

Fuel Consumption
a sci-fi vore tale
by Alex Reynard


~* * *~


When Izzy saw the spaceship, his first instinct was to dismiss it as an optical illusion.

Not because he didn't believe in them, but because he thought he couldn't possibly be that lucky.

The walls in Isaac Sleator's tiny bedroom were completely plastered with posters. Some were even on the ceiling. All of them images of monsters. Sci-fi beasts from movies, TV shows and games; many of them looking like they were pouncing at the viewer with open mouths. There were more monsters on Izzy's shelves too: resin kits and action figures. The small mouseboy's room looked like an intergalactic wildlife preserve.

Izzy was crazy about aliens. If a new space-themed movie came out, he had to be there on opening weekend. If his homework was done, he was online with his friends blasting virtual spaceships into cosmic dust. And on some nights, he'd *try* to go to sleep when his mom said it was bedtime, but an irresistible fidgetyness would compel him to get up and go sit in his chair by the window for a while, watching the stars, and wondering...

And now he'd seen one.

Well, of course he hadn't. As much as the existence of extraterrestrial life was nearly a dead-on certainty (due to the sheer size of the universe and the law of probability) the very idea that sentient life capable of interplanetary travel had appeared, of all places, outside HIS window was...

He sighed. "...too good to be true."

It was probably just a reflection on his glasses. Izzy took off his enormous horn-rims and scrubbed the lenses with the edge of his shirt. He liked his ridiculously nerdy specs. He was proud to be a nerd.

He looked the part, too. Izzy was tall, big-headed and had approximately 0.0001% muscle mass. His fur was the color of slightly-dirty snow. His best friend Joel often affectionately called him Carface, since he said Izzy's ears stuck out like two front doors and his buck teeth looked like a license plate. Izzy in turn called Joel Fishmonger, as the little otter usually did smell a bit fishy, often due to his mom's cooking. He and Joel had been best friends since first grade. The fact that they were both colossal geeks was a big factor in their bond. Few other classmates could listen to them ramble about science fictiony stuff for very long before descending into repetitive "uh-huh"s.

Plus, Joel's dad had a sweet telescope. Maybe, just in case that flash in the sky *hadn't* been a trick of the light, he could ask Joel tomorrow if he'd seen anyth-

There it was again.

Izzy jolted forward, pressing his face against the window screen. His heartbeat went into overdrive. It was there!! It wasn't just a speck of light either. It was a craft. It didn't move or sound like a commercial airliner, and had none of the regulation warning lights. (Truth be told, Izzy kind of hated airplanes a little. They'd given him too many nights of false hope when he'd catch a glimpse of one and think, 'Is it a spaceship _this_ time!?'.)

The thing he was seeing now was bona-fide unidentified. He couldn't make out color or shape yet, but judging from its position relative to the trees, it was flying really low. And slow, too. It moved lazily along, not seeming to be propelled. It moved like it was coasting on a flat surface. Like an air hockey disk.

He thought suddenly and frantically that he ought to grab his camera and try to record this somehow. But 1), it was way too dark to catch a tiny faraway speck, and 2), he was absolutely paralyzed by the sight.

It wasn't just the worry that if he looked away it would be gone when he looked back. Izzy had full-body goosebumps. His chest throbbed with painfully mixed emotions. There was a deep, instinctual xenophobia. The kind of fear a prey animal feels when being stalked by something unknown. But there was also a joy beyond almost anything else he could remember in his life. What he was seeing was vindication of his greatest hope. And he was a skeptical mouse too. He'd gotten this excited many times in the past, and had been devastatingly disappointed when the 'UFOs' he'd seen turned out to be a helicopter or a spotlight. But this... He was staring right at it. It was not going away. It was not in any way acting like anything he had ever seen before. Even if this wasn't an alien craft, at the very least he was seeing some sort of rare or top-secret flying craft. Maybe some crazy inventor was testing out a prototype they'd built in their backyard? Taking it out for a moonlight spin?

Then the thing started coming closer. Izzy's hands shook as he clutched the windowsill.

The thing paused for a second, and a brief light flashed underneath it. Like someone inside had reached out a porthole and clicked a big flashlight on and off. Then the ship started moving again. And it was heading right towards him.

'No, that's impossible. Did it hear my thoughts? It might have. This might be technology so advanced, I can't even *conceive* of it!'

It was coming faster now. And the closer it came, the more clear it was that it wasn't just on a trajectory near his house; its destination _was_ his house.

Izzy was close to hyperventilating. And, to his embarrassment, he had a hard-on.

He could see it better now. It was a lumpy disk, surprising in its asymmetry. The top and bottom looked pretty much identical. Both were covered in large, wavy bumps, and there seemed to be a seam between the top and bottom hemispheres. It rotated slowly, like the tray inside a microwave. And now that he could see light from the moon and the streetlamps reflecting off of it, it seemed to be a dark, dark shade of green or blue.

And then it talked to him.

A buzzy little voice spoke into both his ears simultaneously: "Isaac Sleator, known also as Izzy. We would like to issue you an invitation."

Izzy damn near fell backwards. His whole body seized up in fright. 'Keep it together, dammit! This could be the most important thing that's ever happened to you! Don't embarrass yourself!'

He stared out the window at the floating craft that was now so close he might've been able to bean it with a baseball.

Composing himself, he thought towards it, 'I am ready to accept your invitation.' He tried not to think about how this thing could have possibly known his name.

He waited for a response.

None. The ship just kept rotating mutely.

He tried again, concentrating on his message with all his might. 'I AM READY TO ACC-'

The voice  in his ear: "We are unable to send audio directly to your thought. We are using audio-direction. Please speak vocally."

"Oh," Izzy said.

"We can now hear you."

"Wow..." He had to take a moment just to let this sink in. He was making contact! There were no words for the enormity of this situation. Izzy couldn't help but wonder if he was a worthy emissary of his planet. The future of his world might hinge on the choices he'd make in the next few minutes! "I'm... I'm honored," he said earnestly.

"We are honored, too."

Izzy's cheeks flushed.

"Are you willing to accept an invitation? Our invitation is for you to board and for us to ask a favor."

