Call them
Not having any other leads to help you understand the complete re-ordering of your body, you look and quickly find the phone. You find it an odd little throw back, the receiver actually corded to the little base with the buttons.
You get to a receptionist and ask for the Professor explaining about the note. The receptionist places you on hold. You sit there listening to the oddly familiar dial tone, finding this place even more surreal for it's small familiarities than the obvious differences. You found yourself subconsciously curling the little twisted phone cord around your paw, but then stared. You don't remember doing that at home, but then you didn't have a corded phone. Still, you couldn't shake the feeling that something else was going on inside your head... It was in that moment that you hear the dial tone abruptly stop.
"Hello?"
"Sorry I was out at lunch and my receptionist had to come and get me. I presume you were not always like you currently are and you got my note?"
"Yes, and did you leave your cell phone in your office?"
"What is a cell phone?"
"Oh, a cell phone is a small device that allows you to communicate much like a phone. It works by radio or something. Usually kind of rectangular? Might have a touch screen?"
"I guess your world is more advanced then us there. How do you keep the signals from getting crossed. All of our radio interferes with everything else in range."
"I don't know. I just know it works."
"Anyway I presume you are calling about the research opportunity on my note"
"Mostly, although you do seem to know a bit about the costumes that made this possible and I was wondering if there is any way back to my old life or at least a male body?"
He laughs "Ouch. Well as for getting your old body back, I can't help you there, we barely understand the process ourselves, much less any sort of reversal. Returning back to a male body is easier according to the legends, but again, this is passed from generations, an imperfect oral account, how empirical or reliable it may be is... Well... Lets just say you shouldn't hold out any hope. Though, if you can find a male costume of sorts, I'm sure it's just a matter of trying on a second skin."
"And I guess I become that creature instead of a lioness? and then I solve everyone's problems?"
"That seems to be how things go. Rather unscientific, I know, but it's the best conclusion I can come up with given the evidence I've been presented with. Anyway are you interested in the job offer?"
"I don't even know what you want me to do!"
"Simple. We have found a device and would like your help to understand it."
"What kind of device?"
"Well, we put things into it and they come out as ingots of pure elements. It's strange, we've done our best to open it, perhaps even analogue it to our own devices, but evidently our understanding is imperfect when it comes to such matters. Though it is quite good for rubbish processing, but we think it should be able to do more."
"Sounds like it would, I assume it has a large power supply?"
"Yes, we take a significant percentage of the university's power, though why, again, is still fairly unclear. Does this sound like something you've seen before?"
"Well... Maybe, I'd have to look at it a little closer."
"So you'll accept the job?"
Written by Catprog + Sal_Lilith on 17 June 2012
