Vixie was nervous. Everything about her new environment, her new life, was so vastly different than what she knew before. Just three days ago, she had been sitting nearly naked in a cage with little hope of anything good coming into her life. Three days ago, her most positive outlook on life was to be bought by either a brothel or a noble and used to pleasure men. That was only if they could look past her emaciated form and were willing to bring her at least up to a minimal state of health.

As she lay on the bed in her room, both of which were things that she would have only ever thought nobility could own, Vixie was left to contemplate what a windfall she had gotten in life. She now had plenty of food to eat, though the servers at the cafeteria told her she had to limit her intake as she had been starved for a long time. As such, her meals were simple fare of easy to digest items. No longer did she have to fear being used like she had feared. In a few days she was to start her training, which included learning to read, write, and do basic math. Today she was even going to see a doctor. Truly Vixie felt like she maybe had died and this was the afterlife.

Speaking of the doctor visit, Vixie rolled out of the bed and snatched a scrap of paper off the desk in the room, yet more things that she had never had or expected. While she could not read yet, there was only one thing written on the paper. She was told that when the clock looked exactly like the time written on the paper it was time for her to be at the medical facility. She had already noticed some of the routine patterns that the unfamiliar clock readout presented, allowing her to figure out that it was time for her to head to the medical facility.

The route there was well known to Vixie at this point since she had made the trip there several times so as not to get lost when it mattered. However, she was still nervous as she arrived since she had never met the doctor of the facility. She had heard they were nice and friendly, but a bit eccentric. Everyone she had tried to ask about the doctor merely said that she would find out in time.

There were a handful of seats I'm the waiting area, only one of which was occupied at the moment. In a moment of relief, Vixie sat next to the other person.

"Hi Berra," Vixie said.

The human woman snapped out of whatever daydream she had been having and looked at Vixie.

"Oh! Hi. You’re here today too?"

"Yeah," Vixie replied with a laugh.

Both Berra and Vixie had been rescued from slavery at the same time by Mr. A. However, while Vixie was going to be working at a storefront, Berra had joined the adventuring team.

"So how did your visit go?" Vixie probed.

"Oh, well…," Berra trailed off.

"You don't have to tell me," Vixie said, sensing the apprehension.

"No. It's fine. I just wasn't exactly expecting what I was told is all. And the doctor gave me a lot of options that I didn't know about, so I was just thinking things over. I must have gotten lost in thought."

Vixie's ears perked up at the prospect of unexpected news.

"What did the doctor say?"

Berra gave an awkward smile, placing a hand on her stomach.

"I'm not exactly alone right now."

Vixie glanced down for a moment, piecing together Berra's comment and motion. Surprise made Vixie's face light up with excitement, which likewise caused her tail to twitch back and forth.

"That's…" Vixie started before remembering something important.

The slave master that had previously owned the pair of them, Aslam, occasionally indulged with his 'merchandise.' Berra had frequently, unfortunately, been part of that. Remembering that, Vixie felt guilty at being excited for her since it was something Berra likely was trying to forget. Now there would only be a constant reminder.

"So you can't take Mr. A's offer after all?" Vixie said solemnly.

"That's just it. The doctor said there are options," Berra replied.

"What do you mean?"

Berra looked very uneasy. Vixie gently grasped her hand, letting Berra squeeze it. The two sat in silence for a moment.

"The doctor said they could remove it."

"Like when it's time?"

"Now."

"Now?"

"Now. And I could still be an adventurer for the company. Either until the little one was born or… forever."

Vixie's eyes went wide. Berra was saying the doctor offered to kill the child.

"It's called an abortion apparently."

Vixie swallowed, yet her mouth had suddenly gone extremely dry.

"Are you thinking about that?" Vixie asked.

Berra started crying. Her grip on Vixie's hand tightened further.

"I can't right? The little one hasn't done anything! They didn't ask for this!"

Vixie understood what Berra was saying. She started to wonder about who the doctor was to be able to make that kind of statement and she became unnerved at the thought of meeting them.

"Yet the doctor said it was nothing. Not even a person. A parasite!" Berra continued, "How could anyone think like that? The doctor said it happens a lot on other worlds. I'm not certain I can be a part of such worlds."

Vixie nodded in agreement and remained silent as Berra continued crying. Eventually, she thought of two things.

“Berra? You said the doctor could remove it, and you could continue to work as an adventurer. What was that about?”

“They said the baby could grow in a ‘surrogate.’ Either a fake one or a volunteer. The volunteer would basically be pregnant instead of me, but the baby would still be my blood.”

