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Hereby I consent ...
[[sign]]
<img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2015/09/28/17/10/signature-962388_1280.jpg" height="400">
I picked the bird, for starters. Flying always felt like freedom the office workers missed, or ended up trying as a one way ticket... I don't have to struggle with the choices, I can afford it. I deserved the vacation. My vacation is just 3 weeks, but I could take some sick days…
… Longer term less risk…
[[ a month]]
[[2 weeks]]
<img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2021/07/31/20/50/pelican-6513055_1280.jpg" height="400">Ugh, I wish. It can be risky for the first experiment, no?
[[2 weeks]]
<img src="" height="400">seems like an ideal length.
The risks were discussed prior, but I get another lecture specifically for the birds. Apparently not every bird that returned was the original participant. It was obvious when the transformation back happened: the dna didn’t arrange similar to the original. The assistant waves last document to sign:
[[“Can’t blame ’em, not sure I’d wanna be back either!”]]
[[Perhaps I hurried with this. Is there a safer option than a bird?..”]]
<img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2022/05/01/05/00/pelican-7166748_1280.jpg" height="400">“Can’t blame ’em, not sure I’d wanna be back either!”, I sign and [[proceed with it]].
<img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2022/10/17/08/44/parrot-7527071_1280.jpg" height="400">[[You are offered to cancel the contract for now]]
[[I am offered a drink.]] “It will help you relax and clear your mind. You'll be able to make an objective choice this way,” the person says.
<img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2023/01/05/05/39/chinese-medicine-7698157_1280.jpg" height="400">"We pride ourselves on the freedom of choice and volunteer aspect above the all,” assistant exclaims with a polite smile. That one really doesn’t care, they all here are indifferent and neutral.
[[I am offered a drink.]] “It will help you relax and clear your mind. You'll be able to make an objective choice this way,” the person says.
[[Still cancel]].
[[take a few days pause to think it through]]
<img src="" height="400">They say undressing is not needed. The machine can tell what to skip in the process. The neatly placed clothes in the boxed shelves are a proof: so many… birds…
I step inside the thing they gesture to, anticipating the pain, the tingling, anything… all goes white.
And just like that, ...[[poof!]]
<img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2015/01/14/16/57/man-599299_1280.jpg" height="400">You’re a birb just like that, poof!
The assistant scopes you up. They place a marker on your paw and say some intangible things before letting you go. You fly out of the round window into the clear blue sky above the lab building. You’ll be back in no time, that’s the nature of the birb.
Ending 1/2.
[[MENU]]
<img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2023/05/11/03/34/white-cockatoo-7985434_1280.jpg" height="400">
<img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2015/04/30/20/53/pigeon-747462_1280.jpg" height="400">
It is clearly the truth: the workers seem to ooze similar smell from their pores.
The drink clears my mind indeed. I feel at home in this place more than any. Smiles of the workers make a little more sense. It’s like being tipsy just the right amount: everything is fine and easy to handle, with slight laziness in the step.
[[I backpedal]].
[[Still cancel]].
<img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2021/12/16/17/29/man-6874917_1280.jpg" height="400">I backpedal.
Transforming into a bird seems too difficult to wrap my head around.
[[take a few days pause to think it through]]
<img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2019/08/08/12/33/manipulation-4392919_1280.jpg" height="400">I still cancel.
They smile and wish me [[farewell]].
<img src="" height="400">I get a consolation prize: a little book about past participants enjoying their runs as birds, sea turtles, bunnies…
The book is suspiciously short, perhaps I made a right choice.
Ending 2/2
[[MENU]]
<img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/09/13/17/32/book-1667826_1280.jpg" height="400">*ad on the exit door*
"xxx Always welcomes you back for a new dose of experiments, fun and adventure!"
[[Johnatan, the Birb]]
<img src="https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/09/10/15/43/exit-1659390_1280.jpg" height="400">I return few days after. They welcome me with no question, offering me yet again the choice:
[[proceed with it]]
[[Still cancel]].
<img src="" height="400">
[[Johnatan, the Birb.]]