Beasts

By Vic James

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This story is fiction. None of the characters are based on real people.

You can see a list of my stories at the Nifty Prolific Authors page by my name.

Thirteen

I looked up into Digger's face. He looked worried.

"Do you recognize me?" he asked me.

"Mom?" I said, joking.

Digger turned away. He began crying for some reason.

"Why are you crying, Digger?"

He turned back.

"You know it's me?"

"Of course I know it's you. What do you mean?"

Another face appeared next to his and I screamed.

"This is Doctor Rosenbloom," Digger said, quickly.

I gulped.

"I'm...sorry. It's... the beak, I think. It looks lethal," I said to him.

Unlike Digger and the other Beasts, Dr. Rosenbloom didn't look remotely human. He looked like an enormous bird of prey. With arms. His head was tilted to one side to look at me, because his eyes were on the sides of his head. He had a beak. His eyes were solid black. He also had black feathers covering his skin.

"I'm used to it," he said to me. "I didn't pick this form to make people happy."

His voice was weird—he had a speech impediment, but then he didn't have lips. That would cause problems speaking.

I didn't know what that meant.

"What is the last thing you can remember," Dr. Rosenbloom asked me.

I thought.

"We were at the Innstible, on the roof, eating."

Dr. Rosenbloom looked at Digger, who nodded.

I remembered Alek and the blood!

"How is Alek?" I asked, suddenly.

"Why do you ask?" Rosenbloom asked me.

"I saw blood. He started to fall."

Digger and Rosenbloom cheered. I had no idea why.

"What is your earliest memory?" Dr. Rosenbloom asked.

I thought for a minute.

"My parents gave me a kitten on my fourth birthday."

"What was the name of your elementary school?"

"Peerson Academy."

"How old were you when you got your first full-time job?"

"Twenty-two."

"When did you meet Digger?"

"Two days ago."

They looked at each other.

"How much money do you have?"

"A lot!"

"His memory appears to be fine. It seems the nanite gestalt was completed and all memories restored," Dr. Rosenbloom said to Digger.

Memories restored? What did that mean? I sat up. I was in a box.

"And you, Digger. Are you OK?"

"I'm fine. We were shot by two Neos. All three of us. I recovered quickly. Alek and I died, but we were resuscitated. It took a while for Alek to recover completely, but he is fine, now. You were shot in the head. There was brain damage."

I gulped. That was why they were worried about my memories.

"A lot has happened," Dr. Rosenbloom said.

"It's been almost a year," Digger said.

I was stunned. I checked my memories. I remembered my childhood. My weird on again-off again career in the Financial services sector. I remembered meeting Digger. I remembered Dad and the Neos. Were there holes in my memories? If there were, would I be aware of them, or since there was nothing there, would I not know?

"Was anyone else shot? Did they kill anyone else?"

Digger closed his eyes.

"What?"

"Many people died," Dr. Rosenbloom said. "Neos killed many, many people."

"Oh, no. How many?"

"I think you should sleep. Digger, take him to your room."

Digger reached down and picked me up. I looked down. I had been in some sort of high-tech coffin. I looked around. We were obviously in a lab.

"Are we in Alaska?"

"No. We are in my orbital habitat," Dr. Rosenbloom said.

Digger carried me out of the lab.

"You aren't human anymore, Eric."

I looked at my arm and saw it was hairier than it had been.

"I'm a Beast?"

"Yes. It was easier to convert you than repair you. You and Alek were shot several times. They shot me once. We think some of the bullets meant for me, ended up hitting you."

I sighed.

"Well, at least I don't see any Neos around here."

Digger chuckled.

"That's guaranteed."

I looked around as Digger carried me. Looking around, I guessed we were in a large wheeled-station. I assumed it was spinning to provide simulated gravity. We passed windows or view screens which showed stars. Then we passed one that showed the Earth. I looked up, directly up, at more floor. I saw someone almost upside down, above us. Digger stopped at a door, which opened. He carried me in.

"You seem fine. How is Alek?"

"He is fine. It's been a long time, Eric."

I shook my head. It was a lot to adjust to.

He lay me down on a bed. He lay down next to me. I turned to face him.

