✅ Unusual Vacancy

Part 5 - The Induction

"I've seen you smiling when you watch them having fun," Cass explained, with a smile of her own. "We already had some idea of your temperament from the social media analysis. You are fun-loving, open, and honest. That is all the qualification we need. Candidate appearance might have been a factor in some cases, but since the implant has become ubiquitous we rarely have to worry about such things."

"Oh, I was meaning to ask," Amy found herself raising a paw, like a kid in class with a question. She was really nervous now; she'd been expecting a job interview to see if she was qualified to be a 'play team member'. Someone with her background didn't get a couple of perfunctory questions and a job offer, especially not for a salary that would comfortably cover her living expenses. She caught herself and lowered the offending arm before the other woman could comment on her nerves. "It says change consent. Is that just to fit the uniforms or something?"

"Ah yes. Allowing us to connect the building's systems directly to your implant would allow us to keep track of you throughout the building, which could be useful in the case of an emergency, as well as making it possible to adapt your appearance to the role you are playing. We find that visible changes can often increase immersion, making a cub's fantasies seem even more real. But don't worry about unexpected changes. Our custom morphic programs rely heavily on subconscious neural processing, and therefore all the normal safeties will remain in place. Any limitations you specify prior to giving us your implant codes would be enforced by the device itself, and we could not make Special Classification changes except those you have already been notified of. So, if there are any limitations to the appearances you would be comfortable with, or the frequency or intensity of changes, then please let us know."

"I won't change race," Amy said, more aggressively than she had intended, "Unless there's a really good reason, maybe. No species change without prior discussion. No sex or gender change either, I don't think I can move on that one."

"That seems perfectly reasonable. And I can assure you, we would not ask for either of those things. Doctor Hamblein in particular has been saying for a while that he particularly wants a Eurasian Lynx in the next batch of recruits; he always seems to think first about the aesthetic qualities of our little team, and lately he has been making repeated requests that we try to assemble a group with representatives of all the feline species."

"I think that's probably the only hard restrictions I have. Colours, I'm not so sure about. And I'd like to keep my eyes as they are, if that's okay."

"Certainly. Maybe you would like to do a quick test run? Show us an appearance you might be comfortable with. Call it one last test, of imagination this time. Of course, we could give you a design that suits our requirements, but we want you to be happy here, as happiness often seems infectious among the little ones. So we want something that you like and that also fits your mood. Would you be happy with an experiment to see if your tastes are compatible with the aesthetic of the project?"

"I think so. Just changing my appearance? I could do it now if you want, if you can tell me the guidelines."

"Of course. We have a room set up with the Morpheus Master System, which I believe is compatible with all recent implants. I shall issue you a uniform, and you should make whatever adjustments you feel necessary to make yourself interesting to the little ones out there," she waved one hand towards the kids in the courtyard, "A pleasant demeanour, and someone they would immediately want to befriend."

Amy looked at the group below again. They almost all had their own implants, cubs and kittens rather than human children. That was another sign they came from wealthy families, the ones who could afford the procedure without five or ten years of saving. Amy had been nearly fifteen before she could afford hers, even thought the legal minimum age had been twelve. Now the system had been proven safe, you could have children implanted as young as their first birthday; but it looked like some of those families must have rushed their children to a surgical centre as soon as the latest change in the law came through.

She could see why the managers would want feline staff; the children were boisterous and energetic, which often seemed to be characteristic of cat people. Whether it was a set of emotional traits that made people more likely to choose that body type, or if the body influenced your mind, feline staff would work well with feline cubs, having a similar worldview and maybe easier to relate to. She also took in a group tendency towards pastel colours in their hair and clothes, and a roughly even divide between 'natural' and coordinating colours for fur.

"I can give it a try," she said with a smile, mind already running through all the different possibilities.