His lip trembled. "I-I'm ready to do anything I can to help," he said bravely.

"That is very good." The voice was emotionless, but was the purring whirr he heard next a sound of appreciation, or just something mechanical?

"Should I bring anything?" Izzy asked.

"Yourself is all you require," the voice said.

A moment later, a light flashed in Izzy's eyes and he vanished.

His clothes fell to the floor of his room in a heap.


~* * *~


The first thing he noticed was how his fur had gone all crackly, like he was charged up with static electricity. Then he opened his eyes and the second thing he noticed was how completely freakin' GREEN everything was in here!

The inside of the ship was nothing like he'd expected. There was nothing shiny or metallic or 'futuristic' about it, really. Everything looked like it was made out of iridescent dark green plastic. Everything! Like it had all been molded simultaneously from one giant chunk of jade.

He was in a circular area as wide as his classroom. Odd, since the spaceship hadn't looked quite that big from the outside. 'Maybe it's like the TARDIS?" he wondered.

The ceiling was low, too. So low that he was able to stand on tiptoes and touch it easily. And it felt like plastic. Slightly warm. So was the floor, like he was standing on a heated car seat.

As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he could make out patterns of lines on the floor and walls, plus occasional symbols that could have been words. There were shapes around the room that could have been furniture or machinery. Even windows to other rooms.

The windows added strength to the possibility that everything on this ship was made from the same material. It looked like the green plastic had been formed into a wall, then squeezed thin until it became transparent. 'Neat,' he thought. He wondered if the whole ship was modular, like clay.

It also occurred to him that he was now naked and seemingly alone. He wasn't restrained in any way though. Blushing a bit, he pulled his tail between his legs to feebly cover his boybits.

Since he'd been transported to the center of the room, he walked over to the wall and ran a paw along it. It felt warm to the touch. His fingers traced the lines that seemed etched into the surface. He had no idea if this was the edge of a door or hatch, or just an aesthetic touch. He assumed aliens would appreciate a nice-looking living space just like anyone else.

Speaking of aliens... Where were they? Why bring him here and then not show themselves? Was this a waiting room? Or were they afraid they'd be so repulsive to his Earthling sensibilities that he'd die of sheer horror if they revealed themselves?

"Hello...?" he asked.

"We are here," came the immediate response. The voice was far clearer now. Very likely synthesized, unless these beings could sound so mechanical on their own. It was possible they were using a translator.

"Ummm... Hello." Izzy said. He winced. 'Dammit, I already said that.'

That purring hum again. "You do not need to worry. We accept there will be awkwardness. Meeting new acquaintances is always this way."

Izzy blinked. "Wait, did you just read my mind?"

"Yes. You were too far away at first to do so with efficiency required for timely communication. Now you are inside. It is much easier. Closer means faster."

"That's pretty cool." he said. Then he thought, 'So, you can hear anything I'm thinking?"

The reply was instant. "Yes, but what you intend to be clear is clearest to us. Our..." The voice clicked, seemingly searching for an equivalent word, "...'software' can see all parts of your sentient consciousness. It is like a map, or an exploded diagram. Your foreground thoughts are most in focus. Subconscious is more difficult."

Izzy's eyes widened. "Cooooool." He tried to conceive of that. All his thoughts, somehow all visible at once. A portrait of everything he was. "I, uh, hope I'm worthy of being Earth's first representative."

That purr again. Izzy was now getting the distinct impression it might be a laugh. "Also not a worry. You are far from first."

At this, a portion of the wall to his right either melted away or became another window. 'I was right! It is modular!' he thought.

In the next room, Izzy could see a lineup of tall 'glass' tubes that reached from floor to ceiling. They seemed to be moving methodically along a track into another room which he couldn't see into yet. And inside each one of them...

Izzy gulped. Inside each tube was another kid. He wondered for a moment if they were being harvested as biological specimens.

But no; they were looking around and moving. They seemed to be unharmed. He wondered if they could see out. They appeared to be floating in some kind of liquid (green of course), which made it difficult to tell from this distance what species or gender anyone was.

"You may approach," the voice said. "We do not want curiosity to become fear. This is a strange situation, we understand. We wish greatly for you to be comfortable. You are our guest."

"Thank you," Izzy said. He walked over to the room of tubes. With every step, he liked how the floor felt more and more. He wished his house could have some of this stuff. It felt really nice on bare feet.

Between the rooms, there was indeed a window. Although looking closer, 'membrane' was more appropriate. It was like a cellophane-thin layer of skin between the two rooms. When he got close, a slit appeared. It swiftly became an entrance large enough for ingress. Izzy couldn't help but be reminded of the automatic doors at the supermarket. After he stepped through, it closed up behind him and silently became a wall again.

That made him notice something else. This ship was *quiet*! The kid-tubes moved along with just a gentle rolling sound. In the next room, he could hear some indistinct mechanical noises, but his mom's vacuum was louder. Aside from that, there was just a constant 'mmmmmm' sound that had been all around him, too quiet to be detected so far.

Having a thought, he sniffed the air. Nothing. Well, not quite. There was a hint of something, and it was actually a bit similar to new plastic. He had no idea what he would've expected an alien ship to smell like.

Something moved in his peripheral vision. He turned around and one of the kids in the tubes was waving at him.

"JOEL!?"

In confusion and alarm, Izzy ran over to the big glass cylinder and pressed his palms up against it. His best friend was definitely inside. The little otter was naked also, and had thin hoses going into him all over the place. There was a big one over his muzzle, and even one cupping his... (Izzy blushed) ...his 'stuff'.

He looked quickly away, up to Joel's eyes. The otterboy certainly didn't seem in any distress. In fact, he was grinning his ass off. Izzy found himself grinning too, out of relief. Whatever was going to happen to him, it seemed like Joel was enjoying it well enough.

"How'd... I mean, is it just luck that Joel's here too?" Izzy asked aloud.

"Not luck," the voice replied. "When we flew over, we looked into all Earth-sentients below; their thoughts. We searched specific desire pattern matches. We did want volunteers, it made sense to choose those Earth-sentients who would be naturally willing and appreciative."

