Had Some Emotional Trouble In Real Life
As Casper entered the mediative state that his species' approximation of sleep, mindlessly staring at nothing, his mind did something he didn't think was possible. He dreamed. Well, maybe it was a dream, maybe it was a vision, maybe it was a thought experiment, he remembered nothing about his kind having dreams. Which carried of course the price that those who had ideas or inspiration from dreams, would never have them as Synthetics.
One thing Casper had to accept was that his 'uplifting' of humanity did carry a price. And his mind wondered if he was doing this for the sake of the need to use the ring, to want to transformation people, or if now he was doing this for the sake of his own kind now.
He was remaking reality! Of course there would be trade-offs!
But none of this mattered, because now, dream, vision, thought experiment, whatever it was, Casper was sure it could be called a nightmare.
He 'dreamed' of Synthetics floating about, like they were filled with helium, healed only down by a string being held by children, the Synthetics nothing but balloons to them.
He 'dreamed' of a city full of Synthetics, going about their lives. Then a giant blob made of pink flesh with a human face on it, rising up, eating them, and growing bigger with each one it ate.
Then he 'dreamed' of being attacked by a man dressed up like a knight in shining armor, then a man with a gruff and shaggy look right out of Highlander, then a perfectly ordinary white-collar looking guy, all attack him, turning Synthetics back into humans, sweeping away his work, calling him evil, the same sex couples that were now pregnant losing their child who could not now logically exist and a little girl with a broken neck on the ground in a park when she fell from a tree.
Casper 'awoke' from his 'dream' fairly early in the morning. He saw Ashley still looking at nothing in her trace-like state.
Casper shivered, making sure he still had that phone number for the lawyer the Wizard suggested if he was ever targeted by a 'magic self-righteous tough-guy.'
Casper looked back at his fiancee, and felt ashamed. He had brought shame to himself, he had brought shame to Ashley, he brought shame to his family, he brought shame to his faith, all because he couldn't wait to eat the birthday cake until it was actually his birthday.
Casper shivered. His only honorable route indeed now was to marry Ashley as soon as possible. There was no reason to upset her through, he knew she'd think he was just being silly, it was the way she was, and he didn't want to see her upset.
He washed up and looked at his exceptionally shinny self in the mirror. He and Ashley certainly were more attractive this way according to his new body. He also noticed with amusement that his toilet had a fine layer of dust on it.
He came back in time to see Ashley stretch her beautiful green and yellow rubber body in the dawn's light. The latex balloon lizard looking at him lovingly.
"Good morning dear."
"Good morning honey." He said. "Come' on. Let's go have donuts."
"Do they have those for our kind?"
"They will by the time we're done."
"Aright," She nodded.
Ashley washed herself up, giving Casper a good look of the blue stripe down her back that he himself had given her by her own request.
She put on her pink scarf and out they went.
Casper's land lady, now a red panda Synthetic, happily waved them off from her office as they passed.
The two taking stroll in the morning to a nearby donut shop.
So they were, except for Ashley scarf, the two naked pool toy animal people walking along on a city sidewalk early in the morning and feeling perfectly fine.
It was interesting that in spite of a nozzle's use, Synthetic weren't being arrested for indecent exposure by having them exposed (except for police and soldiers covering theirs, and that seemed to be more for practicality than modesty). Then again, a nozzle was still a nozzle used for countless other things, so maybe it would have created too many complications in what to censor and what no to.
Casper thought of what Dan had said revealing Synthetics in spite of genders being just for show, still had attraction to different sexes. Being a created species meant originally as a form of servant, he wondered how that worked.
Casper wondered if some of the 'prototype' Synthetics had had 'openings' for their owners, to use them the way you normally used an inflatable humanoid shape. And the 'first gen' requested the new ones NOT to have those openings to show that yes, they were NOT talking love dolls.
But . . . those first generation Synthetics didn't exist . . . yet . . . maybe Casper was just dead wrong about the prototypes, reality it seemed for the Synthetics was still forming.
Casper saw a life-sized balloon of an waving toy elf next to a store front. He had passed it several times over the year, but now, he had a sense of discomfort looking at it. He guessed for a Synthetic, one of his kind, it was like looking at a zombie or a corpse.
Six Days to the big game. Casper COULDN'T forget that.
And they still intended to visit Haeliax for his sacrifice yesterday.
