Published: Jun 21, 2024
My one hundred and twenty-ninth caption, featuring an idea I've wanted to do for a while now!
All image credits go to 咕零羽. I do not claim ownership over the image used. Please support the artist!
All image credits go to their respective artists. I have and never will claim ownership over any image I've used or modified for a caption, and I always encourage you to check out the artist and their wider body of work when possible.
Casey Cohen was your normal, blue-collar 24-year old individual, someone with an average education, average job, and no real unique skills to speak of. When he submitted his name to be one of the colonists aboard the UNN Ceridwen in 2191, a massive “sleeper” ship designed to take 8,200 people to Proxima Centauri b, he never expected to actually be selected. Months later, after numerous medical exams and pre-flight injections, Casey was flown up to the Ceridwen with one of the many groups of people being taken out of the Sol system. The process from that point on was rather simple, at least to a layman like Casey. He, like every colonist before and after him, was given a special “swimsuit” to wear and was then placed in a special stasis tank. This tank was then filled with a special amniotic fluid that was vital for providing the colonists with oxygen, as well as preserving them during the trip. Casey had struggled to “breathe” the liquid much like everyone else initially did, but eventually his body accepted it, and he fell into a peaceful sleep, ready to begin his long journey. Conventionally, such a trip would take thousands of years, but thanks to the newly-developed Supīdo-Tannhäuser drive, this journey would instead be cut down to a comparatively measly 80 years. A few weeks after being put into his stasis tank, the Ceridwen set off on its journey, all 8,200 colonists and 160 crewmembers sleeping soundly in stasis…
\\ALERT!!!///
CATASTROPHIC DAMAGE DETECTED IN: Starboard Storage Modules 2,7,14, Starboard Flight Bay, Sensor Array, Fuel Storage S4, Delta Stasis Module, Bow Stasis Module, Starboard Engine A2,A3,A5. ---INITIATE EMERGENCY MEASURE: EMERGENCY ORDER A39---
\\CARETAKR EMERGENCY ORDER A39 INITIATED: Ensure survival of all remaining colonists and crew. Maintain and correct any discrepancies in population makeup before arrival to Proxima Centauri b. ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS RESCINDED.
Twenty-three years into the journey, the Ceridwen unexpectedly traveled through the tail of a passing comet while traversing a nebula, suffering multiple impacts that gravely damaged much of the vessel. One of the ship’s eight self-contained stasis sections were breached, causing a loss of atmosphere and power. 1,025 colonists perished over the course of an hour as the ship’s overseer, an A.I. called “CARETAKR”, attempted to divert power from other systems several times to save them, as per it’s primary programming loop. In addition, the forward section of the ship was wrecked, resulting in the demise of all 160 crewmembers. With no chain of command left to dictate to the A.I. and affect repairs, CARETAKR’s primary objective became clear: to ensure the survival of all remaining colonists until the Ceridwen reached Proxima Centauri b. As with most things, it wasn’t as simple as simply keeping the colonists alive. The loss of 1,185 people meant there were now massive imbalances in the ship’s population, mainly related to gender and genetic diversity. In order to rectify these new, pressing issues, and to ensure the future colony would be capable of maintaining itself, CARETAKR’s programming allowed it to “convert” colonists with certain genetic dispositions in transit, allowing a better ratio of men-to-women and a greater spread of genetic diversity. None of the colonists had been aware CARETAKR was capable of this before entering stasis, in fact, not even the Ceridwen’s crew were made aware of this. It was a emergency measure programmed into CARETAKR by the Unified National Nominate, one that was meant to ensure the colony’s best chances of survival in a grave emergency, even if such a measure would otherwise be viewed as non-consensual by everyone involved.