"It's been so long," he said.

"I'm still ready to go see The Wild Life II."

He chuckled.

"What kind of Beast am I?"

"A Gorilla. But you could pass for a human."

"But you like humans," I said. I was beginning to worry.

He smiled and stroked the side of my head.

"I like Erics."

I smiled.

"If you hate it, you can change back to human," he said.

"Would you prefer that?"

He didn't say anything.

"I need to know."

Digger sighed.

"I don't want you to stay in a body you don't like for my benefit, Eric."

"Why is it for your benefit?"

"Because you would go back into the conversion box for ten more months."

"Oh. I would only hate my body if you did. I've never cared that much about my appearance. I'm sure it will just take a while to adjust to it."

Digger nodded.

"I love you. You could look like anything at all and I would still love you. I don't love you because you are human, you know."

I smiled. Then I frowned. If they singled me out to kill, did they do the same to my mother?

"Is my mother all right?"

"She's fine. She is here, on the station. You can see her tomorrow."

"Oh, good. Is Jib here?"

"No. He was needed at work. He's been dealing with the crisis for months."

Digger sighed.

"What happened, Digger? What killed so many people?"

"You should sleep."

"I really want to know."

Digger nodded.

"Neos attempted to kill us—Beasts—through the water supply. They polluted the drinking water supplies in many metropolitan areas with nanites that were supposed to target Beasts and leave humans alone. Our immune systems dealt with the rogue nanites easily, once Rosenbloom updated their programming. This station, which he owns, transmits the signal he uses to do that. Humans weren't so lucky. Millions of humans had allergic reactions to the nanites. Many died so quickly from anaphylactic shock that they were dead before they could be treated, or even before we realized what was killing them."

"What happened to the Neos?"

"About eight thousand have been sent to a secure prison on the moon. They all had to agree to either permanent monitoring, a psychiatric interrogation under drugs, or both. Most chose interrogation, and were able to prove they knew nothing about what was planned and carried out by the radical branches of the movement. The ones who knew about it, but did not participate are under permanent monitoring. The ones who participated or said, under interrogation that sinners should be punished by people like themselves, were sent to the moon. Many Neos were killed by the nanites, along with other susceptible humans."

"And my mother is all right? They didn't try to kill her?"

"No."

I was relieved at that.

"Why are we in orbit?"

"Things are unstable on Earth and it's just safer up here. Rosenbloom does a lot of research on this stations. It isn't subject to any laws."

That sounded scary. Safer. Did that mean we still weren't safe? The day we were shot, I thought the Neos were under control. Were they all identified? It would be easy for sympathizers who were not known Neos to continue the terror on Earth. We could still be in danger. I was glad we were in orbit—maybe they didn't have missiles.

"Pan and I have a new kind of nanite in us. It's part of the Beast 2.0 specification."

"Yeah. I remember."

"It has several new abilities. You had some of them in you. They entered you when we had sex. Alek even got some from me. Rosenbloom gets biometrics and telemetry data from these nanites. He knew exactly what happened to us and where. He contacted friends in the Majoratum and requested we be brought to Alaska. By the time I got to Alaska, my nanites had repaired most of the damage to my body."

"So that's what happened to Jock."

"Yes, exactly. He had gotten the new nanites from Pan, through kissing and oral sex. They repaired his damaged body."

"Are he and Pan getting along?"

"They always got along. They love each other. If you mean is Jock fucking anyone else, I don't think so. Pan hasn't mentioned it. They were here on the station. They left about six months ago, after the Neos were sent to the prison on the moon."

"And they're both fine?"

Digger nodded.

I thought about Tim, the Dog who had loved Jock.

"Did Jock go to Tim's funeral?"

"No. Pan and Jock went to Alaska with us. Despite Jock's claim that he was fine, he wasn't. The nanites kept him alive, but there was a lot of damage to deal with. Dr. Rosenbloom kept him in bed in Alaska for a week. Pan was going to go to the funeral in Jock's place." I frowned. That would be weird. Digger chuckled. "That's how I felt about it. Pan hadn't exactly kept his feelings about Tim hidden. Some of Tim's friends knew how Pan felt. It wasn't a good idea. Everyone knew Jock was recovering. His miraculous survival was all over the news for several days."

