nodded, Steven walked over to the door and rapped on it three times. Derek walked in, holding two cat carriers and locking the door behind him.
"Alright guys. Let's get this show on the road. Could you lie down on those beds over there?" Derek asked. When they complied, he walked over and gathered up their personal effects in a box, before slipping the car keys into his pocket. "Okay, here's how this is going to work. I'm going to inject you with this solution, which will knock you out while you transform. It's got enough sedative in it to knock out a fully grown human, so when you hit cat form you'll be out for a few hours at least, then you'll kind of find it hard to move. Sam can help you through that. He just went through it a few months ago. Unfortunately that also means you'll be unconscious when I drop your belongings off at your parents'. But, of course, they can come visit you any time. Understand?" They nodded, and he walked over to them, placing a warm hand on each of their shoulders as he injected them. As they slowly lost consciousness, Derek busied himself carrying the bags out to their car, making sure to lock the door after each trip. As he entered the room for the last time, he saw that the transformation had completed itself. Steven and Elle were now two cute little calico kittens. Grinning, Derek picked them up, placing them in their cat carriers, and taking them out to the car. Smiling despite himself, he turned the key and drove away from the Transformation Centre, carrying the two new kittens away from the place that had claimed their humanity.