The lights came on, illuminating the room. “This is day three of B-49 prototype testing.” Denley held the prototype in front of the camera. As soon as the object was in front of his nose, he sneezed. With a pop, his nose became canine. Denley began to get distracted. “What’s this tickle coming from?” Denley looked behind. He now had a gray wolf tail. Pads swelled on his feet. His nose pushed out again, once more canine. His ears rose upwards, becoming triangular. A tail grew out behind him. But he was able to stand upright. 

   Jennifer carried the glowing orb outside, wondering what Denley was using it for. With a shrug, she placed it on the ground. The orb stood silently in its spot, alone until a fox stumbled upon it. Curious, the fox approached the object. As soon as the orb was touched, it shined brightly. When the orb stopped glowing, something seemed different. He looked at himself in shock. There were others besides him that had changed also. This was the strangest day he had ever experienced.

They found two hedges on either side of an entrance. The fox led the way through the doorway. They found themselves in front of a large building. “I think we should split up to cover more ground,” the wolf said. Splitting up, each of them looking around. The otter found an open door. He entered, feeling mildly curious. There was a large body of water, complete with rocks, a bridge, waterfall, and a red gate. He decided to swim, having not swam yet today. The sky above him rippled slightly. He paused, gazing up. “Something’s different here.”

   He found an open gate. Curious, he entered. He found a column, which opened, the room lighting up as he entered. He decided to investigate the column. He walked inside the column. A voice sounded. “Welcome to the Clothes Room. Here there are numerous options to choose from. Take as much time as you’d like, in the Outfitter.” The fox saw a figure wearing an outfit. But this one turned out to be fake. He walked towards a clear pod. He tapped it. A square appeared on it. He walked inside. Turning, he saw a bench. It had a table next to it, clothing on top. He sat down on the bench. He saw a projection of instructions. He copied the movements, until he was done. He saw a mirror in the wall. When he looked at it, he finally saw himself completely. “Not bad!” he said, admiring himself. He left the room, deciding to explore the rest of the place.

   The wolf saw a wooden staircase, which led up to a platform. He headed up the stairs, taking care to watch where he stepped. When he was at the top, he saw a door. Interested, he entered. He saw a chair, which had a hexagonal table in front of it. Normally, he would not have entered, but he was amazed at what this place might have to offer. He noticed miniature figures on shelves. And there were pictures of places he had never seen before. He decided to stay and observe this room. His attention turned towards a clear reflective dark screen. He settled into the chair. When he tapped the screen, it lit up. He saw a moving picture, which had a glowing yellow crescent moon, hanging above a field. There were glowing spheres of light, floating around. He looked at it for a moment, then got up, and exited the room.

   “You’re in the Swimming Room,” Denley told him. “The sky above you in here isn’t real,” he explained. Zinlow followed him outside. “Here. I’ll show you.” Denley pulled out a remote, pushed a button, and the sky changed to nighttime. Then it flickered back to daytime.

   The fox was walking down the hallway, when suddenly, he was knocked down. “Oof!” he said, rubbing his head. When he opened his eyes, he saw the wolf! “Sorry! I didn’t see you coming!” the fox apologized. The two stood up. “Hey, where did you get those?” the wolf asked, eyeing him curiously. “Follow me,” the fox replied. He guided the wolf to the place he’d discovered. He remembered that he was trying to think of what his name should be. “This is where I got these clothes from,” he told his partner. He pointed towards the glass pod. “Do you think Silver would be a good name for you?” the fox asked. “Silver…Hmm. I think that suits me.”

   Silver entered the room. He noticed that there were clothes on the table. He picked them up. He put the vest on, the bandana, the jeans, which thankfully, allowed his tail freedom. He looked at his reflection. Silver admired himself, smiling proudly. He turned to face his friend. “How does the name Barley sound to you?” Silver asked the fox. “That sounds perfect to me,” he replied. The two walked out of the room. They decided they should regroup with the others.

   Denley walked with Zinlow, who was still amazed at his surroundings, taking in the scenery, awed. “Neat, isn’t it?” he asked Zinlow. “I’ve never seen anything like this before! Never in my life,” Zinlow answered. The two entered the room Barley and Silver were in. “Looks like your friends found the Clothes Room,” observed Denley. The pair backed away nervously. “There’s no reason to be nervous. You can trust him,” Zinlow assured the two, calmly. “Who are you?” Silver asked cautiously. “His name’s Denley,” answered Zinlow.

   Barley was still confused. “There’s one thing I still don’t understand, Denley. What caused us to change? We saw a strange shining ball, it sent wisps of light at us, and the next thing we know, we’re able to talk, stand up, and grab things. What was it?” Denley’s eyes widened in shock, realization, then closed tightly in annoyance. “I knew that I should’ve put that gem where Jennifer couldn’t find it!”

   “Sorry, but who’s Jennifer?” Zinlow inquired. Denley closed his eyes again, muttering under his breath. When he opened his eyes again, he sighed angrily. “Jennifer is a program I designed to keep me company, but she started causing trouble left and right, unexpectedly,” Denley explained. “The ball you found is called the Anthro Gem. It was an accidental creation, one I kept an eye on to prevent Jennifer from finding. I guess I didn’t try hard enough. You never know what she’ll do with something she finds.” “What does Anthro mean exactly?” Silver asked.

   “Anthro is short for Anthropomorphic. It means animals with human characteristics,” Denley explained. “I found a room above us. It had a black screen,” Silver revealed. “That room was my Art Studio,” Denley replied. “Couldl you show me the Outfitter, Denley?” Zinlow questioned. “Try it for yourself,” Denley responded, lightly. Zinlow entered the Outfitter. When he looked around he noticed the bench. “Please follow the illuminated path.” Zinlow was very curious about this place. A light projected from one of the lanterns in the wall, traveling down Zinlow’s body. He sat down on the bench, waiting for something to happen. A hoop descended from the ceiling, down around Zinlow, until it was on the floor. A mirror rose out of the floor, in front of Zinlow. He gasped in surprise. He was now wearing a vest, a pendant of the yin yang symbol, sandals, a bandana, and elastic swimming pants. He felt very pleased.

   Zinlow exited the Outfitting Room, enjoying himself very much. The others were silent, a mixture of surprise and impression on their faces. “I want to show you my Art Studio. Follow me,” Denley invited. Denley and the others walked up the stairs that Silver had found. Denley allowed them to explore the room. “This is where I design art. You can use the things in here if you want,” Denley explained. Silver was interested in the laptop on the desk. Denley noticed him looking at the laptop. “Let me show you what my laptop can do,” Denley offered. Silver watched over his shoulder. A new place was on the screen, a lighthouse beside a river, at twilight. “How did you do this? I saw one of your other designs. It had a nighttime scene with a yellow crescent moon,” Silver told Denley.