It sounded equally as absurd to Vixie as the prospect of killing the baby. For her, and clearly Berra as well from her reactions, a child should be with their mother.

“Berra. I think I know what you are going to do. I’ll help you any way I can. What if you asked Mr. A to be a part of a storefront instead? It’s the only thing I can come up with since you wouldn’t have to do as much as an adventurer, you could still work, and keep the baby.”

“I guess I can try that. But I’d have to write a letter or something…”

“We can ask around the cafeteria. There’s lots of people there every day and I bet lots of them know how to write.”

Berra gave Vixie’s hand another squeeze.

“Okay. Yeah. Let’s do that. Even if no one will write it and I have to leave the job, I’m not letting this baby get hurt.”

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Berra got up and went into the back where she finished up her own appointment. A short while later, Berra left with a smile on her face.

“I’ll see you later Vixie!”

“Yeah. What’s the doctor like?”

‘You’ll have to see.”

Vixie sighed. Not even Berra would tell her just as she was about to have her appointment. A moment passed before a speaker on the wall crackled to life.

“Vixie?” a female sounding voice echoed out.

“Yes?”

“Please proceed down the hall. Stop when I say and follow my directions carefully.”

Vixie cautiously started in the indicated direction.

“Stop. Please stand as straight as possible. Stick your arms out to the sides and try not to move for a moment.”

Vixie did as instructed, making a T-pose as she stuck her arms out. Her ears twitched and her tail swished from side to side with nervous energy, but she quickly corralled them into temporary submission.

A green glow appeared on the wall to either side of her, which she fought the urge to turn and stare at. What she would have seen were thin lines emitting the light. The pair slowly slid down the wall on either side, passing harmlessly over her body and completing whatever it was they did at the floor.

“Okay. Please continue through the door,” the voice from the speaker continued.

Vixie walked forward towards the door in question, which quietly and smoothly slid open as she approached. It was still a small miracle for Vixie to experience automatic sliding doors.

Stepping into the room, Vixie surveyed the space. There were two chairs which took most of the space. Each looked like they were comfortable to sit in and she noticed that they seemed to have some sort of split where the back met the seat. Aside from the chairs, there was a counter space which had numerous devices that Vixie had no idea about on top of it. There were also several cabinets both above and below the counter, which held unknown items within.

What shocked Vixie the most though was the figure sitting in one of the chairs that was staring at her calmly. It, or rather she, looked exactly like Vixie herself. Rusty red hair on her head with similarly colored fur on the ears and tail. Paw-like feet, yet human-like hands. A slightly longer nose than the average human. Even the freckles on her cheeks and the long whiskers that moved with each movement of her facial muscles. Golden colored eyes stared back at her.

“Hello Vixie. Welcome to the Clinic here at Headquarters,” the faux Vixie said, sounding exactly like Vixie, “Please sit and we can discuss things going forward.”

The real Vixie walked over and sat in the available chair. It seemed to squirm as she sat, which caused her to shoot back to her feet.

“It adjusts to something comfortable to your shape.”

“Oh, okay.”

Vixie sat down again, and despite the odd sensation of the chair adjusting itself, she found it to be quite relaxing once it stopped. Beastfolk like herself often struggled with chairs, since those that had backs tended to be constricting on their tails while those that had a space specifically for tails or with no back meant their tails weight never got a rest. This was also why beastfolk tended to sleep on their sides or stomachs. Yet this chair had a back and was not constricting towards her tail in the slightest.

“Wow.”

“That’s what everyone says the first time,” the faux Vixie replied.

Vixie looked toward the faux Vixie. Concern washed over her face as she took in the sight of herself again.

“Are you a doppelganger?”

The faux Vixie laughed.

“I suppose you could say that. At least most from worlds like yours tend to think that. Technically I’m a biomorph, though terms like shapeshifter, doppelganger, xenoreader, or replicant have been applied to us. We are able to mimic the physical appearance of anyone we choose to at a glance, and even their internal structure upon sampling their specific genomes.”

“Oh,” Vixie said, not really understanding what had just been said, “So do you have a name?”

“I am Chief Medical Provider Syn. You can call me a doctor, physician, medicine man, witch, or whatever other term floats your boat.”

Vixie did not understand the phrase and certainly did not own a boat.

“Okay. So Mrs. Syn, what am I doing here?”

Syn went on to explain that the purpose of the Clinic was to maintain the health and wellbeing of all employees of the Portal Trading Company, be it through physical or mental ailments. It used medical technology and healing magics from across the scope of worlds that the company had access to to constantly ensure the employees health. According to Syn, there was little that could affect an employee short of instant death that they could not save an employee from.

