Brainless Volunteer Position [b]Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.[/b] The recent snow Titus walked through made the scenery around the facility beautiful. Sleek glass composed all sides of the four-story, heptagonal facility, with banners covering a couple stories on the adjacent walls. Both banners displayed the same image, a brain with a blue visor covering the frontal lobes. Words underneath the image read, “No suffering, sadness, or strife!” Weird, but it was tantalizing. The poster in Titus’ claws was a bit more detailed. Stained, neon pink paper with dark blue lines listed numerous different benefits and platitudes Titus heard a thousand times before. One line stood out to Titus though, “Take a vacation from stress, fear, and anxiety by dealing with the source: Your brain.” Guaranteed relief from anxiety? That was all Titus needed to hear. Excitement catching up to him, the young wolf raced through the snow the rest of the way to the teardrop-shaped facility. Automatic doors welcomed Titus into a comfortable lobby. Potted ferns lined the sides with each between a chair. A long, curved sofa wrapped around the outer edges the room following the shape of the building. Posters and banners like the ones Titus saw adorned the room. Three ornate, wooden double doors were in the back. Besides the edges of the room, only a front desk with a computer stood at the center. A lone tabby manned the front desk, wearing a rubber suit with the label “01” on his chest and the same type of visor from the banners. “Good day, sir. Welcome to Debilitation Rehabilitation Offices New England branch. How might I assist you?” All spoken in a monotone voice. He seemed distant. A plaque on a stand gave me his name, Chris. “Salutations! Yes. I’m here to apply for that volunteer position in your recent advertisement.” Holding out the flyer, I feel my throat tense. I’m nervous. Again. Glancing down to the paper, Chris doesn’t even look it over before speaking. “The volunteer position. Understood. Complete this form and return it to me.” “A-Alright then.” Titus couldn’t see Chris’ eyes through the visor, but in the moment between Chris began gazing at him, holding out but the way his arms and head moved were odd. Stiff, methodical, and quick. Did he just sleep funny? Was this his version of peak performance? Snatching a nearby pen, Titus grabbed a seat on a chair near the door and got to filling out the fields. Minutes passed by with silence that would make a boneyard seem rambunctious. Hands set to autopilot; Titus’ mind wouldn’t stop thinking. [i]“Where is everyone else? A building this big and only one person working the front desk? …It’s probably nothing. Just the anxiousness getting to you again. This will be nice.”[/i] Unwilling to parse the legal documents at the end, Titus just signed on every dotted line that wanted his name. Yoga didn’t work, pills weren’t helping, and therapy only did so much. This was the last bit to chomp at, as far as the young wolf was concerned. Turning the papers over to Chris, Titus chimed, “Here you are!” Sounds akin to a broom sounded in the air as Titus’ tail began oscillating. Holding his breath, Titus watched as Chris accepted the papers and scanned over them. “…Understood. Thank you, Titus. Please take a seat until you are called.” Rustling papers joined the sweeping tail for a second as the only other noise in the room. Some compartment beneath the desk held the papers as Chris resumed whatever his duties were on the desktop. Thus, the lupine waited…and waited…and waited. Ceasing his swishing sometime after the test of patience began, the room was devoid of sound. An hour later, the leftmost set of wooden doors creaked open. Stalking out of the entryway was another wolf. A muscular, tall one. He wore the same style of clothing Chris had. A rubber suit and a blue visor. The main difference were the numbers etched into his. “02” was him. Titus was puzzled, but there was no time for him to question. 