Dr. Kara Stern (Scientist) - Younger Days

The muffled sound of crickets chirping in the cool summer evening filtered its way through the window panes of Dr. Kara Stern’s office. Moths batted lazily against the glass, attracted by the glow emitted from the pink Paralogos’ computer screen. Her claws tapped at the keyboard with great fervor, only pausing to take a sip of her coffee. But all that met her lips was cold ceramic -  her mug was empty. Glancing at the clock display on the corner of the computer screen, she sighed.

“One more cup,” she promised herself. Kara quickly saved her document and locked her computer. She grabbed hold of her mug as she left for the kitchen in search of more energy-boosting hydration.

Of course, Kara didn’t need to drink coffee. She didn’t need to drink anything. But every scientist she knew practically had coffee flowing through their veins. Kara herself was a scientist - that was literally her word focus - so, naturally, she regularly consumed the beverage as well. Plus, she liked the buzz she thought the caffeine gave her, and the bitterness also helped keep her awake.

Kara rounded the corner into the kitchenette and found her caretaker, Aliya, along with Vela, one of her Paralogos colleagues, sitting at the table. It wasn’t unusual to see those two awake at that hour; Aliya’s astronomy work required an adjusted sleep schedule, and Vela, whose word focus was only visible from Lingua at night, was all too happy to follow.

The scientist Paralogos made a bee-line for the coffee machine. She rummaged through the adjacent cabinet while the device hummed and rumbled as it ground the coffee beans. Vela’s exclamation distracted her from grabbing her favorite creamer, however.

“Oh my gosh, Kara! Look at you!”

Kara whipped her head around at the sound of her name, but Vela wasn’t looking at her. Instead, she had her attention trained on a tablet laid out on the table in front of her and Aliya.

“Hmm? What is that?” Kara inquired. Creamer and coffee forgotten, she pulled up a chair at the table to get a closer look.

Aliya smiled at her. “We’re looking through a yearbook photo album from my undergrad days,” the human explained. “This is from my senior year. One of our capstone projects was to raise and bond to a Paralogos.”

“It’s got your BABY pictures!!” Vela cooed. She turned the tablet around and slowly swiped through the digital pages. The first spread had images of college students proudly holding their tiny, puppy-sized Paralogos. Aliya held hers in a towel close to her chest.

“I thought I had to keep you warm like any other reptile,” Aliya chuckled. “So I kept you wrapped up in blankets twenty four-seven. I even had a sling to carry you around during classes! I later learned Paralogos can regulate their body temperature internally, but you didn’t seem to mind.”

“I think I remember that,” Kara mused. She scrutinized her form in all the pictures, swiping back and forth on the device. She’d been fully formed for a decade now and the memories of her time as a tabula rasa were fuzzy.

She felt an odd sense of detachment, gazing upon her younger form. Her body dysmorphia made her feel uncomfortable in her own skin, wishing desperately to be human. Covering her body in human clothing (scrubs, shoe covers, and a lab coat) helps, but in these images she didn’t have any of those, and there was no hiding her dinosaur-like features.

She was gray-ish in hue, much like the other tabula rasa in the student group photos. Her limbs were gangly and her feet were too big, like she had yet to grow into them. There were lights in the same places as her adult form, but their shapes were amorphous blobs. Most pictures featured some sort of expression of discomfort. She looked happiest when swaddled.

As the photos went on, Kara could see her development progress. Her skin lightened and markings started to take shape, and soon she was seeing pictures of herself that more closely resembled her present appearance. She scrolled through ones titled “First Lab Coat”, “Science Museum Field Trip”, and “Testing Hypotheses” with a slight smile on her face. The later photos had her clothed and covered most of her features.

“You know, I picked you out from the bunch because you looked sad, and I wanted to make you happy,” Aliya smiled warmly, her chin resting on her closed fist. “You were so intrigued by my work; it was as if your transformation started overnight. That’s when I knew I picked a partner for life.”

Kara finally tore her eyes away from the digital photo album and gazed at her caretaker with gratitude. Life hadn’t been easy with dysmorphia, but her caretaker had always been her biggest cheerleader.

“Thank you for showing me this,” Kara told Aliya and Vela with sincerity. “I’ve been really busy with my work lately… it was nice to stop and reminisce. And to remind myself that I have a caring family outside of my work.”

“You work so hard!!” Vela nodded along.

“Your coffee’s getting cold,” Aliya motioned to the coffeemaker behind Kara.

The pink Paralogos glanced over her shoulder at the forgotten beverage, then back at the photo album on the table. The last picture depicted a group photo of Aliya and all five of her Paralogos. She shook her head.

“I think I’ve done enough work for today. It’s time for some rest. I’ll see you two tomorrow.”

She fell asleep that night feeling happy and appreciated.