Agent Sherman held out her badge, yet again, wondering what had gone wrong in this country that she had to explain herself to some sort of
naked dog woman. "Diane Sherman, FBI. Are you in charge of security here?"
"Yes," said Katie. Not strictly true, but clearly this woman was not in the mood to hear her say she'd have to contact her supervisor.
"My partner and I are here to apprehend a possible serial killer, here under the alias Maxwell Harrison. By denying us entry, you are placing
yourself in a position to face some very serious charges of your own, and every minute we stand here you're putting more of your attendees at
risk. Now will you, or will you not, let us through?"
Katie stood there slack-jawed for a moment before responding. "Of course!" she turned to the receptionist, "Pull up his records so they know
what he looks like, then call technical and have them override the doors already! Excuse me, I need to tell the rest of the security staff what
they're dealing with right away."
++++++++++
The minotaur nodded before replying in the sort of well-practiced tone one would deliver a lecture. "Obviously, I would need to see some proof
of all this before taking any sort of action, but tell me, are you certain any of these allegations constitute enough of a problem that I should
have to?"
"Of course they do!" shouted Naomi, "what sort of question is that!"
"For the most part," he continued, "none of what you have said strikes me as particularly out of line with the way the park has always operated.
Take your companion here. Oh yes, I did my research after you first called. When first attending the park, I must assume she had absolutely no
interest in women, nor in spending the rest of her life as one, before coming to the park. Nor, I suspect, had you any desire to gain a
submissive aspect to your very nature when dealing with monkeys. There are far more extreme alterations to the structure of one's brain and
various hormonal interactions that many park guests are forced to deal with without the benefit of any foreknowledge, particularly with that
'random' button in play."
"That's completely different! You're comparing individual choice to some sort of sick social engineering! You can't just hand a government the
power to round people up and alter them that fundamentally without their consent!"
"Quite true. That business about foreign powers is quite alarming, both as an ethical matter and, frankly, one of someone within the company
distributing our patented technology on the black market. Still, you of all people are an odd one to be such an advocate of free choice. Do I not
recall hearing a number of anecdotes from your term as head of security about your desire to force every male under your command to
'upgrade' to femininity? Incidentally, from what I've read, you may actually have been onto something with that. Apparently the most promising
new husky at the park, under some unusual circumstances, was changed from generally loathsome undesirable man to an exceptionally eager
to please, loyal, and honest husky. Her performance reviews are all rather remarkable, and her attitude seems to have considerably improved as
well."
Well, Naomi thought, eliminating the defective Y chromosome was a project she could get behind, but this was bigger than that. "I would never
have seriously forced that on anyone and you know it. Besides which, we're not talking about some sort of alternate punishment for criminals
here! We're talking about rounding up the homeless off the streets. People whose only crime is falling on bad luck."
"I would very much need to see evidence that suggests such people are being, as you say, 'rounded up' against their will. What I do know is that
when this technology first needed testing, and there were a distressing number of unknown risks involved at the time I assure you, far more
than any possible new variations in the works today, volunteers were substantially compensated financially for an extreme risk to their lives
and very concept of self. Does that sound like an offer one would take were they not in the most desperate of financial situations to you? While
I would love for this technology to be made available to everyone free of charge, we are far from a point where that is possible. These
transformations are currently the domain of the wealthy, along with the astounding medical benefits they provide. If I were living on the streets,
I'm certain I would jump at a chance to be a part of that, no matter what risk may be involved."
Naomi was not at all happy with the direction this conversation was taking. "And I suppose you have some positive spin on this business with
the deer too?"
"Frankly, I'm hard pressed to find the negative," the minotaur replied. "As I understand that particular situation, of which I was indeed informed
some time ago, a number of people, all of their own free will mind you, made a wager amongst themselves, and the only special request being
made of the park was to wave a clause in the standard policy preventing guests from altering forms within a single visit. Frankly I'd been
against that item from the start. And once again, you should be the last one to object to their terms. Have you had a recent change of heart on
your particular brand of radical feminism, or is it some principle about officially sanctioning gambling within the park?"
++++++++++
Agent Johnson snapped as he watched the receptionist explain the situation over the phone to yet another obstinate park employee. "This is
just a huge waste of time. I'm going to do what we should have just done from the beginning," he said, marching towards the transformation
chamber. "Besides which, if humans are never allowed inside, he'd know we were after him from miles away. A little undercover work is clearly
called for." He tossed his jacket and tie to the floor, and continued shedding articles with each step.
"Stop it Johnson," Sherman urged while racing over just as he closed the door. "This is no time to indulge whatever odd little fetish you might
have. You are not going to embarrass the bureau by apprehending this suspect in the body of some sort of inhuman freak!" She yanked on the
door, but it had already locked. On her last nerve herself, she started throwing her weight into it.
"OK, the override went through!" The receptionist called over.
Sherman staggered through the suddenly open door, stumbling into a rather embarrassed Johnson, just before the transformation he had
hastily punched in began.