I nodded.

Digger continued. "And so was news about us. While we were deciding what to do about you, the Neos poisoned the water. The nanites had done as much as they could for you. You were shot in the head, the chest, the face, and the abdomen. Your heart was damaged, as well as your liver, and spinal column. You didn't have enough of my nanites to repair all your damage. Even if he injected more into you, he wasn't certain they would be able to repair your spine completely—and if they were able, he feared it would be painful experience rebuilding nerves. Dr. Rosenbloom thought a body rebuild was the best way to go. We discussed trying a human to human conversion, but it hasn't ever been done, and I didn't want to take a chance."

"What is a human to human conversion?"

"The nanites and other mechanisms would rebuild your body using your original DNA."

"Oh."

"Dr. Rosenbloom felt strongly about making you a Beast. He said you would be healthier and live longer. As long as you were going to be in the box ten months, he thought you benefit from it. Why rebuild eyes that needed implants to work properly?"

"Oh. I can understand that. So now, I don't need them."

"Right. Your new body is better than your old one. If you don't like your new face, you can have cosmetic surgery, and there is hair removal, of course. Do you want to look in a mirror?"

"Do I look OK to you?"

"You look wonderful."

I leaned forward and kissed him.

"Do I have enough nanites? Maybe you should give me some. Anally or orally. I'm not picky."

He chuckled.

"I promised to wait until tomorrow."

"Why did you make a dumb promise like that?"

He laughed.

"I was out of my mind with grief!"

I laughed.

"I guess that's a good reason."

"Anyway, you don't need mine. Your new body produces them."

"I still want yours."

He grinned.

"You seem much better than any of us expected. We were prepared for the worst. The nanites were able to help preserve—or maybe restore—some memories. Rosenbloom tried to explain how they do it, but all I understood was that they had a three dimensional scan of synapse activity at the time you were shot."

Suddenly, I was tired. It was absurd to be tired after waking up from a months long sleep, but it was true. I even yawned. Digger chuckled.

"Rosenbloom said you would be weak and will require more sleep than usual for a few days."

I sighed.

"Do you want to look in a mirror?" he asked me.

"No. I've got enough to adjust to. I'll save that for later."

"Is Alek safe on Earth?"

"We hope so. We hope all the Neos have been identified. Alek has very good security agents."

Digger looked like he was going to say something, but didn't.

"What is it? Is it something about Alek?"

Digger sighed.

"You'll find out eventually. Alek is the reason we were shot."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember the video he took of you drinking his spunk?"

"Of course."

"He saved it unencrypted on a public node and it was discovered by some Neos. They were outraged, of course. Not only are you are the son of Martin La Roche, their hero, but Alek told you to drink it for 'Daddy'."

I groaned. I had a feeling when he suggested it, that being in a porn flik was not for me. I thought about it. It took only a moment for me to realize it wasn't Alek's fault.

"He felt terrible when he found out. He didn't know Neos were monitoring his files."

I sighed. There was no point in blaming Alek. I was shocked to know they were monitoring us like that. I didn't encrypt the sex photos Stefen or Digger sent me, either. I figured who would care enough to hack my password? Alek probably felt the same way. Why hide sex videos when you make them for a living?

"He feels it's all his fault," Digger said.

"Well, he made a mistake. It wasn't deliberate. I can't hold it against him."

They must have been monitoring us continually to have sent out assassins so quickly.

I tried to activate my meme to check my bank account. Had they robbed me? But nothing happened. My meme was gone. I almost laughed when I thought about people trying to call me in that conversion box. 'Sorry, my body is being rebuilt. Please leave a message!'

"I hope you still feel that way after you look in a mirror."

I closed my eyes. I didn't want to think about that. I didn't want to think about people shooting me. Or Digger, or Alek. Digger must have realized it. He held me. I felt his erection pressed against me.

"Have you had sex?"

He shook his head. I was pleased, but felt a little guilty about it.

"You're joking! You own a sex club."

