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Time to free Willy from his human form

"Oh, this is Sarah. Sarah, this is Will, a friend of mine since middle school," you reply, smiling, as an idea takes shape in your head. You gently nudge her and motion for her to pass you the remote. She gives you a questioning look, but passes it over anyway. You discreetly begin tapping the menus.

"So... are you two, y'know -" Will begins to ask awkwardly. You start to answer when Sarah interjects.

"We're not exactly a couple, no. But I think it's fair to say this is sort of a date, we're still getting to know one another," she says, winking at you, prompting you to smile and nod knowingly. You turn to Will.

"By the way - have you noticed that Sarah and I are two of only a very few animal people in the world?" you ask, tapping a button. Will thinks about it for a moment.

"You know, you're right. I've seen, like, two others in my life. Weird. Wait. You weren't always foxes, were you? Why do I remember you always being a fox? Good Lord, man, what's wrong with me?! How did this happen?!" he demands. You smile.

"Well, time for you to find out." You tap another button, and Will immediately begins shifting. Grey and black fur rapidly covers him, and he doubles over as a tail explodes out of his lower back, covered in black and grey stripes. His face shifts into a more animal shape, covered mostly in grey fur, with a black "mask" around his eyes. His clothes adjust a bit for his new body, and he shakes his head, turning to stare at you.

"I am a raccoon. Why? How did you do that?!" You give him a brief rundown of the remote and its capabilities, making sure that you've added in one tiny little mental alteration. Will is now completely unable - or rather, unwilling - to so much as mention the remote to anyone without your permission, let alone touch it. You've decided that will be limited to you and Sarah.

"Wow. This is... actually kind of cool. It's going to take some getting used to. Will anyone else notice?" he asks.

"No," you explain, "not unless I specifically program the remote so that they'll notice the changes. You're one of exactly three people 'in the loop' right now. And listen, I know you want to hang out, but we can meet up later. Sarah and I would like to have the evening to ourselves."

"Oh, sure, I understand," he says, nodding if clearly somewhat jealous of your having a 'lady friend.' Of course, you could help him on that account. On a hunch, you hit pause for everyone but you and Sarah, and the two of you use the remote to scan the histories of several of the people in the restaurant. Sure enough, there's one depressed single guy, contemplating suicide after losing his job and breaking up with his girlfriend. You and Sarah look at each other.

"You think it's ethical?" you ask Sarah. She nods.

"The guy lost everything. Making him someone different is the best thing you could do for him," she says. You unpause time and hit 'enter.'

"Oh, and Will. You ought to go talk to the pretty raccoon lady over there."

"What racc- oh." Sure enough, where there had been a depressed man, there was now a somewhat lonely-looking raccoon girl. She catches Will's eye and looks hopeful for a moment.

"Why - You know what, never mind. Not gonna question it. I'll see you two later," Will says. He makes his way over towards the girl. You and Sarah smile at each other.

Soon enough your food comes (and your waitress becomes a lioness). As you finish, you look towards your friend, who is clearly hitting it off with the still-new girl. You smile again; this remote is probably the best thing to happen to you, and probably to everyone near you, too. You turn to Sarah.

"Well, what now?"

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