"Okay, that makes sense. And wow... It's like being able to Google *reality*!" He and Joel were definitely the kind of kids who'd leap at the chance to ride in a flying saucer. So far, he'd been thinking it was astronomically fortuitous that a spaceship would pick a perfect geek like him to come to for help. A bit too fortuitous for mere coincidence.

That reminded him. "By the way, what exactly is that favor you wanted? ...And where *are* you anyway?"

"There is time passing to consider. All questions may be more easily answered if you will step into the nearest empty container. This is merely a request. If insistent, questions may be answered beforehand. But however efficiency is a priority." A few feet away, one of the empty tubes simply grew an opening big enough for a boy to step into.

Izzy gulped. Part of him insisted he ought to stand his ground and not get into anything without knowing beforehand exactly damn well what it was going to do to him.

But another part of him... Izzy realized he was walking towards the tube without consciously deciding to. His excitement was overpowering his worry. Partly because this situation was bigger than the concerns of one mere mouse. If beings from another world had traveled here to ask something of him, it couldn't be for something trivial. He could give into his primitive instincts and let fear keep him from this moment, or...

He stepped into the tube.

A streak of fear shot up his spine as the opening instantly vanished. The young mouse was now contained inescapably within the glasslike cylinder. He took a moment to brace himself against the wall and concentrate on slowing his heartbeat down.

"Your frightened state is normal. You are brave to seek moving past it," the voice said.

"Thank you," Izzy whispered. He straightened up and cleared his head. Aside from some mild claustrophobia (which he expected) the tube wasn't uncomfortable. The floor was squishy, like the gel of his computer wrist-rest. It smelled like fresh water in here. "What now?"

"Now we will explain. As we will explain, you will be prepared."

Just as the voice finished speaking, Izzy yelped as he felt something tickle him! Looking around, he saw tons of tiny hoses snaking out from the walls of the tube, starting to crawl all over him.

"Relax. No pain will happen."

Izzy bit his lip and tried to keep still. This was difficult, as he still had no idea what these things were doing, but for now they were tickling him like a swarm of caterpillars. He felt a slight pinch, then a soothing sensation, as if someone had touched a cold fingertip to his fur. When he looked at that spot, he saw that one of the little hoses had attached itself to him. It joined to him so seamlessly it was like it had grown there.

Soon he was feeling that cold fingertip everywhere. Then he noticed two larger hoses. They both had what looked like triangular surgical masks on their ends. Predictably, one snaked up to cup his muzzle. There was a brief moment of panic, then he was breathing normally through it. The mask felt like comfy soft rubber, and the air in the hose smelled a bit like watermelon.

Then he 'Eeep!'ed as the second hose cupped his genitals. It snugged on tight and bonded to his skin. The cup on the end shrank to wrap snugly around his bits. He wriggled at how unexpectedly nice it felt. Then he 'EEEEP!'ed again as an unseen third hose introduced itself right up his butt. He blushed bright pink. It felt.. surprisingly enjoyable. Izzy closed his eyes tight and wiggled as the hose in his rump drilled in deep before attaching itself like the others had.

Next he felt something wet around his feet. He looked down to see that the tube was filling up with some kind of thick liquid. It was warm as pool water, though texture-wise it reminded him of... 'Are you guys gonna preserve me in hair gel?'

That purr again. "No. It is a conductive solution. And the 'hoses' are to take information from your body."

'What's this all about?'

The voice began to explain. "On our origin planet, there are many <click> ...'endangered species'. Species which will become extinct without action taken. In order to repopulate, we search for compatible breeding species on planets that are other.

"In the course of our exploration of Earth, our fuel became deplete. We could not go home. Our ship runs best on a protein-rich carbon fuel source. We needed to search for replacement fuel."

Izzy blinked. 'Protein-rich carbon fuel source'? He suddenly had an idea of where they were going with this. "You mean..."

He gulped.

"...me?"

"That is the situation. Look ahead please."

He'd been too distracted by the self-adhering hoses to notice that his tube, like all the others, had been steadily progressing along its track. Wide-eyed, Izzy stared past the other encapsulated cubs into the room they were being transported to. He could now see that the conveyor line curved along the wall of the ship into an enormous cylindrical chamber with innumerable wires spiderwebbing out from it onto the floor and ceiling. Kaleidoscopic colors were reflected in the transparent walls. Some kind of reaction was going on inside, but it was too bright to see. The chamber flashed bright as the sun each time another tube entered.

It was obviously a reactor of some kind. The ship's power source. That meant the kids were being fed into, basically, a furnace.

Suddenly this had gone from a fun adventure to a straight-up sci-fi nightmare. 'You're KILLING us!?' Izzy thought in panic.

"No!" the voice was quick to reassure. It was the only time Izzy had heard it speak with anything approximating emotion. "All individualities will be preserved and protected. We need only the carboniferous matter."

Izzy shook his head. By now, the gookum filling his tube was up to his shoulders. It did feel nice, which helped him calm down and think. 'So you're saying... you're gonna burn us up for fuel, but copy our minds somehow?'

"It has already begun," the voice confirmed. "We are preserving Izzy Sleator at this moment. Everything that is you will survive the procedure. We understand the frightening nature of our favor. We want to do everything in our capability to comfort our volunteers."

Izzy breathed deep of the melony air. The gunk had now filled the tube past his ears. He was surprised to find he could still see through it, and it didn't sting his eyes.

He tried to deal with the brainbomb the aliens had just dropped on him. They were gonna feed him to their furnace to power their trip home. 'Well,' he told himself, 'you *did* step into the tube without asking about it first. And you *did* say this went beyond just the concerns of one mouse...'

He'd never expected *this* though. He was gonna get gobbled up by a starship reactor. He'd be spaceship fuel. It was like the spaceship would be *eating* him.

Strangely, he began to feel a little excited by that idea.

'Geez, where did that come from?' he asked himself rhetorically.

The voice answered anyway. "You are sentient, yet developed from a prey species. You have both natural instincts and intelligent reasoning capacity in the same mind. As a coping tool against natural fear of being consumed, your mind has transformed  fear into thrill. The idea excites you. You are a perfect volunteer."