There was a surprising amount of patrons for this early in the morning in the donut shop. But the couple didn't pay them much mind at the moment and focused on the woman behind the counter.
With a thought to the ring, the woman transformed as all others before her as reality changed, her mind unconsciously choosing her colors and form.
Skin became rubber with mold lines, inside became air, her belly button a nozzle. Opening on her body except her mouth vanishing, and her nipple never there. Her hair became a long mane as her neck lengthened. Her hands and feet became hooves, her hands keeping an armored thumb. A blouse with her name tag the only thing she was wearing now, her breasts if anything becoming somewhat smaller. Her tail swayed behind her. Her patterns somewhat like a cheetah, but colors blue, green pattern and teal mane. Little horns and ears moved to the top of her head as her face became a muzzle. Her limbs lengthen along with her torso. Both Casper and Ashley having to look up at her.
"Good morning, how can I help you?" She asked politely.
Ashley and Casper made their selection, and she scanned Casper's barcode on his butt.
Taking their donuts to an empty table, Casper and Ashley found their donuts were made of packaging foam with wax frosting, the cream inside being a form of spay foam.
'Heh, I wonder if Synthetics can get overweight,' Casper thought.
As said before, the donut shop was surprisingly crowded that early in the morning.
There were no less than nine others in the donut shop as well.
Two white collared men at the far end, in the middle of a social-political debate, keeping her voices low somehow, but insulting the other's evolutionary development and sanity every other sentence.
A large bellied biker looking over a road map.
An off duty police woman.
A stereo typical family of four who seemed to be on a road trip.
And a well endowed woman reading a poetry book and writing down notes.
Casper used the ring, and those present unconscious picked what their new forms would be.
Skin became shinny rubber or latex, 'hair' becoming as much a part of their bodies as their fingers and toes, mold lines from when they were first formed appeared on their bodies. The sound of squeaking rubber filled the donut shop. Their mouthes just lead to their empty insides.
Casper never thought about it, but realized that even though the nozzle clearly was meant for air to come in or out, the mouth remained a opening, but they didn't deflate on the spot. Whatever magic gave them life, must have also made their throat act as a one way entrance.
Speaking worked by air coming through up through the throat and mouth via the lungs, but again his kind didn't deflate when speaking. There were still so many mysteries. He wondered how much the Synthetic even knew about how they themselves worked. Knowing know pathologically insane copyright laws could get to the point despotism, Casper wondered if the secrets of how Synthetics worked or were born was all under the copyright law of whatever company first made them.
For the majority, their clothes simply vanished, but it didn't matter, breasts had become nipple-less, rear-ends had no opening, and the space between their legs was just smooth rubber or a rubber bulge of empty air.
Casper curiously pressed and poked at his own bulge, still amazed at how it really was just a seeming with no relation to what had been there as a human, no different from poking his arm. The Synthetics around him didn't even bat an eyelash at his action.
One of the surprising things was where the cop had been close to the biker before, now there was more space between them, and Casper realized now that he thought about it that the cop had been looking at him, but now paid him no mind.
On each of them was the unique code on their rear ends, and their belly button was now their nozzles, all plain for the world to see, except for the police woman whose nozzle was covered by a patch of removable blue latex.
All of their treats and donuts became something rather inorganic and unhealthy or downright toxic for humans to consume, the cream inside one child's donut now looked like it was Elmer's glue.
The biker's belly bulge remained, but his entire body turned a bright washing swirl of tie-dye patterns that Ashley couldn't help giggle at. She thought the biker's colors was even more 'LOOK AT ME!' than Casper's colors were!
His body became stouter, but muscles more obvious, but this was just the beginning. His feet became paws, while his hands became paws with opposable thumbs. A short curled tail wagged behind him. His face became covered in folds and his cheeks drooped, his face became a short muzzle and his eyes larger and rounder. His floppy ears fell along the side of his head. And the tie-dye rubber bull dog didn't even look up from his map.
The surprising part was he kept the most gear Casper had seen a Synthetic keep, Casper guess he had riding buddies and was part of the bare minimum 'get up.' Keeping the black leather and silver studded boots, gloves, hat, and jacket.