"I'm kind of limited up here. This station is mostly run by an AI. There are only twelve people on board right now, counting us."

I pushed my hand inside his pants and held his erection.

"I need a drink, Digger, before I sleep."

"Do you mean water?"

"No. Digger milk."

He grinned, but looked undecided.

"I suppose jacking off into your mouth wouldn't strain you."

"No, it wouldn't."

He got up and stepped out of his pants. He climbed on the bed and straddled me. He began stroking himself. His cock began dripping immediately. Yum!

"Your cock is beautiful. Have I told you that?"

"I had the impression you like it."

"I love it!"

"Just hold your mouth open."

I did. I felt his balls while he stroked himself. I groaned when I felt his precum drip onto my tongue and run to the back of my throat. He sped up and thrust his groin out. I took the head of his cock into my mouth right before he came. His warm cream shot into my mouth. I began swallowing. He filled my mouth twice before he finished. He lay down on the bed next to me as I swallowed the last of it. He pulled me into his arms, and I fell asleep, instantly.

When I woke up, Digger showed me the restroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was very handsome! And hot! It was strange seeing that good looking guy and realizing that was the new me.

Digger began laughing. I felt his hand wrap around my cock.

"You gave yourself a hardon!"

I laughed.

"I can't help it! That guy in the mirror is hot, and I like Gorilla meat, as Dack put it."

I had a nice cock! It was quite a bit bigger than my original one. I wrapped my hand around Digger's cock.

"I still like yours better."

He grinned.

"In fact, I want him now."

Digger smiled.

"Do you?"

"I do. Do you fuck Gorillas?"

"Just one."

I knelt and began sucking him. He groaned.

"It's been so long," he said. "Will you let me fuck you?"

I looked up at him.

"Of course."

He pulled me up. He knelt behind me and pushed a finger inside me. It slid in easily.

"He was right. I should have never doubted him," Digger said.

"Who was right, about what?"

"Rosenbloom told me that your anus would self-lubricate when you become sexually aroused. Evidently, you are the first person to acquire that ability."

"No more lube!"

"Not if it works."

Digger stood and placed his cock at my hole. He wrapped his arms around me and pushed inside slowly. I sighed. There was no pain, just a feeling of fullness. I loved my new body! I had always experience at least a little pain when I was fucked.

Digger was all the way inside me. He pulled out. I groaned. As his cock moved, I had the sensation of my cock being stroked. He pushed inside and I felt the same thing. I even looked down to be sure it wasn't Digger's hand around my dick. It wasn't. As he began fucking me, his motion gave me pleasure in my butt while it also made it feel as though my cock was being stroked.

"Damn, Digger! It feels incredible!"

"Does it?"

"It is much more pleasurable than before."

"I wonder if we have more intense orgasms than humans," he said.

He leaned forward and began sucking on my earlobe while he fucked me. When he began tugging on my nipples, I groaned and came. I watched my spunk shoot out at over a meter and splatter on the floor. My cum continued to shoot as he fucked me. I watched, fascinated, as that pretty cock—my cock—jumped with each ejaculation. The feeling of my cock being stroked was uncanny. I bent down and found my semen hitting my face. My new body was much more flexible. I tried to swallow my cock and found it easy. I sucked myself as Digger chuckled.

"Having fun?" he asked.

I couldn't respond. My mouth was full. He continued fucking me while I gulped down my semen. It was the most intense pleasure I had ever experienced. I was receiving pleasure in my butt and cock from his fucking, and also from my mouth while I sucked myself. Digger grabbed my hips and shouted as he came, deep inside me. Once my orgasm was over, I stood back up. He pulled my head around and we kissed, as he bred me.

When we pulled apart, I could still taste my own cum. It made me want his. I pulled away from him and knelt. His cock looked very clean. I assumed my colon was empty. I swallowed his cock and began sucking him. He sighed. I stoked the shaft with one hand before realizing I could swallow his entire cock. I didn't seem to have a gag reflex anymore.

"Make me come. I need to come," Digger said.

I used my mouth and throat to pleasure him. He took over and began fucking my throat. After several minutes, he pulled most of his cock out and I sucked on just the head, while he groaned and his hot spunk shot into my mouth. I stood and laughed at the expression on Digger's face.