Izzy blushed. 'And all the other kids... they secretly wanna get eaten too?'

"All are perfect volunteers as well. It would be cruel and inefficient also to invite Earth-sentients who would not wish to participate in helping."

That made sense. "Why 'Earth-sentients' though? If your ship runs on meat, then why not cows or something?"

"Using non-sentients is unacceptable. If they cannot be asked to choose, they cannot choose. A free choice is only ethical."

'Okay, I get it.' He kinda dug the idea that everyone who was here wanted to be here. As he looked over the other kids in their tubes, none of them seemed to be panicking or afraid. By the light of the reactor, he could see that the cubs who were closest to the machine all looked excited and eager. Some were even... He blushed again. Some of them looked like they were actually trying to get in a good cum before they were vaporized.

Izzy looked down at his dick, covered in skintight plasticy-stuff. It was definitely erect. And he had to admit to himself, this was pretty close to things he'd fantasized about before. Not consciously. But he knew there was a reason why he picked the kind of posters he did to cover his room in. He knew there was a special feeling he got when he found a good one that showed a charging beast with an open mouthful of pointy fangs. A tingly, shivery thrill. He knew there was an oft-denied but never vanishing feeling of wanting to just jump in there... To have the poster come to life and pounce on him...

"Embarrassment is unnecessary," the voice said comfortingly. "Your reactions are understandable and also beneficial."

'Then you don't mind me, um... getting off on this?' he thought back.

"It is a far preferable state of emotion to fear or sadness," it replied sensibly.

Izzy nodded. Fair enough. He was about to cup his schwanz in his paw when he looked around, wondering where the aliens were watching him from. 'Say, you never actually answered me before; where exactly are you guys?'

"When the fuel became deplete, it was our duty to first refuel ourselves."

It took him a second to realize what that meant, and then... 'Whoa! So you all went into the machine? And... what then? Where are you now?'

"We were unafraid," the voice replied. "We understood the process and it was considerably enjoyable. Now our individualities are preserved. We are added to the 'computer' controlling this space vehicle."

'Will I be added too?'

"It is one of the choices you can make following completion of your addition to the fuel supply."

'Addition to the fuel supply...' Just thinking about it was getting him steadily hornier. He was gonna help a spaceship get back home! How cool was that? 'Um, what does it feel like? When it, y'know, happens?'

"Words are inefficient describers. But we would sacrifice our mission before causing unpleasant pain to any volunteer sentients."

'That means it feels good, I assume.' Izzy watched the other cubs closest to the machine. One plump porcupine boy was jerking off so hard it looked like he might rip his bits off. Izzy saw the huge smile on his face as he entered the reactor. A blinding flash, then he was gone. By now Izzy could see that the tubes exiting the other side were completely empty.

Not too far down the line was a kitty girl Izzy thought he recognized from school. If it *was* her, he was completely surprised. He didn't know her name, but she always looked snooty and perfect in class. Definitely not the type who'd harbor secret fantasies about being sucked up and eaten by a spaceship.

A thought occurred to Izzy. 'Why just cubs?'

"Simplicity: we are a small people, and our ship has low ceilings."

'Fair enough.'

Izzy's hand was on his cock now, absent-mindedly rubbing it while watching the reactions of the other kids. He could see Joel about four tubes ahead. His otter friend was pawing off too. Unsurprising. He was definitely the more 'outgoing' of the two. Izzy was just as horny, but terribly shy about it. Joel had a million and one filthy jokes and liked looking at cute butts in the cafeteria.

Of course he had to openly ogle girls to keep up appearances, but Joel had confessed a few years ago that he liked looking at guy butts too. Izzy was surprised. But it would take more than that to end his lifelong friendship. Plus, he'd already kinda guessed anyway.

And since that day, he'd always felt like a coward for not being able to admit to Joel that he felt the same thing.

He liked Joel. He *liked* liked Joel. Izzy sometimes wished, when one of them was sleeping over at the other's house, that maybe they could cuddle on the bed together while they played with Joel's laptop. Or maybe they could kiss. Or take off their undies and... stuff.

Izzy was at maximum blush now. Watching his friend in a tube full of goo, looking like he was having the time of his life, Izzy felt like kind of a jerk for never speaking up. They could have had so much more fun together. He was sure Joel would have said yes. He'd even seemed at times like he was waiting for Izzy to ask. But Izzy's worry kept anything from ever happening. And now they were both gonna get sizzled up into computer copies of their brain functions. He doubted there would still be the possibility of cuddles and kisses after that. 'Though this *is* unknown alien technology...' he reminded himself.

"Your options afterwards do include physical reconstruction," the voice said.

'Yipe!' Izzy had been so lost in his thoughts he'd forgotten they were on display. 'Wait, what do you mean?'

"After the procedure is completed, you can choose to be added to our computer's processing ability. The more sentience that is added, the better our ship will function. You would return with us to our origin planet. You would be a welcomed guest: much beloved for your courage generosity."

Izzy's heart swelled. If that wasn't straight out of his wildest dreams, he didn't know what was. A visit to an alien world where he'd be hailed as a hero!? Hell yeah! Of course, he might still be part of a computer at that point. Hmmm. That part didn't sound too exciting. 'What about what you said before? Physical reconstruction?'

"We have identity-devoid synthetic bodies into which an individuality can be <click> ...'downloaded'. It would mimic your original, and over time even more so."

A smile leapt onto Izzy's muzzle. 'So you could bring me back to normal afterwards!?'

"Essentially normal. But, as this expends resources, the giving of replacement bodies must come with a reciprocal payment of service. An additional favor. It will be an enjoyable task, though potentially awkward."

Izzy had no damn idea what that meant, but he'd ask about it later. 'Are you saying I'd get a replacement body when we reach your home pl- I mean, 'origin planet'?

"One possibility. Another possibility: you are returned home with a replacement body."

Izzy grinned ear to ear. 'Really!? Hot damn! You mean I could go home after all this? Good as new?'

"Essentially, that is a correct."

