Strange Phenomenon

A bright light filled her room and the silhouette of a wolf in a lab coat stood at the doorway. She yawned and heard speech, but couldn’t make out the words. The wolf darted out as quickly as he appeared and she just glanced at the alarm clock next to her. It was 4AM. She sighed, and got out of bed. She put on slippers and then put her lab coat from yesterday over her shoulders and pajamas. She exited her room to a brightly and consistently lit hallway. She looked down the left side, then the right side, where she saw a green light through the white.

She arrived at the accessed room, where the wolf, her boss, was wheeling a ladder over to a tall shelf of books. With half-shut eyes she said, “Dr. Occi? Did you need something?” Glancing at his lynx associate and climbing up the ladder, he shouted, “Yes, Alexis, I was having a dream involving the dichotomous nature of--”

“What book are you searching for, sir?”

“Right around here. Author… Murinus, Seth.”

Alexis racked her memory and reported, “That should be on the very top shelf, sir.” She opened her eyes now as she was unsure he would be able to reach it without assistance. She looked up at him attempting to reach for the book, putting himself in a rather treacherous position. She suggested, “Sir, you should really let me get the book for you. I could easily climb up there for you.” She then noticed that the scientist leapt out of bed without getting any sort of clothes on other than the lab coat. “And you should also really put some clothes on, sir. It’s against safety regulations.” He steadied himself and replied, “No, no, it’s fine, I’ve got it,” and returned to attempting to reach it, one finger of his paw barely reaching while his foot and arm floated above the ladder.

Predictably, he fell shortly after this. Dr. Occi managed to just barely hook the book with an extended claw, then pulled the book and himself off the ladder. After a quick fall he stopped a few feet off the floor, punctuated by a wet noise and a deep pressure in his rear. This stop lasted for mere moments, as the few feet buckled and fell to the floor. He landed on his back, right next to the book. “Ah, here we go! I told you I was fine by myself Alexis. Now where--”

He cut himself off as he noticed a strangely shaped bulge in his lower abdomen. Past it, he could see his assistant’s sleep clothes between his legs. “Alexis? Where are you right now?”

Muffled speech emerged from beneath his fur saying, “In your large intestine, I believe.”

“Hmm! I need to document this… strange phenomenon. Where’s my journal?”

“It should be on the desk to your left, sir.”

Looking that way, he could see an illuminated corner desk with various books and papers on top of it. “Ah, yes. Thank you, Alexis.” He attempted to get up, which seemed unlikely with the additional height between his legs. He muttered to himself, “Perhaps if I…” and squeezed his end’s muscles, which recreated the wet noise and seemed to pull the lynx in more. “Oh, well, not what I was aiming for, but it seems as though it will acquire the same goal…” He started to repeat this process over and over. His abdomen grew with each movement, and he could feel his assistant stretching his flesh. Once only her lab coat remained outside, he stood himself up and exclaimed, “A-ha! We have locomotion once more!” Alexis replied, “Well done, sir.”

He struggled to carry himself and his assistant to the desk, but eventually made it. He starts to write, echoing, “Alright. Phenomenon of… inverse consumption? Yes, that’ll work.” He scribbled some more before speaking again, “Alexis, can you describe the sensations you feel currently?”

She took a moment to feel around her surroundings, as there was essentially no light. “Just a moment ago I passed through yet another ring of muscle. Now, I can feel a very soft, velvet-like surface. This is likely your villi. If I may add, it’s very soothing. Though my skin and fur feels dry.” He wrote down her feelings and then said, “Hmm! So by inversely consuming you, it seems that peristalsis has followed suit by also working inversely. I wonder how long this will continue?” He tapped his pencil against his snout then against his very distended abdomen. “I also wonder, how has my skin and organs managed to handle such an exceptionally large object? Could the digestive system simply be much more flexible than we previously expected?”

Rolling across the room in his chair to a cabinet, he opened it and picked out a small white sphere. He tapped the top of it and said, “Corvus form. Run self-diagnostic.” The white orb opened up and restructured itself into the appearance of a white crow, which then perched itself on a finger of the wolf. It chirped out in a monotonous voice, “Running self-diagnostic… All systems functional. What can I do for you… Dr. Occi?”

“Run 3D-scanning, self.” The crow lifted off and began circling around him, projecting a grid onto his body as it did. He grabbed another sphere from the cabinet, then rolled back to his desk. “Alexis, are you still with us?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good. Do you feel any symptoms of asphyxiation setting in?”

“No sir. It is tight in here, but I have not noticed a lack of air.”

He wrote down the oddity and then said, “Thank you Alexis. Please tell me when you either stop moving or reach my stomach.”

The crow above him landed on his desk and said, “Scan complete. Model saved to server. Physical deformity detected… Diagnose?”

