I felt my way through the darkness, hoping desperately I wouldn't stub my toe or something stupid. I was surprised though to find that after a few meters inside, the darkness quickly ebbed away, revealing a brightly lit, silver room. Operation tables lined the room from one end to the other, each covered in a cloth to hide what lays beneath, or is empty aside from a white, matte paper cover. Steel rolling tables litter the room, gleaming tools, scalpels, and other medical tools laying atop them. The walls and ceiling were all white as well, but oddly seemed to be slightly translucent. I realized after a few moments that they were enormous plasma screen TVs! The thought of them projecting bright blue skies boasting mounds of fluffy stratus clouds, surrounded by rolling hills of flowing grass and fluttering leaves in the breeze asserted itself into my mind. I was snapped out of my trance when I remembered the man who let me in.

I turned, now able to get a good look at him. He was no older than forty five, but his thinning hair made that difficult to realize. Creases layered the top of his head, even a few running down his thin face from the cheek bones to his chin. He wore a pair of opaque, black goggles that looked more like glasses, concealing his eyes. He showed no facial expression, no emotion that could be seen. His lab coat hung down slightly past his hips over the white slacks he wore, and the coat pocket was lined with an assortion of pens, a small note pad, and another scalpel. His black dress shoes seemed unusually out of place on him. The immediate thought that brown shoes would have looked better crossed my mind but I ignored it. The man seemed to contemplate what to do with me.

Suddenly, he walked around me, looking up and down my body and examining the most unnoticed details no one would have cared about. I yelped slightly when I felt a firm hand grab my shoulder, turning me around, bringing my eyes directly to his black ones. I was getting very uncomfortable, especially as his hands fell down to my chest, stomach and sides, feeling and poking specific spots. He shifted his jaw from left to right a few times, until taking a step back and looking at my entirety again.

"You wish to undergo a brain transplant, am I not right?" questioned the man, his voice no where near as booming as my father's, but had a strong sense of authority.

"U-um, I...yes I-I'd like to uh...If-", I stuttered, exceedingly nervous now, as well as embarrassed for some reason.
Well this is awkward. I've always been very open about my fondness for Alvin and the Chipmunks. Why was I so mortified about it now? The man placed his hands behind him and spoke again.

"Relax. You have nothing to be ashamed of. I'm in fact, honored to have you here. You're my first volunteer! Oh wait", the man scoffed,"where are my manners, my name is Dr. Helix, and you are?" asked the man, holding his hand out to me.

My eyes widened. This was him! I mentally kicked myself for not recognizing him earlier, eagerly shaking the outstretched hand.

"Oh, I-I'm sorry I didn't recognize you! I'm such an idiot, uh, I'm Deven Reed, I've...kinda always dreamed about what it would be like to be a chipmunk, er, an AatC chipmunk to be exact.", I exclaimed with a nervous chuckle.

"I bet you were quite shocked to hear about this opportunity! I myself was a bit taken back by deciding to make out of all things, a chipmunk. I was thinking dragons or an anthro'poidal fox would be at the top of the list! Of course, they were after people saw what I was capable of, but it's too late for them now. It takes a long time to create the genetic structure of these artificial creatures. It's a miracle the first project was so small! Even so, altering the genetics to match the right bone structure and organ sizes took a lot of precise and complex work.", said Dr. Helix.

"Um, Dr?'I began.

"Yes Deven?"

"Could we get started? Like pronto? My parents kinda said no to this. They don't know I'm down here.", I said, a nervous sweat trickling down my neck. I was suddenly worried he would reject my request for this.

"Uhhh, sure! Please, take a seat.", replied Dr. Helix, pointing to an unoccupied operation table beside him.

I did as he instructed, sitting on the table's side before swinging both legs up on top and laying down to face the fake ceiling. I sighed with a smile. It was finally gonna happen! I could feel my heart pounding with excitement. Then the room went pitch black, as dark as I had falsely perceived it to be earlier.

"I've installed these TV screens in order to project dreams into my patients while I operate. It's...just a little thing I added to subdue any excessive stress on the patient. What kind of place would you like to be in?", explained Dr. Helix from another part of the room.

"Hmmm, can you make a bright blue sky with grassy hills?", I asked, again a little embarrassed.

Without replying, the blackness swirled around me, distorted and contorting with dark shades of blue and green occasionally.

"And God said, let there be light!", exclaimed the Dr, of which instantly after, everything got so bright, I had to squint and cover my eyes for a moment.

Slowly, I adjusted to the brightness, and my requested world began to form. Clouds dominated the clear blue sky, but failed to show me mercy from the sun. I turned to the right to avoid it's burning gaze. Like I had requested, seemingly endless hills stretched across the horizon My eyes fixated onto my beautiful surroundings, even as an oxygen mask was placed gently over my mouth and nose, expelling a sweet chemical that made me become drowsy. I shaked my head to keep myself awake. It worked. I simply continued to take in the amazing view.

I found that I was no longer on the table. Dew from the soft grass I lay on dampened my clothes, but I don't care. Pleasant chills trickle down my back, and the breeze smells of roses and tulips Everything's just perfect. I lay there, unable to wipe the persistent grin from my face as I lazily watch the clouds. I can watch the sky now since the clouds shifted in front of the sun. After what seemed like only a minute, the clouds drifted away, turning from a fluffy white to a portrait of red and orange that lines the horizon the sun just barely peeking overtop of them. Night descended onto the world, and the pleasant breeze was substituted for fire flies. The sky lit up to a dark purple, filled with the presence of a beautiful diamond colored crescent moon and a thousand stars. I felt myself begin to fade away, falling into sleep's embrace. I allowed it to take me, and my eyes closed, never to open again.