02 was imposing. Older, stronger, and taller were just a few traits that made Titus shrink in his seat. Baritone resounded in the room as he exclaims, “Greetings. Your records check out. Follow along.” Without missing a beat, he turned and walked down towards the same hall he came from. Rigid, measured steps sounded out in the entryway while Titus chased after. Room after room passed by as Titus tried to catch up. Most rooms were standard fare, office rooms, storage, and utilities. Towards the back some of the rooms were interesting. Gyms, bedrooms, medical equipment, shower rooms, kitchens, even rooms filled with odd, specialized equipment. Furs were rushing to and fro, a couple even had the same rubber suit and visor combination Chris and 02 had. Elephants in lab coats, jaguars in track suits, gorillas in overalls, and more. Various combinations of animals and professions seemed to live here. Titus’ eyes were wandering everywhere, and his maw was agape. After the desolate lobby, this section seemed like a proper business. Diagrams, notices, and schedules pinned on bulletin boards. Mental health must have been a major theme with this group since most every poster had a brain on it, some of them strangely mechanical. Slowly, he and 02 were at the back of the hallway, standing before an elevator door decorated with ivy patterns. 02 pressed an equally fancy, serpentine arrow button pointing downward. “Hmm. Rather ornate. It’s pretty cool!” Titus chimed in. 02 had not vocalized anything since they started walking together. Nothing left to do but await the elevator itself now, so may as well make small talk. Unfortunately, 02 seemed to not care about discussion whatsoever. Indiscernible expressions were the only thing 02 would return. Faint humming could be heard until the grinding sound of the elevator doors opening. Pristine and plain 02 hopped in without word. Jumping in after him, Titus noticed 02 hit a button on the side of the floor selection panel. Tilting his head like a curious pup Titus spoke, “Oh? What floor is that?” [b]CLUNK! Whrrrrr… [/b] The elevator began descending. “Basement floor two. You will receive your work attire and preparation to perform your duties optimally.” 02 didn’t bother to make eye contact. He simply folded his arms behind his back with a small squeak as the rubber on his arms rubbed against each other. His posture and form were impeccable. “Sweet. What clothing am I getting? What work will I do?” “You will receive the same rubber suit I have. Our work is relegated to whatever our master designates.” [i]“Master? Isn’t that an odd word for boss in this day?”[/i] Unable to vocalize his concerns out of fear of being rude, Titus nods along. “Certainly…” [b]THUMP! [/b] The same grinding sound occurred as the elevator doors opened. It opened out into an ivory hallway. Smoky, pale white tiles covered the floor of the well-lit hall with ornate, oak doors with gold plating. Marble busts of various species with inscriptions on golden plates on the plinths holding them. “Master Kelly 1850-1900” was under one. An old rat gentleman with a chiseled face and large teeth. “Master Rupert 1900-1935” A Labrador Retriever with large ears and eyes. “Master Riley 1935-1980” A rather meek looking tiger with shorter fur than average. “Master Gabriel 1980-2010” A mink with scars covering his face. Oddly, the last one didn’t have a bust or a complete inscription. “Master ---- 2010-20—” Curious, Titus couldn’t help but think. [i]“Do they only add a bust once the Master leaves? Why do they want to go by ‘Master’ though?”[/i] [b]THUD![/b] Titus hadn’t even noticed 02 had ceased walking. Bumping into his back moronically, he backed up. If he didn’t have fur, Titus’ blushing would’ve turned him scarlet. “Apologies! I wasn’t watching where I was-” [b]Knock. Knock. Knock.[/b] 02 hadn’t turned around or even acknowledged Titus’ blunder. His voice filled the room, “Master. The new volunteer has arrived…Understood.” Grabbing two golden doorknobs with similar ivy patterns on them, 02 opened the door. A wave of colder air blasted the two, but 02 was unfazed. He merely walked to the side and held out his arm to the room, gesturing to Titus to enter. Titus hadn’t even heard the voice of 02’s master. Apprehension grew in the young canine as he slowly stepped into the room, claws clacking on the tiles. The new room was covered in jet black tiles with no furnishings. Lights built into the sides of the room were the only thing that lit up the one thing in the room. Some odd, esoteric device that looked like an MRI machine with two differences. Two cables extended from the sides of the machine leading to jars. One jar was a steel cylinder while the other was a normal glass jar filled with some aquamarine liquid