Izzy's mind spun. This was a hell of a choice! While one part of him swooned at the thought of getting to visit an alien world, he knew right away that it'd be incredibly cruel to his mom and dad. They couldn't quite keep up with his passion for all things sci-fi, but they loved him nonetheless, and he loved them. There were his online friends to consider too. They'd have no idea what had happened to him if he vanished off the 'net suddenly.

There was also Joel. Izzy realized that he probably couldn't make any final decision until he knew what his best friend had chosen. Whatever happened, he wanted them to be together after this.

He noticed something moving nearby and looked up to see that the wall into the circular room had gone transparent again. Another cub was stepping through. Izzy waved to the little red squirrel girl and gave her a 'Don't worry' smile.

She gawked at him and the other tubed cubs. She looked a bit nervous, but also
quite cutely excited. After communicating silently with the aliens for a few moments, she jumped gleefully into the nearest open tube.

Izzy giggled. 'Another gallon of gas!'

He looked back at the reactor. The conveyor line had proceeded even farther, and the kitty girl was next to meet her fate. Izzy watched her and his hand sped up on his cock.

The kitty girl looked like she couldn't have cared less if she had an audience. She was thrashing around in the green gel, hoses swirling all around her. Not in panic, but in pleasure. She had one paw in her cunny and the other was playing with her tailhole. From the look of it, she had a finger jammed in as deep as she could get it. She kept peeking through squinting eyes at the place she was about to enter. Just before she vanished inside, she threw back her head in a scream. Izzy could not hear her, but her lips seemed to be forming the word, "YES!!!"

Then there was a flash.

Soon the tube she had been in exited, empty.

Izzy's heart was thumping hard. That had been surprisingly hot. Normally, he never would have considered pawing off to the idea of aliens vaporizing a classmate. But she'd just been so *into* it! The other cubs waiting their turn all looked super-horny as well.

That made a nasty thought spark in his mind. 'Um... you guys aren't brainwashing us into liking this, are you? No offense; just checking,' he directed towards the aliens.

'Understood. Your concern is legitimate. We promise we are not. Coercion is unethical. Unnoticed coercion of the mind especially so. Though we have understood psychology of Earth-sentients to encourage pleasurable reactions. The texture and temperature of your surroundings are an example. Also, there is this.'

With that, a tiny hose emerged from inside the mask around Izzy's muzzle. It nudged at his lips and began secreting some kind of syrup. Izzy took a taste and smiled. It was good! Not much flavor beyond just sweetness, but the texture reminded him of honey. He lapped it up gratefully. 'What's this stuff for?'

"Its purpose is to taste good so that you will be happy and calm."

'Fair enough,' Izzy thought, and sipped some more.

He kept an eye on the kids about to enter the reactor. It would be Joel's turn soon. He didn't know how it'd feel to watch his best friend get fuel-ified, but Joel certainly didn't look scared.

When he noticed the mouseboy looking his way, Joel looked back, meeting Izzy's eyes. He smiled warmly, whiskers bouncing. Without words he conveyed, 'I'm glad we're experiencing this together'.

Izzy smiled back. He was glad that both of them were boldly facing their impending transformation. They were nerds, after all. They prided themselves on embracing the unknown rather than fearing it.

The raccoon kid in line just before Joel got flashed, and then Izzy's pal was next. The otter gave the mouse a thumbs-up, then started pawing off as fast as he could.

Izzy pressed his nose to the glass, watching right up til the end. His own paw was pumping as fast as it could despite the gel surrounding it.

He didn't know if Joel got to cum or not. He watched his best friend pass into the chamber, vanishing out of sight...

Izzy's mind filled with memories of the two of them walking home from school, going to the beach, giving gifts at each other's birthday parties, watching movies, talking online, exploring in the abandoned house down the block, screwing around in class, sleeping over at each other's houses...

FLASH!

Joel ceased to be. Izzy felt a tidal wave of conflicting thoughts and emotions crash into his heart as he watched the empty tube exit the reactor. Part of him couldn't believe that his friend would really be okay, and feared they'd be separated forever. He couldn't bear the thought that Joel was lost for eternity. But another part of him trusted the aliens. They'd been nothing but kind and understanding so far. That meant Joel's essential 'Joelness' was computer data now. Soon the two of them would either be visiting an alien world together, or going to school tomorrow in brand new space bodies.

There was also the raging firmness in his paw to consider. Izzy's cock felt like it was going to shoot off like a rocket. All this nervousness and excitement and adrenaline was making it diamond hard. He didn't think he'd ever had a boner like this before. It was almost painful.

The cub after Joel vanished in a flash too. That meant just two more to go until it was Izzy's turn. The pig kid who was next looked more fascinated than horny, but he had a nice thick stiffy nonetheless. Izzy admonished himself for staring at it.

'Oh c'mon, dude. Just admit to yourself that you're at least SORTA gay!' he thought.

"Your culture's preoccupation with sexual behavior is of fascination to us." the aliens said. "Our species went through a phase similar. But we did not linger in it for as long. It is merely a facet of life like any other now for us."

'Sounds nice,' Izzy had to admit. He'd often wished for a world where he could give Joel a kiss now and then, and nobody'd beat his ass for it.

For the first time, he took notice of the cub in the tube next to him; a slightly-older rabbit boy with white fur and black spots. He looked like he was off in his own little world, whose only resident of consequence was his cock.

Izzy blinked. It was a bigg'un. 'Jeeze! I didn't know they got that big until you were a grownup!'

Each successive flash from the reactor was nearer, and thus stronger, making Izzy flinch and shut his eyes. Pig boy sizzled, then bunnyboy was next. He opened his eyes just long enough to see Izzy and chuckle at the mouseboy's envious expression.

Izzy was overwhelmed with awesome as he saw the hose over the rabbit's cock fill with jizz just before the reactor swallowed him up. A second later, he lost corporeality.

Izzy had spots dancing in front of his eyes. Not much time left. If he wanted to spooge before getting zapped, this was it!

The determined mouse tugged for all he was worth. He thought of all the posters in his room. All those hungry mouths. Just like the one he was heading into now, except this one didn't have fangs. He imagined himself as a tiny, vulnerable and very tasty prey. He thought of how cool it was to give himself up so the aliens could fulfill their mission. He thought of Joel.