\\CARETAKR Analysis / Subject: Casey B. Cohen / Location: Zeta Stasis Module, Section B, Row 5 / Gender: Male / Passenger Grade: 04 / Occupation: Journeyman Engineer / Status: Healthy / Genetic Compatibility: Excellent / ---INITIATE CONVERSION PROTOCOL---
Casey Cohen’s pod stirred to life as CARETAKR chose him as one of the many prime candidates for “conversion”, but never came close to waking him from his still-peaceful slumber despite the loud whirring of hoses and the quickened recirculation of amniotic fluid around him. Unbeknownst to Casey and the colonists, one of the many pre-flight injections they had all received from the UNN included a small colony of advanced nanomachines. Normally, these machines were only intended to assist with maintaining vital body functions, but under CARETAKR’s emergency orders, these machines could be repurposed to modify their hosts to much greater extremes. Over the course of the next few months, the nanomachines inside Casey and many others would slowly change the bodies of their hosts. As Casey slumbered, his mass began to decrease as his excess fat, bone, and muscle was broken down into baser elements to be reused later. His average flow of testosterone was just about cut off as estrogen production was thrown into overdrive, causing even more rapid changes to the sleeping engineer. His legs became smooth and slender as the same happened to his arms, leaving him with smaller, petite toes and fingers. His hair, which had been “frozen” at its normal crew cut length was allowed to resume growing, instead leaving Casey with flowing blond hair that floated majestically in the tank.
These changes were soon followed by more drastic ones. Casey’s waist was pulled in as his hips were expanded to child-bearing proportions, his pelvic bones being remodeled to allow for the easier birthing of children. His face became that of a young, angel-like woman, smiling naturally as his chest began to expand, two modest C-cup breasts with perky nipples pushing against the confines of the swimsuit. As Casey’s rear gained some much-needed padding, his manhood was slowly pulled back up into his body, becoming the proper feminine equivalent. Casey’s physical transformation was complete, but that was not all. Using an advanced algorithm, CARETAKR began rewriting portions of Casey’s mind as well. This was another measure outlined in the conversion process. After all, the colonists would be far less efficient if they were busy lamenting the loss of their original forms. Casey’s average, blue-collar life was slowly rewritten to make her into a role more suitable for colonial life. Her old engineer skills were discarded, replaced with an expert-level knowledge in the fields of botany, farming, and cultivation. This was in addition to the knowledge on how to raise children, too.
\\CARETAKR Analysis / Subject: Casey B. Cohen / Location: Zeta Stasis Module, Section B, Row 5 / Gender: Female / Passenger Grade: 05 / Occupation: Botanist / Status: Healthy / Genetic Compatibility: Superior / ---CONVERSION PROTOCOL COMPLETED---
From that point on, Casey was left to slumber peacefully in her stasis pod, new memories causing her to dream far different things. She was one among many who had been transformed, and CARETAKR was happy with its work, knowing that all the remaining colonists would be in the best possible shape to begin their efforts on Proxima Centauri b when they arrived in 57 more years.
Except… CARETAKR was completely unaware that the UNN Ceridwen was no longer on-course for Proxima Centauri b. In fact, it was nowhere near it’s intended destination. Due to the damage the Ceridwen’s engines and sensor arrays had suffered, CARETAKR was completely unaware that the vessel had veered heavily off-course, and even if it was, it was unable to correct their course. This sent Casey and the remaining colonists flying blindly into the vast emptiness of space. Despite what would have been otherwise obvious signs that the ship wasn’t going where it was supposed to be, CARETAKR wasn’t programmed with these “considerations” in mind. The UNN Ceridwen was now lost in space, slowly decaying like a carcass.
\\CARETAKR Status Report 1069872: Year: 91,347 / All passengers accounted for. Three stasis failures reported in Beta Stasis Module, Section F, Row 7. 6,042 colonists currently in stasis. Maintaining Emergency Order A39.///
After countless years in space, the UNN Ceridwen would eventually be lucked upon by a race of space-faring aliens known as the Horowai, humanoid explorers similar in attitude and appearance to the humans themselves. Slowly, they would begin reviving the colonists one-by-one, learning of humanity and their old home, Earth. But… maybe that was simply just another dream, dreamt up while Casey was still asleep, floating in her tank. She didn’t know, and none of her fellow colonists knew either. After all, how do you tell the difference between a dream and reality after so long? None of them were who they thought they were anymore, but maybe Casey would eventually accept the dream, and live the life she always wanted…