“So that’s why the adventuring positions have that death disclaimer? Because you aren’t there?” Vixie asked

“Indeed. The adventurer medics are good to cover most things in a pinch, but whenever a team returns we always check them over here.”

“Is it just you?”

“No. Several hundred of us biomorphs work at the Clinic. Mr. Portal found us early in the company’s history, so we’ve flourished through working with him.”

“Oh.”

“Now, about you. Tell me everything about your history. I need to construct a psychiatric profile for our system to address any concerns we may see develop in future. Also, don’t worry. The only people who utilize the information within the system are the biomorphs that work with you and Mr. Portal, though he rarely accesses it. You’ll have access to your own file, of course.”

“Uh, okay? I’m not sure what that means,” Vixie replied.

“You’ll learn that during your training period. Now please, start wherever you feel comfortable,” Syn said as she leaned back.

Vixie and Syn spent the next few hours going through her history. Mostly it was Vixie talking, with Syn asking the occasional question. Eventually that concluded, and Vixie felt embarrassed after realizing just how much she had talked about everything. What she did not know, and what Syn was not going to tell her, was that the air in the Clinic setting for first time visits was laced with an airborne stimulant that promoted mental openness. It was exclusively used in the first visits and whenever the Clinic staff felt it necessary based on the psych profiles.

“Alright then, Vixie. I need to take a blood sample now to check for genetic anomalies and concerns,” Syn said as she pulled several materials from the cabinets in the room.

“What? You want my blood?” Vixie asked nervously.

“Let me guess, there is blood magic where you come from?”

“Yes.”

In Vixie’s homeworld, blood magic enabled people to bind others to contracts, instill curses and diseases, and cause other unspeakable things to occur.

“Well, the Clinic doesn’t do that kind of stuff. Our job is your health. Those sorts of things aren’t conducive to your health. Now hold out your arm please.”

Vixie tentatively did so.

“Bit of cold, slight poke,” Syn said.

The biomorph sprayed Vixie’s forearm with something before wiping it away. She pulled out a needle and with seemingly no issue stuck it right into the girl’s vein in one go. Blood flowed into the tubing and into a clear pouch.

“Here. Squeeze this slowly and repeatedly,” Syn said, handing Vixie a red ball.

She obediently squeezed the ball, shocked at how soft it was.

“You can keep it afterwards.”

“Thanks!”

Syn took a syringe and drew out a small amount of blood from the pouch.

“You may not want to watch this. Some say it unnerves them.”

Syn removed the needle from the syringe and, while watching Vixie’s reaction the entire time, stuck the end in her mouth. With a depression of the plunger, Syn swallowed the blood sample. Vixie did not look away despite the warning and was staring open-mouthed at Syn.

“What?”

“I mentioned how we need a sample to mimic internal structure. I just took it. Right now, I’m examining your entire body internally to locate any issues present now or potential future issues.”

Since biomorphs could control and manipulate their own cells and genetic material, they were practically walking laboratories. A quick analysis of the genetic structure of others enabled them to catch genetic diseases before they could manifest.

Syn nodded after a few moments.

“You are suffering from malnutrition currently, but that’s all the concerns I have for you right now. All the complications I’ve noticed will clear up once we get you back in that respect. No future concerns from genetics. Standard package for you then.”

“What?”

“Standard package. Nutrition supplementation injection will help you process what you eat more efficiently; get you back up faster. It’s only a temporary one. You may want to get a bigger shirt fitted because your chest is going to grow quite a bit, based on what your genes are telling me. Your cycle should kick in too, so we’ll give you your options there. Mental acuity injection will boost your brain power during training so you’ll learn everything instantly and remember it forever, even once that one wears off. You’ll get the disease vaccine that will shield you against everything you could possibly encounter, so won’t matter which world you go to on your free time. And finally the longevity vaccine, which speaks for itself.”

“It does?”

“It basically stops you from aging. Keeps everything internally functioning forever in theory. That one shuts off if you decide to quit.”

“Oh.”

“Don’t worry too much. You’re young, but I get the feeling you’ll be here a long time,” Syn said with a smile.

Vixie stared back at the face that was her own. There were some things she was still uncertain about, choices she had to make, and people she had already met that she valued. While Vixie silently vowed to not compromise her beliefs, she saw this strange future before her as her greatest freedom.

“Alright, what’s next?” Vixie asked with excitement.