He shook his head while he wrote, saying, “No, I am aware of the… deformity, and its cause. Run 3D-scanning, self, every 10 minutes.” The crow nodded and entered a dormant state. He ran a paw over his bulge once again, pressing it delicately. It hung between his legs and was constantly shifting, moving generally upward. He could hear light noises from his digestive system as it worked in reverse, all of which he documented. “Alexis, could you attempt to move for me? Wiggle your body around, or press your paw into my intestines?”

Responding, he felt stronger movements in his abdomen and could very much feel her. It felt rather enjoyable, he noticed. Next, he saw her paw appear, stretching out his skin further. “Impressive! Thank you very much, my dear assistant.” She simply responded, “You’re welcome, sir.” He documented these new sensations and appearances while his robotic bird flew up and began scanning again. He checked a clock on his desk, noting how long it had been since he sucked in his assistant. He tapped the other white sphere and spoke, “Mus form. Run self-diagnostic.”

This sphere flattened slightly and produced several extrusions. It held an appearance of a mouse and said, in the same high-pitched robotic tone as the crow, “Running self-diagnostic… All systems functional. What can I do for you… Dr. Occi?” He picked up the mouse by its tail and brought it up to his muzzle. It did nothing to act against this, so he opened his maw and dangled the drone above it. Then he had a thought, Would swallowing this the normal way cause the peristalsis to return to normal? He closed his mouth and placed the mouse back on his desk. He tapped his fingers against the desk and stood up. He picked up the mouse once more and put it on his chair.

He wasn’t sure if it would be able to hear him later so he said, “Mus, directives: 3D-scanning, surroundings, continuous; locate subject, Alexis Kerr; 3D-scanning, Alexis Kerr, continuous.” The mouse paused a few moments then replied, “Directives received.” It started to project another grid, so Dr. Occi turned around. Then he fell into his chair, swallowing up the mouse drone like he did his assistant. He only felt it for a few moments and as it moved inward, any pressure it might have been creating was overwritten by his larger and heavier assistant.

He returned to his writing for a few minutes, when a voice from his body said, “Sir, I’m being pushed through another ring of muscle now. I believe I’m entering your stomach.” He put a paw over his stomach and he could barely feel something firm, her nose. Indeed, he could feel her entering his stomach, so he began to write down the feelings as she continued. Inside, Alexis was glad to have a more open space, albeit the atmosphere was still rather stuffy. Especially acrid compared to the intestines. The walls weren’t as smooth and she quickly lost the open space as her body filled it up. She described the sensations as they came to her boss, who was diligently transcribing them.

When she was finished moving into his stomach, it sagged much lower than it did while she was travelling through his intestines. He felt under his distended belly, and was able to feel a firmness in his intestines where the mouse drone was. The crow drone flew up to take another scan. Dr. Occi said, “This is just utterly fascinating. That I, or anyone, would be able to fit an entire other person of similar size into themselves without significant issues is unexpected. I--” He let out a belch. “Mm. Excuse me.” He wrote down the aftertaste from his belch, which had a very savory, meaty flavor to it.

“Anyway. As I was saying Alexis, it’s all very interesting. There should be a mus form drone heading up your way. After that, we can determine if it’s possible for you to exit the digestive system in some fashion. He rubbed over his very elongated belly, which gurgled back. Writing and echoing softly, he said, “In addition to aftertaste… subject also produces a very satisfactory feeling.” He rubbed his chin and stared at his gut. It moved softly, no doubt attempting to churn its food. “Alexis, could you try the wriggling and pressing once more?” The result was much more visible than in the intestines, causing the bulges on his stomach to shift position around. It knocked between his legs, and her paw was very much more visible here than through the intestines. “Fascinating. Thank you again.”

The movements seemed to trigger something in his stomach, as it began to more audibly gurgle. He marked this down, as well as the appearance of some fluids reported by his assistant. After a few more minutes, she reported that the mouse drone had appeared. “The scanning light is illuminating your stomach. I can now see that the walls of your stomach are pink and ridged, though ultimately soft and rubbery as I described previously. Also, I can see below me a green fluid. It is mildly thick and causing my fur to fall off where it reaches. However, there is no pain involved.”

He grinned and wrote down these findings. “Thank you very much, Alexis! This is all very, very interesting. It’s incredibly strange too, that the stomach acids would have no pain associated with them. Perhaps some of the enzymes involved act as a numbing agent?” He burped again, this time emitting some lynx fur in addition to the spittle. He looked at the hairs on his journal and then rolled again over to a different cabinet. He filled his arms with various containers and then rolled back. He placed the hairs in a small dish and put it aside, then wrote down that singular event. He heard a high-pitched voice from his stomach but couldn’t make out the words. Instead, a more audible female voice said, “Sir, your drone was attempting to communicate to you. It reports that I have several physical deformities and asks if you would like to diagnose.”