The police woman became like his fellows. Number of Synthetics on the force increased to eight. Her badge now around her neck with her bar-code, and her duty belt around her waist, and a hair with holds now for her ears pointy. The word 'POLICE' in bright yellow on her back side. But instead of being solid blue like the others, her body became a blue and white strip pattern. Her hands and feet became hooves, as her hair became a mowhawk going down her back. Her face stretched into a muzzle, and her stripped tail wrapped around her waist. The zebra Synthetic thought nothing as she continued her break.
The transformation of the two white collared men was not the most the interesting part. Their political debate continued without pause. But now were being MUCH MORE civil about it, and were no longer calling the other a brainwashed pawn or proof of the failure of the public school system and actually seemed to be LISTENING to each other. Their transformation was almost secondary compared to that!
One became a bright candy red rabbit, thumbing his large feet as he spoke, his large ears waving in the air. A ball of air between his legs and behind his rear with no actual difference between them.
The other became a dusty orange armadillo. His entire back covered in tire-like rubber, forming protective layers down his back and all long his tail. His fingers and toes lengthening and covered in the same armor plating. His ears became pointing side ways reaching upwards. His face oval shaped his face in armor. He looked like he could indeed roll up into a ball and roll down main street.
The woman reading poetry with the large chest was surprising for more than one reason. Her entire body became bright golden in color with silver highlights even if she was still just rubber. Her body shape took on the familiar form of a vixen. What was surprising was to see her chest get smaller, becoming nearly flat, her body gaining muscle, but her figure decidedly remaining feminine, and a between the leg she remained smooth. THEN the surprising part happened when she grew a pair of angelic wings that folded neatly behind her that could support her in fight regardless of any rule of aerodynamics. Casper guessed that last part had to due with Haeliax's upgrades at the cost of his magic.
The nuclear family's changes were relatively tame by comparison.
The woman became a green deer doe. Her legs and arms lengthening and thinning somewhat, her fingers became three armored digits. Her ears large and folded. A 'tuff' of rubber on her behind. Her eye becoming large as her face pushed into a muzzle, only her purse and wedding ring remained of her clothes.
The father of all things became a gray moose. A crown of antlers forming from his head, and his large long big muzzle and big large noise clear for all to see, but he carried it with more dignity and respect than Casper would have ever thought possible. He grew larger than any of Synthetics present except the girl behind the counter. His hooves keeping him steady. His tail so tiny it barely worth mentioning. His large armored fingers around his still beautiful wife.
The children changed as much as anyone. The boy's gained a thick rubber shell on his back and front, a baled head, three fingers and toes, and a round flat face. Clearly resembling certain teenage ninjas. He was also bright purple and naked as the day he was born.
His sister on the other end of the spectrum became another pony girl. In her case however, she was minty green, with a minty pink mane, with violet eyes. Of all things, she was as naked as a pony can be except for the red socks around her hoof feet though her shoes were gone. The donut she was eating had green sprinkles by the way.
585 Synthetics in the world.
Wait. Casper counted. The number was off by one.
'Rings, explain.'
'Master's fiancee is pregnant,' said the ring bluntly.
Casper stiffened. He looked at Ashley, and knew right now was not the right time to tell her. There was a lot to do.
They arrived at collage without incident and gave each other a kiss before going to their classes.
It was odd for Casper to look at his work now, all the pairs he had created choosing what they'd become for them. There was his history teacher. One of his own works he actually felt proud of. Though he hadn't chosen a new personality for her, she certainly acted like a new self, like this was the self she wanted to be. Instead of a bald man, was now a take-charge, hot, bumptious, busty, curvy, alluring, sexy, in your face, 'touch and I'll break your hand', purple and teal vixen who animated in everything she did and apparently took no foolishness from anyone unlike her former lifeless indifferent self.
With no one to change, Casper was focused on the war of 1812 and its infinite complexities, along with how it had been going on at the same time as Napoleon. His teacher made sure he paid attention, or he'd get a swat in the rear from his teacher that was ANYTHING but 'fun.'
Lana meanwhile in the same class, between Casey and Janet, admitted it was a little overwhelming to think her entire species only existed because Casper had bought that ring from the same shop that had changed her from being Larry and Tommy from Tabitha. And she had been once human in the original reality, and so was every Synthetic she knew. And thinking about it, it mean wherever Casper went, (since the magic of the shop changed reality to fit) that there would have always been Synthetics there. She wasn't about to serve Casper hand and hoof, but . . . Lana couldn't help feeling that she now knew she was part of something greater. Well, from what Casper said, she was still herself, still, imagining herself as a human felt awkward and odd. Maybe it was a good thing she didn't remember, or she'd have gone crazy. Then again, how can you remember something that never happened, and thus didn't really count as forgetting in the first place?
