changeling control unit.

CALLER: “D”
TIMESTAMP: 1811

A: You better be dead.
D: Like you were worried.
A: I didn’t tell you to take your time, did I?
D: Wasn’t really up to me. It was a long search, that’s all.
A: You found it, then?
D: …
A: Well?
D: Yeah. Captured alive. And the man is alive, too—a little scratched up, but nothing fatal.
A: Oh?
D: Yeah, oh. Name or no, it had him. He said it held back. Thinks his dog is still in there, but we already found what’s left of the real thing.
A: You’re sure he’s human?
D: Field tests were copacetic.
A: Ship him to fac and I’ll run the rest of the labs myself. The changeling, too. How long until sedation wears off?
D: It didn’t need any. It was absolutely compliant.
A: Well, knock it out before transport. You can’t be too careful with dogs.

I can’t call myself a witness since I take the commute blindfolded, but I swear Dr. Miyano drives like a maniac. I’ve never once heard her signal at any of the careening turns we make, for whatever that’s worth, and the only break to awkward silence is her muttering at cars to get out of her way. I should ask one of the other researchers if they could pick me up instead. At this rate I’m risking greater exposure to a car crash than a subject.

So I’m usually gritting my teeth too much to talk on the drives, but yesterday Lane from lab interrogated me on my resume in that passive way everyone else has, and then she finally came out and asked it: “Why the hell did Dr. Miyano hire you?” I’ve been wondering the same thing since I got here, and I still didn’t have any kind of answer to give her. So I repeated the question on this morning’s drive.

But Dr. Miyano stayed quiet so long that I thought she was going to ignore me, and when she did speak, it was too thoughtless to be worth the pause. “Well, I can't exactly call you driven or especially sharp,” she said, at least something along those lines. “And you don’t seem concerned with those facts. You were ambivalent toward yourself and this opportunity in our interview. If you can keep like that without getting ambitious, you’ve got potential in the field for something special. Would that interest you?”

It sounded rhetorical, and my jaw was tight from the several hundred degree turn we must’ve just slid through, so I didn’t reply. The rest of the drive was quiet. Dr. Miyano didn’t tell me if this was the correct answer.

Dr. Miyano only ever calls me intern, even outside the facility. All 5 of the researchers have a letter assigned, at least, but temp staff aren’t worth that designation. The role is nondescript and interchangeable; In a semester, they’ll slot in someone new. I know that’s by design. A student without proper training can’t be given the chance to slip up and introduce themselves.

But lately I feel less like an intern and more like “Intern.” How does a changeling know a job title from a name? It’s not like they cross reference birth certificates. Maybe I’d know the answer if I paid more attention to the readings.

I shouldn’t let myself think that way, just in case. Then again—005 can’t really want any of our faces after what it got its hands on, and only one of us have a name worth taking.

The other researchers scramble letters every few months, I think, but Dr. Miyano must always be “A.” It doesn’t matter anyway since they all call her some form of “Head Researcher.” Anonymity is hard with a name like hers.

You would think she would be strictly kept from the applied field for the sake of safety: The chances of a subject knowing her name are too high, and there doesn’t seem to be much point in keeping her here after the inoculation. But I don’t think she can stop herself.

There’s an empty look in 005’s face when it’s not miming at human expression. It’s the same emptiness that Dr. Miyano wears when she picks me up outside the facility, and it doesn’t go away until she’s inside. I still haven’t gotten used to it—how much older she is than the picture pasted in presentations. How much of her has been used up.

Of the 118 changeling subjects housed in this lab, 36 maintain a “positive vital status.” The rest withered up before Dr. Miyano got a handle on her perfect lab environment. 005 is the only subject below the 060s that’s still around—I don’t see the point in keeping him alive so long without active experimentation, though. I thought the doctor would be nice enough to put him out of his misery.

It, I should say, not he. It was wearing a woman before, a tired lady in her 40s with an outdated haircut. I think it used someone’s mom.

Now it has the face of a movie star, and the researchers had to size up its scrubs to make room for an action film physique. I keep meaning to look up the actor so I can separate it from the real thing, but I never remember once I’m home. He’s the kind of handsome that makes him hard to tell apart, anyway, so I doubt I’d be able to spot him. I wish I could bring in a camera, or look at the magazine—it must’ve listed his name, or the molt wouldn’t be so clean. They locked it in quarantine, though. I can only see the guy’s face in interviews.

Actually, 005 is the only changeling I’ve seen since I got here, and only through the observation glass while I take transcripts. My advisor took every chance to emphasize how rare an opportunity this internship would be; The whole department has learned my name just in time to call me lucky, especially other applicants who idolize Dr. Miyano and the live changeling initiative. But after a few weeks, I’m relieved to be pushing paper. I’m not about to risk my life for an unpaid internship—at least, no more than I have by being here.

No matter how badly I mess up the transcripts, Dr. Miyano just smiles and says great work. I was sure she'd notice when I got her sentences wrong--I even put her personal name on the files. But there are no signs that anyone has read any of my typed reports sign my arrival. I practiced the typewriter with some protocol and everything; Now I wonder why I bothered.

I haven't seen anyone occupy any desk but my own. The researchers write on their clipboards while walking, and Dr. Miyano has me type up the contents when everyone prefers their own handwriting. I only get to leave the office for interviews, and only to sit on the other side of the window that subjects supposedly can't see through, since it's backed by silver. Sometimes 005 stares at the glass, though, and I'm positive our eyes meet. 

Typing the reports is still a pain. Dr. Miyano claims changelings can mess with electronics just like they mess with people, so I have to use a mechanical typewriter, and I keep pressing keys at the same time. She told me to slow down and retype the whole page whenever there's a typo, but I guess that was just for show. She probably shreds the papers as soon as I'm gone.

Still not bad for a internship, I guess. At least I'm in a lab; My classmates are running coffee orders. I get a reference from Dr.Miyano when this is over, and plenty of free time to study between transcripts, since no one has noticed me smuggling in textbooks.

SUBJECT 005 OBSERVATION REPORT. CONDUCTED BY RESEARCHER B AND TRANSCRIBED BY EXTERNAL PARTY. 

1100. Subject 005 has been granted a copy of People magazine and a foil mirror. Subject remains under observation until foreign objects are removed from holding area.

1140. Subject 005 has studied all pages. It has now become fixated on the center spread.

1145. Subject has ceased to blink.

1230. Eyes and skin have dulled in preparation for molt.

1437. Molt in progress. Loss of blood remains manageable. Change is likely viable without assistance.

1512. Molt is complete. Difficult to ascertain success until viscera is cleaned from exclosure, but appears healthy. Hair and nails have begun modification.

1851. Subject 005 has exited dormancy and change appears successful. it has begun to examine itself in hand mirror. 

1930. Subject appeared agitated but cooperated with sedation. After cleaning, it can be confirmed that finishing changes are complete and 005 is indistinguishable from magazine image. Foreign objects have been removed.

2200. Upon emergence, Subject 005 ate ravenously. Provided calories should be adjusted to match energy expended in full-body change.This process appears to have successfully combatted self-destructive behavior in Subject 005, but regular maintenance and attention may be necessary to prevent future incidents.