“Yes, I do.”

The drone heard his voice through the flesh and went dormant, sinking to the bottom of his stomach. He drummed his fingers across his belly while he waited, as well as outlining his assistant’s shape with a claw. The crow started to scan him again, and in the middle of that he heard a ping from his stomach. “Sir, the diagnosis is done. It reports with 98.7% certainty that I am experiencing hair loss, tissue loss, as well as a loss of consistency. It reports the likely cause as damage due to digestive juices.”

He wrote all this down and then finally said, “Okay Alexis, that will be all. You may vacate the premises. Please attempt to make your way up my esophagus.” He felt a pressure near the bottom of his throat and an urge to gag. However, the feeling quickly subsided after a few more attempts. “Alexis? Are you having an issue with your exit?”

“Yes sir. It seems that the digestion has caused my hands to lose consistency.”

He picked up his pencil and prepared to write. “What do you two mean by consistency, exactly?”

“My paws, as well as my lower legs have both deformed into a sort of slime. Non-newtonian, I think.” He wrote this down quickly, almost giddy.

“Okay, I’m going to attempt to regurgitate you manually. Please ready yourself as best you can.” He stood up again and placed a bucket underneath him. He started gagging, trying to spit up his assistant. He felt his stomach move in response, though nothing happened otherwise. He couldn’t feel anything in his throat aside from the normal fluids. He stopped trying after a minute and sat back down. Writing, he said, “It seems that the disadvantage of this sort of consumption is the inability to regurgitate your food, or rather, subjects.”

He tapped his pencil against his gut some and then asked, “Alexis, tell me, how does it feel to be digested?”

She responded, calmly as ever, “There is no real sensation involved with the actual action. However, attempting to move the parts of my body that are dissolved feels similar to moving it through a thick fluid not unlike what I’ve become.”

“What is your current state, then?”

“Up to about the middle of my chest, my body is dissolved. I’m not sure how I’m still functioning, exactly. This has caused your stomach juices to turn a browner color, reflecting my fur color.”

Dr. Occi excitedly wrote down her experiences. His stomach was making some thicker, bubbly noises now, which he also included. He also included his own feelings on the process. He wrote and talked quieter, saying, “It seems that the fate of my food-- I mean, the subject-- is inevitable, like with all... food. Though her entrance may have been different, she ended up in the same place as everything else. Though it is unprofessional, I must admit I’ve enjoyed this. I’ve never been so satisfied by a meal before. It’s certainly possible I may not have to eat for days, or weeks even. Though her digestion seems to be working much faster than would be expected. Not exceptionally odd, compared to the rest of the phenomenon, but nonetheless notable. Ultimately I look forward to trying this again, but perhaps with other entryways or regions.”

He put down his pencil and started rubbing over his gut with both hands. He belched again, though into his fur. He licked his chops following, once again tasting his assistant. He began to speak, “My food-- I mean, Alexis...” He cleared his throat and continued, “How are you now?”

She replied with a rather wet and slimy voice, saying, “I do believe I am more chyme than lynx at this point, sir.”

He nodded, “As expected, really. I would like to thank you for your services so far Alexis, just in case I’m incapable to revive you.”

She gurgled again, “You’re welcome, sir.”

Chuckling, he said, “You know Alexis, in addition to a great assistant, you’re also the greatest breakfast I’ve ever had the pleasure of digesting.”

He awaited another response but only received continued gurgling and some glorps. He turned back to his journal and wrote down approximately how long she survived his digestive system, then leaned back and let out a final hearty belch.

*/^\*

“It has been a day since I unintentionally ingested my assistant. My stomach has reverted to about half the size it was at its peak, and while I imagine some of her is still on its way out, I will have excess weight following her digestion. As I have already passed some of her, I attempted to retrieve her DNA from it however… it appears that the process of digestion corrupted or destroyed her DNA in some way. I fear I may have to recruit another assistant…”

Dr. Occi suddenly perked his ears up with an idea. He put down his pencil and started sorting through his desk, searching for a small dish. He found it after some effort, hidden by a stack of paper. He reached for a white orb sitting on his desk, feeling the one still within his intestines as he did so. He spoke, “Corvus form. Run DNA scan, this sample.” After it formed, it briefly emitted a laser across the hairs in the dish and responded, “DNA scan complete. Usable strands found: Alexis Kerr.”

The wolf beamed and said, “Yes! Run resurrection, Alexis Kerr.” The crow flew down and picked up a strand of the fur and flew out of the room, down the hallway. He spun around in his chair and patted his fat belly, eager to begin again with the experiments. Maybe this time he can analyze her actual taste instead of her aftertaste. He looked forward to it.