He looked at Janet and Casey, finding it hard to imagine the two naked pink rubber hedgehogs had ever been human, which from how she knew the wizard's items worked, they had now never been. The idea going around wearing clothes constantly itself felt odd.
For Ashley in her life drawing class, she found it almost comforting to take a break from transforming humans into more of her kind. Oh she still loved the idea of Casper zapping every human in range, but it was good to take a break every now and then. She still loved her art class after all. The model herself was ironically still human.
Gym was much the same for Casper, the big green ape of a couch was taking no lip from anyone. The gym uniform still standard issue even if he sent the rest of the day naked.
This time Casper kept his mind on class. Until the thought Ashley was pregnant slipped into his mind again and he got hit face first in the face with a volley ball. And then the thought hit him again and slipped from the climbing rope and bounced off the floor. And it struck his mind again and he swam head first into the pool's side at full speed. Good thing his head was empty.
He was tempted to tell Tommy, but it felt wrong to tell his friends first and not Asley. At least Tommy wasn't holding a grudge for forgetting the first game of the season. Learning Casper was the whole reason his kind existed in the first place was kinda secondary to that slight.
Then came math-class, with a class full of humans, except for him and the teacher. A red and black jackal woman who managed to be the bane of his life with or without now being 'slightly better.' He guessed that a math teacher just had to be strict with her students.
He transformed his mathclass without a second thought. 31 changes at once.
616
The classroom filled with the sound of squeaking rubber that Casper now found actually rather comforting. Clothing vanished in thin air leaving them all nudists except or the odd earring, or friendship bracelet. It certainly made the 'insult others for their choice in clothes' a lot harder.
He had a big view of a slew of now rubber barcoded butts that as revealing as the rear of a Ken doll.
It was still amazing how they continued their work without missing a beat, as reality itself changed around them.
The class became a horde of rainbow colors.
He realized there were 33 students in the room. He realized two of the students, well apart from each other, remained human. They simply didn't HAVE a favorite animal, fictional or otherwise, to be transformed into, or their favorite was human. Casper considered changing them himself, but that still felt too much like cheating.
One guy became a purple dragon with gold highlights.
His girlfriend girl became a dark blue with red highlight.
Another guy became a gold and red dragon.
And another girl became a bright pink rubber dragonoid.
Another guy became a red white and blue griffin.
A male red, black and gold wolf.
Casper was surprised when no less than 10 elephants took shape in the room, six girls, four guys. Their long noses being used as third limb. Keeping their ears folded to not block others view. Their seats changed shape and size to accommodate their larger frames. Casper didn't want to get into a tussle with ANY of them. They were a mix of grays, blues, dark blues, grayish-blue, green, checker pattern, gold, black, yellow, and ivory white.
There were now four lioness in the room, and one lion. One had been a dude before. Their colors were shades of purples, reds, oranges, violet, with the male lion being pure white.
One pink female unicorn with a rainbow mane, and a male silver unicorn with a flame colored mane.
A penguin in green military style colors.
Another winged fox, this time a orange-brown sage with ivory white wings.
A black and purple dolphin girl.
A literally golven retriever guy.
No less than three male flying squirrels, one gray, the other blue, and the last orange.
And the last three rubber lad pegasi as well. Brown with a blond mane. Thar largest cream with a brown mane, and the smaller gray with a black mane.
And they all just kept doing the math formulas. Even transformation into naked rubber pool-toy animal people couldn't make math fun. It seemed Math-Blaster was still the only thing that could do that.
The two humans in the classroom didn't even blink that they were sharing the lesson and were being taught by a rubber humanoid creature.
Casper realized today was also the day for the swim meet. He hadn't changed all the otters' parents, and there would be their family and friends there as well. Well, he wasn't going to miss another important chance to slip by. He was going to have to go there after they visited Haeliax.
Ashley and Casper met up as their last classes let out.
Haeliax had said to look him up. And Ashley was surprised to find his name and address was available publicly online under that rather 'creative' name. Then again, he had given up his magic just for Casper's cause. And mages generally it was agreed could call themselves whatever they wanted.