Jonathan Badge was 19 years old and had just finished school. He had not been selected under the official program for regeneration. But it was not guilty feeling that brought him into the Regeneration Centre this morning. Rather, he had for years thought about the idea of being an animal. Originally, his dreams had circled around strong predators, tigers or lions. Than his thoughts had moved on and meandered in different directions. If for one year being a magnificent whale had been his favouritew illusion, another winter had seen him dreaming to become an elephant in the desert. But when he became older and learned more about the Regeneration Program, his ideas changed. He became almost obsessed with domestic animals of any kind, from watch dog to lab rat, from hog to stallion, from rooster to cow his thoughts had covered almost every possibility. He had also studied living conditions on modern farms. Gradually, his image of Old Macdonald's farm had made way for a clear vision of modern farming. His study had included animal husbandry, slaughter practices and market developments. One could, by all means, call him an expert in farming by the age of 19. But most surprising was, that all this had not tuned down his interest in being a domestic animal. Many people would probably have been shocked by conditions in modern sties or the way animals were slaughtered for meat. Jonathan was not. Instead, he found the idea chillingly arousing. Deep inside he suspected that it was not even so much the idea of being an animal that attratced him. It was probably even more the idea of being not much more than an object, a mans oof production in a giant industry. This feeling of helpness, foreign determination was deeply alluring.
Hence, he had made his way into the Cewntre today. What had made it somewhat easy for him that, being an orphan, he had no family he would know off and a few freinds he rarely met. His world had been one of books and computer screes, dictated by his ever growing interest in the world of modern farming. "Good morning, young man, what can I do for you?" Dr Simon greeeted him in a neutral voice, surpressing his curiosity. "Good morning, I am here to volunteer. Are there any free slots as a ..."