The Birth of a Kind

Our story takes place in the not so distant future, just beyond the world of tomorrow and in the dreams of those who dare to think outside the box of conventional relationships. In the early years of the 21^st century scientists struggled to develop cures and serums for all manner of diseases that plagued mankind. Aids, leukemia, sickle cell disease, and even the newly deemed disease: obesity. As scientists slaved away to develop the seemingly unachievable solutions to these horrid diseases time passed by and hoped faded slowly but surely. Coupled with increasing amounts of incurable ailments appearing daily and the immense problem of obesity the fearful, ill, and overweight demanded a solution from the highly trusted scientific community who was losing its patience with the over demanding public. It was in a group of emerging young doctors that a solution was uncovered that would both mystify and frighten the world abroad.

The first case of these newly “cured” patients was an attractive young lady by the name of Dorothy Wright of Pittsburg PA. Wright was an outpatient leukemia victim who was participating in chemotherapy at the time; she was a lover of animals, especially cats. She was not a “furry” and had no knowledge of such things. Before she was diagnosed with the seemingly fatal disease she was happily engaged to a young man who deserted her once he found out that his soon to be wife was infected with a disease that made her long exquisite red hair fall out. Her hair was the very reason he fell in love with Dorothy and he couldn’t bear to look at her without the locks he had once spend hours stroking when they began dating. Dorothy was heartbroken but knew that she would most likely die from the cancer and that the pain and suffering would soon be over. The doctors gave her 4 months to live after the diagnosis was confirmed but her time never came. To occupy her time once she left her job as a paralegal she got herself a kitten to take care of. As time progressed the cancer took hold but never caused anything but a minor discomfort. After 5 months had passed Dorothy began to wonder what had happened to her. She only lived with minor discomfort despite her seemingly fatal illness. She returned to the young caring doctor who had reluctantly predicted her date of expiration for another examination. He informed her that although she had only felt minor pain that her internals were steadily degrading although much slower than anticipated, and he informed her that with chemo-therapy that her survival was almost assured. After the visit Dorothy returned home to her kitten who greeted her with great enthusiasm as it did every day. It was then she realized that this cat was the reason she had outlived her expected survival time line. This ball of fur which gave her such pleasure and joy was the sole reason for her endurance. Dorothy started the treatment exactly one week after that day. The doctor warned her about the long road ahead and all the unpleasantries that lay beyond the initial treatment. Knowing all of this she went ahead with the program and vowed to survive it if only for that kitten who gave her the will to go on.

Three weeks into the therapy Dorothy had lost all her hair but refused to wear a wig to replace her once luxurious mane and instead chose an elegant yet simple hat to take its place. She went to the market for a gallon of skim milk and her groceries as she did every Thursday morning when a strong gust of wind stole the hat from atop her head and sent it flying down the sidewalk and around the corner between two buildings only to land at the base of a brick wall. After quickly chasing after her crushed velvet hat and bending down to pick it up she saw a calico cat at the opening of the alley. As she walked towards it she leaned over slowly and tried to get the stray to trust her so she could look for a tag. As she drew closer to the cat it walked towards her cautiously and sniffed Dorothy’s hand to determine if she was a threat. She said, “don’t be afraid I won’t hurt you” and the feline began to rub itself against her legs. Trying to pet the cat, Dorothy reached down and attempted to stroke the cat’s head and reassure it that she meant no harm. Just as her fingertips grazed the calico’s ear the beast hissed at her then bit her on the side of the hand and drew blood. Jumping back quickly and yelping in pain Dorothy watched as the cat licked its chops and dashed off around the corner. Dorothy looked down at her right hand and rubbed the two puncture wounds vigorously trying to shoo away the pain and stop the bleeding. After returning home to put away her milk and groceries she rubbed her wounds with alcohol and placed a band aid over the bite and went to her weekly chemo treatment as planned. When she returned home that evening she was feeling much more drained and uneasy than usual and headed straight for her bedroom where she promptly collapsed on her bed without changing into her night gown or even removing her shoes.