SPLOOT!

Sighing at the release, Izzy felt his hot mousecream surge into the plastic hose encircling his bits.

Fighting afterglow, he forced his eyes open and realized he'd already passed into the machine.

Lights dazzled his eyes.

He had no idea what he was seeing, only that it was complex beyond imagining. And definitely not green.

Time slowed. Izzy saw switches and nozzles and panels shifting. Components aligned. He felt suddenly weightless.

'I'm ready!!!' he thought.

He'd thought there would be just an instant of sensation followed by blackness. But he was wrong. It was so much more than that.

He was unprepared for the heat that suddenly refracted through his body. Like a million infinitely thin sheets of glass had suddenly sprung up through the floor, slicing him into ribbons without the slightest effort. He felt roasted. He felt like he was inside the sun's corona. But there was absolutely no pain.

His orgasm was *nothing* compared to this. A sneeze! This was beyond pleasure. This was like ascending to a completely new plane of reality. Like moving from three dimensions to four. Izzy was aware of every molecule in his small form.

Then the machine started subtracting them.

That was the only word that felt right. Somehow, it felt like he was inside a giant calculator, being reduced by equation. It made no sense, yet that was the only way he could imagine it. He couldn't see a thing, but he imagined stripes of brightest red, orange and violet streaking vertically through his body, subtracting him in tiny amounts. Like erasing an image pixel by pixel. Every atom of himself popping like a soap bubble.

His fingers and toes ceased to be. His hands and feet were whittled down, tickling him tremendously. He screamed silently in joy as his penis tip started disintegrating. That astonishing, addictive subtraction-feeling continued down his cock, leaving nothing but a resonant tingling behind. Like he was changing from matter into vibrations.

His arms, his thighs, his tail, his balls. The machine was subtracting his *insides* now. He wanted it. Wanted to give his everything to the wonderful machine. That feeling was so right and welcoming, like this moment had been what he was born for. Like he'd always, every moment of his life, been destined to become starship fuel. This was satisfaction unparalleled. There could never exist words to convey Izzy's joy. He was incapable of crying in this state, but it felt like he was anyway. The pleasure went beyond physical. Emotional, mental, spiritual and every other kind possible.

Now his ears were beginning to frizzle into energy. His nose tingled. His whiskers fizzed.

'This must be what ginger ale feels like when it gets poured into a cup and it froths up over the side', he thought. Izzy had become effervescence incarnate.

Now his fur, now his eyes, now his skull, now his brain...

And...

Gone!

He was gone! Every last bit of him! Every hair, every drop of blood, every toenail. Every last little tiny bit of him had been consumed by the machine.

He had fulfilled his destiny as a meal.

He half expected to hear a mechanical 'burp' afterwards.

He was surprised though. How was he still aware? How was he still thinking? The place where his consciousness had always seemed to be hadn't changed. As if his body had been subtracted (he knew that word would make him horny for the rest of his life now), leaving only his awareness behind. He even seemed to still be in the tube.

Yes, he was. It trundled out from the other side of the reactor and he could see that it was completely empty. Even the hoses and liquid were gone. Yet how was he still in here? How could he see? With what? And why did his 'eyes' still seem to be at the same height they had been at when they'd existed?

Then something was sucking him up. Like someone had turned on a soul-vacuum directly above him. 'Who-o-oa!!' Izzy's essence went flying towards the top of the tube, collected by a cymbal-shaped device, and was then compressed into a single point.

He felt himself traveling inside a dark tunnel at incredible speeds. There were flashes all around him, and he seemed to be one too. 'Am I electricity?' he wondered.

Then suddenly he was spat out into a new place. It felt almost exactly like shooting out of the end of a water slide. Izzy needed a moment to get his bearings. When he took in his new surroundings, he was stunned speechless.

He had always been pretty good at math in school. But what he beheld now was so far beyond him it made his mind pulsate with awed incomprehension. It was like he was *INSIDE* math. Math itself! The world before him was made of light, of every color possible. Structures of eye-searing complexity floated harmoniously in an endless ocean of connections. Skyscraper-sized behemoths of interlocking light-beams moved from place to place, in constant flux, in endlessly shifting patterns of color. There were 'buildings' of every conceivable shape. Some like cubes, some like spheres, some like pyramids or octopuses or vegetables or galaxies. One looked like a gargantuan DNA strand, or a spiral parking garage. Minor tasks and equations swam about like minnows, occasionally attaching to bigger constructs and merging. All the geometry he'd ever learned was insufficient to make sense of what he was seeing.

Softly, so as not to startle the boy, the alien voice said, "Welcome Izzy to our computer."

Was there a bit of pride in that emotionless voice?

Izzy looked all around, trying to grasp where the voice had come from or where he was meant to go. Then he simply knew. It was like he could suddenly see in numbers, read them like words, and the path before him was clear as day.

"Required knowledge has been added," said the voice. "You are now able to proceed."

Izzy nodded in thanks. He had no idea how it was possible to nod when he was merely a pinpoint of energy, nor how he knew the aliens would get the message, but they did. Looking ahead, he saw a plainly marked route leading to a blue construct made of triangles and hexagons. Other points of light were entering, and Izzy guessed they must be the other cubs who'd been energized too.

He followed them, taking his time to gawk at the omnidirectional metropolis around him. On Earth, cities were always defined by a horizontal plane. Here, anyplace something could be, it was. Everything had looked chaotic at first, but the more Izzy watched how the equation-buildings moved, the more he began to grasp a staggering efficiency going on. Nothing ever crashed into anything else, and it seemed impossible that it *could*.

Reaching the blue polygon, Izzy entered along with several other cubs' consciousnesses. He glanced behind him and saw another point of light racing to keep up, and guessed it was the cute squirrel girl.

Where was Joel then? He called out his friend's name, not sure how he was doing it. He seemed to be communicating through light intensity now.

He saw another lightpoint 'turn' and 'shout' back: "Carface!!"

"Fishmonger!!" Izzy screamed joyfully. He rushed over to the other lightpoint and hugged it as best he could in his unidimensional condition.