"Don't worry. Constant sex will resume, if I have anything to say about it," I said to him.

He sighed in relief.

"I am ready for it."

Digger knelt and began sucking me. Before long, I was shooting in his mouth. He stood, grinning. I wrapped my arms around him. I pressed my cheek to his shoulder.

"I love you, Digger."

"I love you, baby. I'm so glad you're back."

He touched his meme.

"Dr. Rosenbloom wants to talk to us."

"He has good timing!"

Then I wondered if he knew we were finished. Were we being monitored? Probably, I thought. He would want to make sure my new body and I were getting along.

"He said you could visit your mother, first. She's eager to see you. Do you want to visit your mother now?"

"I should."

"I can suck myself!" I said to Digger, as we dressed.

"That's my job."

I laughed.

"You might want a vacation."

"I've had a very long vacation from you. I don't plan to ever take another one."

I smiled at him.

Digger took me to my mother's room. She hugged me and cried when she saw me. For some reason, she seemed smaller to me. Then I remembered I was in a new body. She also looked older. I didn't like that.

"Does the way I look bother you?" I asked, when she regained her composure.

"No. Jeff—Dr. Rosenbloom discussed the options. We all agreed this was best. It was the safest way to keep you alive, and it allowed your brain to be repaired before you woke up. Dr. Rosenbloom told us that the brain work was experimental and time consuming. Jeff was concerned that the neurons the nanites built might not be completely functional. He decided to grow brain tissue externally, instead. Digger and I agreed on that face. It was already designed and ready to implement, as Dr. Rosenbloom put it. You can always have cosmetic surgery, if you don't like it. This way, you slept through the entire process, and you have an attractive face while you decide whether you want to have it surgically altered to resemble your original face. It was difficult for us, all that waiting, but at least we were near you."

"How is Jib?"

"He's fine. We got married six months ago. I hope you don't mind that we didn't wait."

"No. Not at all."

She nodded.

"He faces some hostility at work, but it doesn't bother him."

"Why is there hostility toward him? Because you were married to Dad?"

"No."

Mom looked at Digger. He looked back at her.

"There is still some resentment about the fact that so many members of the Majoratum are Beasts" she said. "Most people are very angry at Neos and somewhat angry at Beasts. It's why Dr. Rosenbloom is up here. I hope you get a chance to get to know him. I like him very much. Anyway, the Neo threat has been eliminated, we think, but there are other extremists who are opposed to Beasts. And he is a target. He took the threats he received very seriously. He says the future is out here, though, not on Earth. I'm not sure he plans to live on Earth, anymore."

"A lot of Neos have been killed by extremists," Digger added. "We know they are out there and willing to kill."

"Have any Beasts been attacked or killed?"

"No more than usual."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"There have always been people who hate Beasts," Mother said.

I felt sick. Why couldn't people just be happy? Why did they have to cause misery?

"Have you and Jib been apart ever since you got married?"

"No. I've been coming up for visits. I've been here the last two weeks, though."

That sounded expensive.

"Do you need money?" I asked her.

She smiled.

"I got a settlement, too."

"Oh, great!"

"Not quite as much as you..."

I shook my head.

"I never, ever expected to get that amount."

She shrugged.

"Then there is no reason to feel awkward about it. I got one hundred million because you were shot. Stuart Burke is not a happy man. Settlements have wiped out almost his entire fortune. He's not a billionaire, anymore. He fled the country with less than two hundred million. You are wealthier than he is."

I smiled at her.

"I'm glad. How long will we be here, in orbit?"

"That's up to you, I think," she said.

Digger nodded his head.

"By the way, I set up a charitable foundation in your name."

"Oh, thanks, Mom!"

I checked my account balance on my meme. My investments had done fairly well, considering how chaotic things must have been while Neos were killing and people were dying. I could transfer thirty-three million dollars into the foundation. I asked my mother for the account information and made the transfer. I checked Digger's account. I had invested his money the same ways, and he was doing just as well.

"I'll give you a list of recipients I identified. You may have others you want to include."

I nodded.