The next morning after waking from a particularly satisfying sleep she found that she needed to stretch far more than usual and took five minutes to do so as her cat watched and mimicked her. She felt very refreshed and limber as she walked from her bedroom to the kitchen the next morning where she reached into the fridge and opened the jug of milk she had purchased the night before and proceeded to remove the cap and take a drink straight from the bottle. After what seemed like only moments to her she put the jug down and uttered a satisfying “ahhhh” followed by the brief statement “that was nice but I wish I had bought whole milk instead, much more thick and tasty”. It was soon after saying this that she realized that she wasn’t hungry any more and recapped the jug only to realize she had just downed half of a gallon of milk. Thinking nothing of it she placed the jug back in the refrigerator and proceeded to the bathroom to perform all of the morning hygiene normality’s. After brushing her teeth and washing her face she looked in the mirror and saw that her long flowing red locks were once again in their rightful place. She jumped back and pinned herself against the bathroom wall staring in awe at the reflection of her long elegant hair that she had been told would never return to its original luster and fullness again. She reached back and ran her fingers through what she thought had to be a dream. She was astonished to find that it was very much real and was thicker, and softer than it had ever been. She rejoiced at this stunning occurrence and bounded into her bedroom to brush it back into the style she had worn for so many years. Filled with new boundless energy and swelling amounts of confidence she quickly took a shower, leapt into her cutest outfit, and headed out to paint the town red with her recently restored beauty. She caught the every man’s eye who out that morning and flirted avidly with most every one but never going further than a brief conversation. She was walking past the star buck’s on her way home when the young doctor who had been treating her in therapy recognized her and dashed out to catch up with her. He managed to catch her just before she crossed the street and asked her to join him back in the coffee shop. He took her in and sat her down then ordered two frozen coffees for them and when he returned asked her to tell him what had happened. After explaining that she had just woken up this way the doctor was still confused and asked her if she would mind coming in so that he could make sure nothing was wrong. Dorothy heistantly agreed and together they went to his office at the hospital to examine her status. After approximately 20 minutes of testing the doctor determined this strange development was without explanation. It was then that he saw the band-aid on her hand and asked what it was. Quickly removing the bandage she showed him and told him how she had come by the wound. After her brief story the doctor said that what she had told him didn’t explain what was happening and that she was fine and that he wanted to see her again on Thursday at her weekly appointment.

For the next five days Dorothy reveled in the joy that her cat and new hair had brought her and went about life as usual without ever feeling weak or uncomfortable. When Thursday came she went into the doctors office and underwent the usual radiation exposure that accompanied the therapy. When they were finished she felt as energetic as when she had entered and walked out with flare and grace. Over the following week more changes took place in Dorothy’s body. On Saturday morning she woke up and found that her normally silky smooth body was covered in a sparse medium length layer of orange hair. She was mortified and admitted to herself that she hadn’t attended to the need in a few days so she dispatched the unsightly hair and shaved from head to toe. Realizing that this was odd she still blindly ignored the unusual amount of body hair that had appeared seemingly overnight and went on with life. Despite her best efforts the hair she had removed that morning had returned by 8pm that same day. She continued to repeat the process again and again as the hair regrew and thickened over the following days. On Wednesday morning she awoke and headed to the bathroom to wash her face and give her eyes time to focus. She began to run the water and looked in the sink as orange hairs ran down the drain. Her eyesight slowly shifted down towards her hands and arms and dropped her jaw. Every inch of her arms was now covered in plush, light orange layer of fur and her fingers had become more rounded and lost their nails. She brushed her left hand with the fingertips of her right only to find that doing so caused half inch claws to emerge from the tips of her fingers. Dorothy shrieked in horror she redrew her claws and looked in the mirror to see a pair of amber eyes with vertical slits staring back at her. The sides of her head where her ears had once been were straight and smooth and as she reached up she felt 2 pointed semi-stiff objects atop her head facing out at oppsite angles. She looked back at the reflection in fright and saw that her ears had reformed on top her head and parted her long flowing hair. She stepped back and looked down at her bare feet and saw that her legs had been covered in the same fashion and that her toenails were now pointed and curved downwards. As an act of confirmation she slowly reached behind her and touched her lower back and slid her paw back and forth from side to side. She breathed a sigh of relief as she concluded that despite her feline appearance she did not possess a tail to match the rest of her new aesthetics. As the shocking reality sunk in Dorothy slowly sank down on the edge of the bathtub and began to sob.