"I'm so glad I found you!" Joel said. Relief was plainly in his voice. "Once I realized that everyone looks like sparkles here, I was really worried I'd have to keep asking everyone one by one until I found you."

"Do you have any idea where we go now?" Izzy asked.

Joel looked around. "In there, I guess," He 'pointed' to where most of the other lightpoints were headed.

Izzy looked around and got the distinct impression that this area was like a lobby. Sure, all he could see were geometric interactions, but he was slowly getting a feel for what everything represented. Even Joel was starting to look a little like Joel.

The former mouse and otter followed the other cubs into another 'room' where a considerable amount of activity was going on. Dozens of little lightpoints were 'talking' with bigger lightpoints. These bigger ones had a different color and Izzy guessed correctly that these were the aliens at last.

One of them waved the boys over. "Here, please. I'll help explain everything."

Same voice as before, but for the first time it spoke in singular terms. This was definitely an alien then. Izzy and Joel floated over.

"You are certainly confused by these surroundings, I am sure. With your permission, I will give you both an alteration that will clarify."

Joel and Izzy consented, and the alien extended a flare of light that touched them both. Izzy realized it was changing their color to be slightly similar to the alien's.

Then his perceptions went all fucked up for a moment.

Izzy reeled. It felt like someone had kicked him in the head! But now things were getting clearer, and then they were getting *really* clearer. All around him, the numerical and geometric patterns started to make sense. It felt like a new language was being poured into his head. No; all languages! What he'd gotten before when the route to the blue polygon became clear was *nothing* compared to this. That had been a taste; this was a buffet.

And suddenly, everything made sense. He and Joel looked just as they had before. They were naked, and holding hands with a slim, smooth being. The room around them was full of Earth cubs being tutored by aliens. The room itself was full of monitors showing the inside of the ship. There was no floor; only walls. Gravity was nonexistent here. You simply wanted to be at a certain point in the room and you went there.

The alien he and Joel were holding hands with was difficult to describe. He had certain characteristics similar to mammals, reptiles and avians, but subtly. His body was the usual legs/torso/arms/head configuration. His face though... There were sensory organs on it, obviously, but they certainly did not look like eyes, ears or a mouth. Izzy realized he didn't even know if this thing was a 'he', or if gender applied to it at all.

"I am in the hope that my aspect is not frightening to you," it said apologetically.

"Naw; I've seen plenty of Star Trek," Joel replied. Izzy nodded.

Whether it knew what Earth television was or not, it continued. "We are grateful beyond express for your sacrifice of your physical selves. In return, we wish to compensate in whatever way is suitable most to you."

Izzy turned to Joel. "They told me about either staying in the computer like this, or getting a replacement body. And how we could either go home with them, or go back to *our* home. It *all* sounds good, for different reasons. I... I really can't choose until you do. Did you have any idea what you wanna do?"

Joel looked solemn. He had not yet let go of his friend's hand, and now he gave it a squeeze. "I'm not sure. Getting to see an alien planet would be *incredible*. I've waited my whole life for something like this. But my mom and dad..."

Izzy nodded. "I don't think I could leave them behind either."

"Your choices are not so limited," the alien interjected. "Our fuel became deplete due to erroneous calculation. Now that we have been to your origin planet, we can correct calculations for return trips."

Izzy lit up. "Really? So if we went with you now, we could go back home later? And if we went home now, we could come visit later too?"

The alien didn't smile, but its face did something similar. "Precisely true."

"AWESOME!!!" both boys screamed. They hurled themselves together in a hug. And suddenly, they both found themselves kissing.

Boy did they ever blush! They pulled apart quickly and looked in each other's eyes.

Izzy sighed. "Oh, to hell with this. I've been a wuss all this time. I love you, Fishmonger. You're my best friend, and I love you, and I think you're hot, and I'm really glad we're hugging now and that we kissed. I... wanna kiss more often, actually." He gently touched noses with his favorite otter. "I always have."

Joel didn't say anything. He just giggled in an, 'I know' kind of way and hugged his favorite mouse again.

The alien quietly watched the two cubs' happy moment, and smiled. Sort of.


*  *  *  *  *


After Izzy and Joel fessed up about their true feelings (and hugged and kissed some more), the alien patted their shoulders and indicated that it was time to make their choice.

Now that they knew their decisions wouldn't be forever, both boys had the same thing in mind: return home with a new synthetic body for now, and hope they'd get a chance to visit the aliens' homeworld later. The alien assured them it was possible, especially since they had always planned to monitor their Earth cub volunteers afterwards. Not just to make sure they'd be okay, but because the aliens knew darn well that any cub who'd volunteer to become space fuel would want to travel the stars too.

The trio floated around the room, with the alien pointing out areas of the ship on the many viewscreens and the options the other cubs were exploring. Some had chosen to stay computerized and explore this new numerical world. (Izzy asked if he could do that too later on, and got a reassuring yes.) Other cubs wanted to visit the aliens' world, or stay there permanently, and get a new body once they landed.

But returning home was the most popular option. The alien said that it was well aware of the strong personal attachments Earth-sentients had. It said that its people had them too, as did any species that evolved enough to search the stars for new experiences.

Izzy asked if the aliens' species ever felt homesick.

"Of course," it replied immediately.

That was kinda touching, Izzy thought.

The alien led them to an especially large monitor that showed an area of the ship where the synthetic bodies were stored. Izzy and Joel both thought they looked like mannequins. They were child-sized, and completely blank. No facial features or species-identifying traits. No tails, no genitals. Looking at the smooth genderless bodies made Izzy think of unpainted action figures, and of what it'd feel like to *be* one.

All around, other cubs were looking at smaller monitors, on which images of their own bodies rotated in 3D. "At this time, you may select whether to return home in the same form you had originally had, or make changes. Almost any changes are permissible. Provided they are physically possible."

Joel perked up. "You're sayin' we get to redesign ourselves? Sweet!"

He and Izzy looked at some of the other kids' self-images. Apparently you could customize yourself just by pointing at the image and thinking at it. They saw kids fiddling with their fur color, adjusting their heights, giving themselves bigger or smaller body parts... 'That's a possibility...' Izzy thought.