"We should go. Dr. Rosenbloom wants to speak to Eric," Digger said. "We can talk more afterwards."

"Of course," my mother said.

I hugged Mom. She didn't let go.

"I'll be back as soon as we finish, Mom."

"That's fine. But don't feel you have to spend all day with me. Spend time with Digger, too. And you may need a nap. Dr. Rosenbloom said you would probably tire easily over the next few days. Your muscles have never been used." I nodded. I hadn't thought about that. "Jib is flying up tomorrow, and you should be stronger then. We can all get together."

"Oh, good! I want to meet him."

"You'll like him."

"I'm sure I will."

Digger and I left her room. Digger took me to a door. It opened and I saw Dr. Rosenbloom sitting at a table. We walked into the room and sat.

"Thank you for helping me," I said.

"You are welcome. There are some things you need to know before you can decide what your next steps are."

I nodded.

"First, how do you feel?"

"Fine. I wore out quickly, yesterday." I looked at Digger. "I guess it was yesterday."

Rosenbloom nodded.

"It was. But today?"

"Actually, I feel great. Very energetic."

"Good."

It was weird watching his beak barely open when he spoke.

He sighed.

"I don't like being put in the position of explaining myself. But it is my own fault I am in it. I shouldn't complain."

As I sat there, I wondered why he wanted that horrible body, with its lethal looking beak, the feathers, and the eyes that were on the sides of his head.

He turned his head and focused one eye on me.

"Have you ever wondered why I created Beasts?"

"I always assumed it was because you could."

He chuckled.

"That does sound like something I would say. But that is not the reason. It was not a whim. Nor was it whimsy. You may or may not be aware that the human genome—the entire collection of genes—is full of garbage."

"I remember from school that there are a lot of inactive genes."

He nodded. "And deleterious genes, as well. Gene therapies and surgeries can reverse the effects, but nothing has been done about the basic problem: the human genome is a mess. And yet, there is great resistance to improving it. Eugenics is still illegal and improving the genome is eugenics, without a doubt. We have had the science to improve humanity for centuries, and yet, we still treat only symptoms. We don't address causes. It seems so great a waste of our potential. We can be so much more than we are. We know how to do it but we are frightened. But I'm an arrogant asshole." I gulped. "I'm not frightened. I decided to do something about it. What do you think would have happened if I created superior humans?"

I laughed.

"I have no idea, but it wouldn't have been pretty."

He nodded his head. It was bigger than a human head, and his torso was smaller. The end of his beak almost hit the table.

"I knew that. Instead, I tried to think of a way to make superior humans fit into society. It occurred to me that it would be easy if they were considered inferior. It is human nature to pity the less fortunate and to resent the more fortunate."

"They are disguised!"

He nodded.

"The superficial resemblance to animals is their disguise. It is simulated inferiority. Biologically, Beasts are superior humans with an optimized, artificial genome. But human society accepted them, thinking they were sad experiments. I was very surprised my prison sentence wasn't much longer than it was. What I did was considered immoral and unethical, but I felt it still had to be done. Humans had to see what an actual improved human was like. They are like humans, of course. Only healthier and happier. One thing they are not, is much smarter. It was difficult not to make them smarter. I wanted to. But smarter and healthier would make them seem superior, and I knew I needed to avoid that. However, they are smarter than the average human. They just aren't all geniuses."

He sighed and his beak lowered.

"But what to do about humans? There had been many marriages of humans to Beasts, but the Beast genome is totally incompatible with the human. I developed a method of reproduction with humans that caused the Beast parent to contribute a diploid gamete, which provided all the chromosomes for the offspring. It was simple with female Beasts and much more complicated if the Beast was the father. The sperm has a full complement of chromosomes and the ability to destroy the human DNA in the human egg. I never implemented it, though. Do you understand that?"

About every tenth word, I thought.

"Are you saying that a human-Beast child is a clone of the Beast?"

"Very good! Close. A randomization process manipulates some of the genes in the diploid gamete. They prevent it from being an exact clone. But you were right, it would have been a clone, if that was not done."

He sighed, again.