The following day was her next appointment with the therapist who she had not seen since her last session despite passing by the very coffee shop where she had run into him at least three times since last week. She found a long trench coat in the corner of her closet and donned that along with her hat and the biggest sunglasses she owned as well as a scarf to cover her face. Dorothy sped to the doctors office dashing from shadow to shadow trying to remain as unnoticed as possible. When she got to the clinic Dorothy dove into the office and waited nervously for the doctor to come in. He arrived about ten minutes after she had collapsed from angst on the chair and was on the verge of tears for the third time that day. As the doctor sat down in his chair he looked over his clipboard without noticing his patient’s unusual attire. As he flipped the pages on his clip board he began to speak to say “Ok Ms. Wright your treatment is going along smoother than any other patient I’ve ever had.” Finishing the statement he looked up and asked about the rather strange choice of outerwear Dorothy had on today. Without speaking a word she stood up and removed her coat to reveal her tangerine colored fur coated figure clad in a pair of blue jeans and a long sleeve shirt that exposed only her hands and bare newly formed paw hybrid feet which no longer required the protection of normal footwear or fit into anything she owned. As the doctor’s eyebrows raised up she removed the scarf which caused his eyes to widen even further than they already were. With either hand she removed her hat and sunglasses at the same time to reveal her amber eyes and the pointed ears atop her head. The doctor stood up and leaned over his desk supporting himself with only his hands after losing all strength in his legs. She looked at the man who was astonished by what he saw before him and begged him not to run or scream. Only moments after the words had left her lips the young doctor lost his only means of support and dropped flat on his desk. Dorothy rushed over to him and helped him back into his chair. Once he had caught his breath and the throbbing pain in his shoulder had subsided they had a long detailed discussion about what had happened since their last visit. After what seemed like hours there was a loud screech from outside on the street below. Dorothy rushed over to see what the noise was from and saw the same calico cat who had she had run into weeks ago was being cornered by animal control. The cat arched its back and prepared to pounce on the agents when without rhyme or reason then suddenly keeled over and Dorothy was able to see that foam was seeping out of the corpse’s mouth. Seeing this sent a gigantic chill down her spine and caused her reflexes to make her step back from the window. To her surprise the doctor was standing less than half a foot away and had seen everything she had. After filling the doctor in on the relevance of the animal that had just perished on the street below the doctor began to from a conclusion to explain all that had happened in the last two weeks.

He explained that chemotherapy’s side effects often conflicted with cell reproduction and development as well as matters involving DNA. He conjectured that due to the introduction of rabies from the cat compiled with the already present conditions and side effects from the treatment that they had intertwined to form an alternative cure for her illness. After brief testing it was deducted that the cancer still existed but that it was much less severe than other similar cases were at the same point. He advised Dorothy to continue the treatment due to the fact that her current condition was irreversible and the cancer still need to be eradicated despite that anything else that happened beyond that point was unpredictable. Reluctantly she agreed with the doctor and they proceeded to the examination room where the treatment was administered. While setting up the equipment Dorothy and the young man agreed that they would keep this between themselves unless her condition became unstable and agreed that she would also come in on every Monday for a physical as well to watch for any signs of trouble. When she returned a few days later she had had developed a stub on the lowest part of her back and was x-rayed to confirm what both thought was the case. The stub was in fact the coccyx growing in length. Aside from that it was confirmed that everything else was stable but that more changes were occurring. Dorothy’s metabolism heightened, and her balance improved dramatically beyond anything seen even in professional gymnastics. In addition to these changes her tail became longer and additional bones grew beyond the coccyx to form a four and a half foot appendage that was under her precise control. The weeks went by and after her second visit since she came out to the doctor she was informed that due to the accelerated extermination of the cancer cells she only needed one month of therapy after that visit. The final change in her physiology was that her nose and mouth formed into a muzzle-like structure and resembled a cat’s jaw line but still maintained a chin and never developed whiskers. There was no real change to her diet but she did favor meat over vegetables or other foods and her canines grew slightly longer.

Throughout all of this the doctor never looked at her like anything less than a woman. It was blatantly obvious to Dorothy that the doctor had found her attractive even when she first came to him and made her wonder what he saw in her.

Between the lone month and a half from the overnight miracle and the end of her treatment, the doctor and Dorothy had become well acquainted in a plutonic way and she had come to grips with her new aesthetics and returned to her normal routines without ever wanting to wear a disguise. She had an idea of what to expect but even some things were unforeseen. Surprisingly there were just as many people on the street who stared as those who just took one glance and went back to what they were doing. She never caused an outright scene but naturally drew attention to herself. She was often asked if it was costume and or told that Halloween was over. Being the confident individual that she was Dorothy never let it get to her and just kept moving. The doctor never said anything to anyone else about Dorothy and was happy she could return to her normal life and old job. It was by chance that they met one day approximately 4 months after her release from therapy, the doctor was sitting in the same coffee shop where he had seen her in public for the first time when he looked up and saw her use her tail to reach up and tag the bell on the door frame before the door itself did. She was dressed in a turquoise tank top and a sea foam green skirt that cut off just above the knees Despite her unique appearance she moved with grace and elegance like no woman he’d ever seen before. All eyes were on her as she approached the front counter and the clerk’s jaw dropped when she took off her sunglasses and looked kindly at him with her deep amber eyes. She placed her order and sashayed with it to a table by herself across the room where she sat down and took a long sip. He watched as her head went back and her long red hair dropped to the seat of the chair. After a few minutes of watching her leaf through a magazine that had been lying nearby he went over to sit with her. They had a corner table and everyone had seen enough to last them so they had some manner of privacy. They talked for about 20 minutes just catching up and talking about the weather and then he blurted out what he’d wanted to say since he met her.

