Human Powered Flight

Stock:

Griffon Vulture: xCrystals
Girl: The Artist Dark Lady

Story Line: The Zoo

Do you really mean that?" asked Linda incredulously. "You really think this strange stuff will let me grow wings and fly?"

Linda had had flying dreams ever since she was a child. You know the kind of dream. You are flying through forests or cities, under your own power, circling, spinning, just free. She'd done all the usual things to fly, of course. She had a pilot's license. She hang glided whenever her schedule would let her do it. But this was something totally different. She'd just been told they could give her wings, real wings! And the muscles to fly, just like in her dreams.

"The indications are that you would grow a pair of wings in a few weeks and have the strength to fly on your own in about a month," answered the fellow across the desk from her.

Dr. Hildaria wasn't your usual researcher. He, too, had flight dreams since a child and wanted to fly himself. Unfortunately, he'd broken a leg as a child and it had never healed properly. He was afraid to try any of the usual avenues for fear he'd rubric the bone. At his age, that would be serious indeed.

"Like an angel?"
"Like a bird."
"I don't understand exactly. Angel wings are bird wings."
"True enough. But angels have six limbs and you only have four. Your arms will become your wings."
"I thought I'd still be able to do everything I could now."
"You will be able to do most things. Of course, your talons on your feet will take over from your hands."
"My feet, too?. How much of me will still be me?"
"Oh you'll all still be you. Except you'll have wings and feathers. Your manual dexterity won't suffer overly as your feet will be as flexible and accurate as your hands. You'll just have to learn how to manipulate things with your feet instead of hands."
"Ah," Linda sighed. She'd visualized something entirely different. Still her body but, somehow, with wings on her back. Like in her dreams. "I'll need a few days to think it over."
"I understand," Dr. Hildaria closed the case book in front of him.

He opened the door for Linda and watched as she wandered down the hall. It was always the same. Some people wanted to fly but didn't want to give anything up to get it. He couldn't get subjects willing to become flying people because they wanted six limbs and there was no way to grow those extra limbs. Well, this time it would be different. The glass of water he'd offered her at the beginning of the session would see to that.

Linda made her way home. She really did want to fly. But she didn't want to change into a bird. She was feeling tired and put it down to the letdown of finding out that the experiment wasn't going to give her even a chance at flying on her own. That was disappointing and more than a little depressing. She'd had such high hopes for the interview, too.

The next morning, Linda awoke after dozens of her flying dreams. She'd never had that many in a night before. She turned her head and noticed that clock said 5:30. That was still way too early to get up but she was thirsty and decided to roll out of bed. Only to discover that she was wrapped in her sheets and was having more than a little difficulty getting loose. Part of the problem seemed to be that whenever she tried to move her hands, her feet moved. But her arms still moved normally. She decided she'd best try to unroll herself and, after several minutes, managed to do it. Once the sheets were loose, it was a simple matter to shrug them off. It was then she caught sight of herself in the full length mirror.

"Holy shit!" she swore.

She was now standing on the bed but was little taller than she'd have been sitting. She was feathered! Fine feathers on her shoulders and tummy coarsened into large feathers along the wings and lengthened into the flight feathers that now hung from her arms - or rather her wings! Somehow, in all that dreaming she'd changed into a bird. Then she remembered the water Dr. Hildaria had given her.

"He spiked it with something!" she said to the walls.

How could she live this way? She'd best go find him and get him to change her back. After all, she hadn't agreed to this kind of thing. She struggled to coordinate her leg and hand movements to open the window. It was difficult and she had to plan every move. There wasn't the fine link there had been when her hands had been on her arms. She now had to carefully position what felt like legs (they were her legs, but were now scaled and had talons), grasp the window sash with her hands (now the talons of some kind of vulture or eagle) and then carefully move the window sash upward. She hopped onto the balcony and spread her wings.

A few quick flaps told her she had the strength to fly and so she did. She flew directly toward the Zoo and Dr. Hildaria's office. As she passed over the parking lot, she caught sight of him exiting his car and stooped to catch him. She back-winged in front of him and landed.

"You are absolutely beautiful, my dear," was all he had to say.