"Since I did not implement it, there have been no Beast-human offspring. I don't want two races, inferior humans and superior humans. I wanted everyone to benefit from my work. But how to do it has been the question."

He paused and peered at me.

"You seem remarkably unsurprised by all this."

"I'm still in shock."

He nodded his head and his beak did hit the table that time.

"I began working on converting humans into Beasts. Once the project was far enough along, I tried it on myself. It was a success. I was a Gorilla. I publicized the work through press conferences. I was more than a little disappointed that no humans were interested in converting. Unfortunately, Beasts were considered inferior to normal humans and that was part of the problem. I had no one to blame but myself for that, though. It started to become obvious that I had lived a long time by then. When asked, I explained it was due to the conversion. Then, with the help of my friend Richard Jensen, I acquired this body. I knew it would appeal to many humans who dreamed of flying. It was just one more method of advertising the advantages of conversion. You are also an advertisement."

That surprised me. I looked at Digger. He looked surprised, too.

"You would be dead without the Beast nanites that were inside you."

I nodded.

"You have another enhancement, which I hope is an enticement for many. Your new body is capable of gestating and giving birth to babies."

I swallowed wrong and began coughing. When I was through, I sat up.

"Really?"

"Yes. If you want to have a child with Digger, you can. It's up to you. It isn't automatic. You can't get pregnant unless you get injections of a hormone, once every day for a week. I can administer those to you.

"All of this advertisement is necessary to help the human race. You are very famous, Eric. You will show everyone that humans can be Beasts, too. And they can gain abilities in the process. Now most people can't afford to change. But if enough wealthy people do it, the cost will begin to drop for everyone, as conversion tanks begin being mass produced. In twenty years' time, I hope that when you see a Beast on the street, you won't know whether it is a human in a Beast body, or a true Beast. That, I hope, will eliminate the desire to keep the old human body around another four million years. Humans in Beast bodies will be healthier and live longer. Perhaps not as long as Beasts, but longer. I want a Beast body to be preferred by the average human, man or woman. I want them saving their money to get a Beast body, and when they have a child, I want them to decide to have a Beast baby and not a human one. It will live longer, after all."

I shook my head. He had a grand plan!

"As I said, you are a very famous person, Eric. Billions of people saw you, uh, drinking."

I put my face in my hands and groaned. How could I walk down a street and hold my head up?

Digger put his arm around me.

"Don't worry about it," Digger said.

"You don't have to worry. You aren't in the video," I said.

"Eric, do you really care whether some humans don't approve?" Dr. Rosenbloom asked me. "You have been living in a Zone. You knew when you moved there that some humans would not approve. You met and fell in love with Digger. Again, you must have known some people would not approve."

I sighed.

"You are right, Doctor. It's just that...I've always kept a low profile. If people didn't know who I was, they wouldn't know my father was Martin La Roche. I...well, I was ashamed."

"Well, don't be! I have done far more for humanity than your father has and I approve of you. As soon as you had the money, you began thinking of helping others, didn't you?"

I nodded.

"That makes you a fine person to the people who know you. I know many, many people who are kinkier than you. I once had a friend who liked to get footed. Do you know what that it?"

"No."

"He liked his partners to push their foot inside his anus."

I burst out laughing.

"After a pedicure, I hope!" I said.

Digger laughed.

"If you decide to get pregnant, you will advertise the fact that humans who can't give birth naturally, can do it as Beasts. After time, the people who know someone who has converted will realize they don't get sick, they don't visibly age, and they have capabilities beyond their own."

I nodded.

"Now, would you like to see some of the other advantages of your body? It's Beast 3.0, you know."

"3.0?"

"Yes. Digger and Pan were my only Beasts 2.0. I was experimenting with nanites. Digger and Pan can transmit them to human partners and their nanites can reproduce in humans. I hoped Pan would find a human, but he showed that it worked with Beasts 1.0, too, which was good. Their nanites are much more capable than the ones in Beasts 1.0, which are much superior to those you received annually as a child. I had hoped it might be possible to enhance human bodies from within with the nanites Digger and Pan produce, but nanites alone can't change the DNA in every cell in a person's body quickly enough. Come with me, please."

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