The doctor who was a furry at heart told her that he adored her sparkling personality and that her wild exotic beauty was everything he’d ever dreamed of. Not long after their first couple of dates did they moved in together. In time they were married and honey mooned in Japan where Dorothy’s striking look caught the eye of many people. Word spread around and by the time they had left to return home they had been photographed by a journalist from the states who wanted to get the full story on this woman that many saw as a vision of beauty. Through hard work and many long hours of labor he managed to figure out that she was from Pittsburgh by way of a supernatural lookout forum that connected all of the paranormal investigators and hobbies across the globe. After a bit of travel from New York he was able to find the home of the couple and get the full story. After relaying all of his findings and the epic tale of the two, the story was put into print immediately and soon all sorts of doctors, religious zealots, and well wishers of all kinds were banging on their door for one reason or another. The Zealots claimed that what had happened to Dorothy was the result of devil worship and that she should be condemned not praised or revered. On the other hand scientists and doctors of all sorts collaborated with the files from Dorothy’s treatment and began to experiment with willing Terminal patients. It was discovered that chemotherapy combined with the transfer of trace genetic materials from rabid animals led to a sort of transformation that resulted in stable health with mainly aesthetic changes as well as a few irrelevant biological ones. It was displayed to victims as an alternative to traditional chemotherapy in 100% terminal situations and all situations that had any risk of fatality.

Although the aesthetics were disturbing to very few, those who underwent the outpatient procedure were ecstatic with the results and found that their exotic look was not a hindrance in any way nor did it present problems in matters of relationships due to the mental state and internal organs remaining unchanged from their original structure which caused no need for new medical techniques, equipment or studies. The first patients who participated in the treatment had only a few choices in hybrids. Cats, dogs, foxes and other woodland mammals were the only choices because it was thought wisest to use mammal DNA because of human’s mammal classification yielding the best projected compatibility. As time progressed more animals were found to be just as compatible as the original ones and the technique became more refined and easier to perform, other benefits also became known from the treatment such as a decline in weight related health problems such as heart attacks and back problems. The problem of obesity in America and the rest of the world declined drastically and caused the procedure to appeal to the field of cosmetic surgery but never became as popular as more conventional procedures. Blessed with a new option for survival, terminal patients chose this route of medical help and began to diversify the worlds population even more than it had been in previous generations of the 20^th century. Race became so minor an issue that the only people who still cared were the members of the Klu Klux Klan, various other residents of the bible belt, and religious fanatics. Furrs became as prominent a community as heterosexuals, homosexuals, and even “chubby chasers”. Despite coming all this way there were still those who looked down upon furrs even though their dreams became reality and were as big a part of a population as other races that had existed for centuries. However as participants returned to their normal lives as doctors and construction workers, electricians and programmers they had to bear discrimination not unlike other races before their time.

Wagers became the ethnic slur used to express hatred and prejudice against these people as waves of protesters & antagonizers began to avidly express their hatred. Furrs were abused, harassed, and even beaten because of the ignorance of those who didn’t understand. Those furrs who sought to save themselves formed distinct neighborhoods across the world as well as support groups created by sympathizers and victims themselves to help comfort those who had been persecuted by opposers of the furr lifestyle. The furr population steadily increased over the years and these neighborhoods grew to colony like states in every part of the globe developing entire independent economies within themselves. The whole world became separated, furrs and supporters versus those who despised them. Endless political battles were waged in the United States over the issue and it became a political hot topic that pushed homosexuality and abortion so far off the map that they became irrelevant.