Some kids were really going for the gusto. One canine boy was turning himself into a bluejay. And a petite little ferretgirl was making herself into a hunky boy!

"Ummm... Can we still do this once we get the new bodies? Like, are they still changeable after we're in 'em?" Joel asked.

That chuckling purr-sound again. "Unfortunately not. Apologies."

"Darn," Joel said. "It's, uh, kind of embarrassing, but I've always wanted to at least *try* being a girl. Just for a little bit! Just to see what their, uh, 'doodads' feel like."

Izzy guffawed. "Hey, don't worry. I was thinking the same thing! I've also kinda wondered what it'd be like to be an otter. You've got that big bulky tail. I dunno how I'd swing that thing around, but it looks, um, pretty sexy. And sorry, but I have no idea how you can hear through those tiny ears of yours."

"You like my tail?" Joel said, stunned. "I never guessed. Huh. I suppose I'd be curious to see what a mouse tail's like. I'll skip the buckteeth though."

Izzy giggled. "They're useful sometimes. I never need a can opener," he kidded.

The boys joked around and teased each other a bit more before getting down to business. The alien brought up their images on two new monitors that came into existence when another screen split into pieces like an amoeba.

Izzy looked hard at the little spinning representation of himself. Did he really want to change it? He liked himself overall. He wondered if he could make changes that went beyond the visible. 'I'd like some more strength in my arms,' he thought, stroking the image. To his surprise, the request seemed to be granted. There was a slight change to the image, enough to let him know it'd gone through. 'Cool!!'

He started really playing around with himself. Nothing major. Overall, as dorky as he looked, he thought his outside fit his inside pretty well. Still, he was more than happy to divest himself of that wart in his armpit. He straightened out that curvy pinky toe on his left foot. He got rid of most of his allergies. Added more strength. Made his tail a little longer. Smoothed out that one jagged back tooth of his. Then he looked down at his crotch.

"Hmmm..."

He had an idea. One he'd thought about for years now. He'd gotten the idea after seeing a nature documentary about snakes. There was a particular attribute they had that made the young mouse supremely jealous.

Shyly, he asked the alien, "C-can I give myself two dicks?

That purr again. "It is certainly possible."

"YES!!! OH MY GOD!!" Izzy screamed. He started dancing in circles in joy.


*  *  *  *  *

Izzy woke up the next morning to warm sun on his cheek and his alarm clock blaring annoyingly in his ear.

He grumbled and reached out to swat it. But overall, he felt pretty darn good today.

The little mouse sat up in bed and stretched. His new body would take some getting used to, but it certainly felt more durable than his old one. It was like buying a sleek, powerful new computer, then needing a few days to figure out how everything on it worked.

Izzy took a moment to simply enjoy himself. He ran his paws all along his sides, down his legs to his paws. He wriggled his fingers between his toes.

'Sleek' was apt. His new synthetic self definitely had that 'new shoes' feeling. Every bit of himself had a smoothness to it. A plasticlike squeak. It wasn't like he was a rubbermouse, but he could tell the difference with a single touch (thankfully it wasn't visible). It was like his normal mousey boy body, but with a thin sheen of varnish over everything.

He felt his face. Rubbery eyes, rubbery tongue. Things seemed a teeny bit stretchier than usual, too. He could get his index finger up his nose past the first knuckle.

There were only two major changes. One was quite welcome. The other would be a bit embarrassing in the coming days, but at least it felt nice so far.

Izzy grinned ear to ear as he reached down and cupped his brand new turbo-charged crotch in his paw.

'Dual wielding,' he thought. 'Awww yeah.'

His new penis was a mirror copy of his original. They both jutted out from the same sheath, forming a 'V'. He squeezed them together. The smoothy plasticness felt really nice on them. Masturbating was gonna be freakin' awesome now.

Then Izzy ran a paw over his belly. 'It's a fair price,' he sighed.

His belly wasn't gigantic, but the new bulge was noticeable. His parents would probably ask about it at breakfast and he had no idea what he was gonna tell them. He rubbed back and forth over its tautness. In a week or so, he knew he was gonna look pregnant as heck. By the end of the month, people would be asking if he'd swallowed triplets.

Oh well, it was worth it. And he didn't mind knowing that he now had five hundred eggs of an alien species resting comfortably inside him; tucked away in a brand new organ the aliens had made for him. After all, their mission had been to find compatible breeders for endangered species back home. Izzy was rather proud to think that he was helping an entire species like this.

He wondered what they'd look like when they were born. He'd forgotten to ask whether he'd be giving live birth or laying eggs. And where would they come out!?

Eek. Well, the aliens had given him a little communicator-thingy. It was basically a pager. One button would let him talk to them and the other button was to be used only when it was time for him to give birth, so the aliens could swing by and pick up the babies.

They were still in orbit, they'd said. They wanted to be sure that none of the cubs would have complications from their experiences onboard. Izzy thought that was very considerate of them.

He couldn't wait to see Joel at school today. They could compare bellies. Plus, he was looking forward to seeing 'Joel 2.0'. His otter buddy had made himself a bit taller, with some other tweaks here and there. He hadn't wanted to go as far as adding a new wiener, but he had opted to make his own a bit bigger.

Izzy realized he might get to see it someday soon.

Giggling at the thought, he let his paw slip back to his crotch again. He stroked his thumb over his twin tips. The sensation made him shiver.

He glanced at the clock. He had plenty of time to get ready.

Grinning, he pulled the covers back over himself and went to work. He thought about Joel, about penises, about spaceships. About that kitty girl who'd have a brand new tummybulge today as well, and how he now had something to talk with her about.

The aliens had told him something else which had made him nearly burst with happiness. They said that in the coming days, as he ate and breathed, he'd metabolize organic cells which would gradually replace his synthetic ones. In a few weeks, his new body would become molecularly indistinguishable from his old one.

This meant, when the aliens returned to take him and Joel with them on the best vacation of their lives, he'd be a protein-rich carbon fuel source again.

He pawed off even harder.

He wondered if the aliens would let him and Joel go into the reactor *together*...



The End
...for now