filling it. 02 walked in a moment later, closing the doors. “The process is simple. If you are ready, please lay down on the machine bed. This device will prepare you for your work and help you adjust. Any and all worries or anxieties you face will be treated.” Titus eyes grew wider as he heard that last statement. It was enough to quash any qualms he had with this device as he leaped to the device. Tongue nearly lolling out of his maw as he exclaimed, “Sure thing! Anything else you need?” Already walking over 02 answered, “Simply hold still and allow the device to complete its processes.” As Titus laid back, staring up at the ceiling, 02 trotted to the operation panel on the machine. Low humming began as the machine was warming up. [b]Bump-Bump. Bump-Bump. Bump-Bump.[/b] Heartbeats? Titus didn’t even realize he had become so nervous. Or was he just excited? The bed he reclined on slowly retracted into the gaping maw of the machine. Once it stopped, he had perfectly aligned with two large holes beside his head. Closing his eyes, he started to put his practice into regulating his breathing into effect. Noises continued around Titus’ head. The same humming from when the machine started, and the sound of metal sliding on metal. A cold, hard touch was applied to his ears. Was the room really that cold? Chilling sensations kept creeping deeper into his skull. [i]“Anxiety never made me feel like this before”[/i], Titus thought. [i]“I wonder…No. I’ll just hold out. Probably just feeling cold.”[/i] It was becoming more than cold. Wincing, Titus felt a dull headache sprout in the center of his head. Gritting his teeth slightly, the wolf kept his composure. Every second that passed, his head felt like the pressure grew stronger. Breathing accelerating, Titus began to whimper a bit. [i]“H-How much longer will th---”[/i] [b]POP![/b] Pressure began to dissipate…along with all of Titus’ thoughts. Slack-jawed, he lay there. Eventually, the cables connected to his ear began to bulge out and expand, one extracting and one implanting. Quickly, the tube extracting from Titus delivered its package to the device while the one delivering to Titus filled the timber wolf’s head. Contents delivered, both tubes withdrew. 02 was rapidly typing new commands into the console. Talking to seemingly no one he spoke, “Brain extraction process complete. Activating replacement brain. Designation ‘06’. Awakening drone.” Typing more, he began opening more programs. “Drone programming, memory copying, and secure internet connection established. Drone 06 has been added to employee database. Previous brain sedated and given dopamine supplements to ensure restful sleep. Existing presence of copious amounts of dopamine suggest Titus experiences pleasure…Understood, Master.” 02 walked out of the room. The monitor in front of him threw out numerous graphs and files. Images of the wolf’s brain had several green lines pointing to it Diagrams showing a robotic brain read one sentence: Successfully integrated 06. Bed extending, 06 opened his eyes, carefully sitting up. His stare was blank and emotionless. [i]“Welcome, 06. It is time. Acclimate to your new body and change into your casual suit.”[/i] No voice was speaking. All those words were being processed in his head. Blinking slowly, 06 climbed off the extraction machine bed with rigidity. Soon, 02 returned holding out a folded, rubber suit and visor. There was no shame or hesitance. 06 had to obey Master. Stripping off Titus’ clothes, 06 folded them and wrapped them up for discarding later. Accepting the suit, 06 clothed himself once again. Rubber covered his torso and legs, only one hole in the back existed to allow his tail through. On his chest read “06”. Additionally, on his groin was a yellow padlock symbol. Master hadn’t given him permission to play with himself. Completing the look with the visor, 06 was prepared for his life serving Master. [i]“Brilliant. Collect your old brain if you would.”[/i] Master had given a command. 06 must comply. More squeaking ensued as 06 walked around to the glass jar, a large brain floating in the liquid now. Reaching down, he unhooked the jar from the tube and pedestal it rested on. With one hand holding it up and one held behind his back, 06 left the room. 02 closed the doors behind him. [i]“Good drone, take that brain to the trophy room with the others.”[/i] “Yes Master.”