The end to this global fiasco came during the inauguration of the president after the campaign race of 2052 when the suto apartheid had reached its ultimate peak and tensions between furrs and non-furs were more intense than ever before. Although the furr issue was still at its worst, the United States had elected a republican who had plans to outlaw the process that would save lives. He condemned the furrs and anything associated with them, however unbeknownst to anyone but themselves, an organization fighting anti-furr oppression had been formed and had successfully infiltrated the Secret Service and a number of other divisions within the United States government as well almost every other major nation’s government using non-furr supporters so as to not allow for discovery without the need for extensive investigation. The date was set, the operatives were in place, and the watches were synchronized. On that cold January morning the plan went off without a hitch: out of the crowd leaped a tall muscular figure right onto the stage next to the president as he had just completed his oath. As he landed the trench coat the man had been wearing fell to the ground and revealed the figure of a white tiger furr clad in a pair of black leather pants, matching sleeveless shirt, and ski mask with his ears and tail prominently contrasting against his clothes. With lighting speed he produced a black cloth bag, then placed it over the president’s head and slid the clasp shut around his neck to secure it then heaved the president onto his shoulder as he fled the scene with the speed and grace only a large cat could exert. In an attempt to maintain their cover the operatives who made up the entire squad of Secret Service that day gave convincing chase and fired shots to enhance the illusion. As they lost the suspect they radioed back to head quarters, initiating the transmission of an all posts bulletin to every unit and news reports went out across the globe only to inform other nations that the leaders of their global brethren had also had their leaders abducted as well. As more and more information came together, Interpol discovered that according to video recordings taken at each event that these abductions had occurred simultaneously but had officials otherwise stumped as to the party responsible or location of the kidnaped world leaders.

The dedicated men and women at Interpol worked around the clock to uncover more clues and information as a tape arrived at their doorstep the next afternoon. All the top investigators and officials were there for the initial screening of the tape before its release to the public. Jaws dropped as the image of the man who had taken the president walked on-screen wearing the same ski mask that he had been wearing during the kidnaping sat down at a small table and removed it with his broad fur-covered hand. As the mask came off it revealed a set of piercing yellow eyes, the lengthened face of white tiger, and flowing black hair that fell to his shoulders and he began to speak in a calm, deep, and velvety tenor as he placed his hands on the tabletop and laced his fingers together. “Greetings to everyone. My name is Leon Philips and I am the leader of G.F.S. Global Furr Support. We have abducted all of your world leaders to make our cause known and our message heard. Please trust me when I tell you that all of your leaders are safe and that we have no intention of harming them only to keep them captive until our demands are met. “ With a quick turn of the camera a shot of all the world leaders was shown with them blindfolded and tied to chairs. Leon went on to say that they wanted a sanctuary, a place where they could live without fear of persecution or the hatred of others. Narrated clips were woven into the film to show beatings and all kinds of atrocities that had befallen the furr community, fur-covered or not. There wasn’t a dry eye in the group that day and when the film was released to the worldwide public - the factions had an almost complete understanding of each other and apologies and gestures of peace were exchanged among furrs and non alike, but the few of furr defiant who remained would not go unheard and refused to even consider giving land to this relatively new populous.

The coup de grace if you will was a speech at the U.N. by a very special guest speaker to show the leaders of the world’s nations what could be accomplished with an open mind and a heart of kindness. It was approximately a week after the kidnaping occurred that it was arranged by the vice president of the United States for this particular individual to speak at the U.N. and had the largest effect that any speaker had ever had in the history of the organization. An older gentlemen stepped up to the podium and spoke with a somewhat raspy voice, “I would like to introduce a woman who should need no introduction, the woman I fell in love with over forty years ago and without whom I would have no passion in my life. I give you the first person to ever experience the furr transition: Dorothy Wright.” The man took several steps back as an older female furr stepped up to the podium and put on a pair of thin reading glasses as she cleared her throat. Her fur was faded shade of orange and had streaks of gray hair mixed in among her long flowing locks and fur. “Good morning to all of you, I have been asked to speak here by the vice president himself and readily accepted for the chance to help humanity avoid the opportunity to become something it should never be.” She spoke for an hour and a half telling members of the various nations the horrors she had seen and experienced herself and at the end her husband took her in a loving embrace and they shared a brief heart filled kiss and looked deep into each other’s eyes. Her speech moved everyone in the hall to their very core. The session was broadcast over the next few days across the globe touching everyone who’s ears it graced. The members of G.F.S. came forward and returned the leaders to their homes unharmed with no charges pressed for their actions.

A new era dawned over the planet, it seemed that being able to overcome the differences between furrs and non furrs had opened everyone’s eyes to how petty they had been to hate each other because of their sexual preferences, religion, or even skin color. Dorothy and her husband became key members of G.S.F. and global celebrities. World leaders and their citizens embraced the differences among each other and peace prospered across the earth. Palestinians and Israelis co-existed without hostilities for the first time in centuries and nuclear resources were put to use for the good of mankind. In the end, after all the prejudice and violence of the past millennia’s all it took to show the world the error of its ways was the love of two people, and the courage of one soul.

The End

Story by

~ The Peppermint Rhino