FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Max sighed to himself as he walked through the crowd of people, what would account for rush hour inside the atrium of the space station he dwelled in. The young man was frustrated, and in his mind it was for good reason. He thought that when he moved onto one of the many stations scattered about the galaxy his life would become more exciting, but other than the potential for death only a few inches of plastisteel away, life was the same as the planet he had come from. As he walked through the atrium and past the lines of shops, there was a worthwhile perk to working on a station; the pay he got for working in such hazardous conditions meant that he had more credits in his pocket from the few months he lived there than he had seen all his life planetside.

It was that reason why he was even in the atrium in the first place, that and his friend had invited him to the launch of a new line of smartwear clothing. It was the latest in a line of fads when it came to living in space, taking the suits that they had to wear in order to monitor their vital signs while on a space station and upgrading them to do a whole host of other capabilities. With the dawn of nanotechnology the newer models could even save your life in a medical emergency, though naturally once they had mastered that it quickly was modified for more recreational and vanity enhancements. Normally Max wouldn't even give it another look, his body still clothed with the stock model everyone was given when they moved to a space station to live, but curiosity and the credits burning a hole in his pocket provided him enough motivation to take a look.

The other reason for his desire for a new suit was his best friend Evan, who he came up to the station with in the first place. The two had grown up in the same region of a small backwater planet that had very little to its name other than the minerals that lay under its crust. The two vowed that they weren't going to live and die in such a place where nothing would happen to them except add to the mining totals of the colony. Together the two made enough for passage on a far-off station, far removed from the confines of their old life.

While he had taken a job in the maintenance sector of the station, Evan had gotten into the corporate sector with his intelligence and knack for coding, which not only helped set him up for success, but also provided the two with more access than he would have ever gotten on his own. It was on Evan's invitation that brought him to that store in particular, lured there with the promise of something amazing. He hadn't known the man to lead him wrong before, and his own excitement grew when he saw the crowd of people he would be able to bypass.

Unsurprisingly the store was packed as Max tried to wade his way through the other prospective buyers. His own gaze wasn't on the clothes, though, instead he looked for a familiar face among the crowd as he moved. A few minutes in his friend found him first, the taller male waving his hands at him to usher him over. "I was wondering if you were going to show up," he told Max as he began to guide him further back into the store. "I know this isn't your thing, so thank you so much for coming."

"Hey, I'm happy to be here to support you, Evan," Max replied. "What sort of friend would I be if I wasn't here when you launched the product you were working so hard on? And if being that friend meant some sort of discount... well, who am I to argue?"

Evan just turned and smirked at him as they walked through a door marked for employees only which led to a back storage room. "Alright, now what I'm about to show you-" Evan's explanation was stopped short as another man appeared out of the shadows and walked towards them with a stern look on his face. "Oh, Mr. Morrison, I didn't realize you were back here. Something wrong with the product launch?"

"Nothing a quick diagnostic check couldn't fix," the older gentleman said before his gaze turned to Max. "Who is this?"

"This is my friend Max," Evan quickly said. "Max, this is Albert Morrison, lead programmer of the suit's software and my boss."

Max started to reach out his hand in order to offer a handshake, but quickly retracted it when it was apparent he wasn't going to reciprocate. "Ah yes, the one you wanted to use your employee access on," Albert stated simply. "Do note that the generosity of the company is very finite, if it weren't for your contributions to this project you and your friend would have to wait in line with everyone else."

The two just nodded and watched as the other man stiffly walked away before they both breathed a sigh of relief. "Sorry about that," Evan said once he was sure they were alone once again. "He may seem like an ass, but that's because... well, he is. Also one of the most gifted programmers I've ever seen... besides myself, of course."

"Probably just as humble, too," Max joked as he pushed the other male. "Now stop stalling, let me see this thing you promised would be worth the credits."

Evan continued to grin as he motioned for Max to follow before they reached a private dressing room in the back for employees to change for work. Inside was a simple metal container with a keypad on it, which Evan punched in the access code for it to unlock. Once he had the lid of the box snapped open and Max watched the other male unfurl something black and shiny.

"Ta da!" Evan said happily as the material rolled out into a one piece suit, the only opening was in what Max assumed was the head as it was handed to him. Max just stood there in confused silence as he felt the silky material slide through his fingers before he held up the black material to the light. "Well, what do you think?"

"Is this... what you wear underneath the suit?" Max asked, which caused Evan to chuckle.

"No man, this is the suit!" Evan replied as he pulled out a small handheld computer. "It's the latest in alphaware integrated technology. Even the newest model we just released still has the wrist-mounted computer to monitor and control everything and has sensor plates you can see. Everything you see in those suits and more has been woven into the very material itself through nano-circuitry, and its sensors are the smallest in the world. It also offers augmentative capabilities as well if you get the platinum package, which I highly recommend if I do say so myself."

"Well it certainly sounds expensive," Max said as he stretched the fabric. "Hard to believe that you got all that in here without anything showing, this thing will be a hit with the modders."

"I really don't think the tech can go quite as far as that group does with their gene therapy and such," Evan explained with a chuckle. "More like over time it can aid with growing muscle mass or help heal wounds, stuff like that. But enough of the specs, it's time for a product demonstration."

After a quick explanation of how to get the suit on Evan left the room to give his friend his privacy. Once he was alone Max scoffed at the design, the idea that all the technology was integrated into the fabric itself was a concept he had a hard time wrapping his head around. If it was true then it was understandable why the company Evan worked for was so excited about it, especially since it would likely be a benchmark for the next stage for wearable technology. He stripped out of his old suit and tossed it on the nearby chair before he stretched open the hole of the suit's hood. It seemed like it would be far too small to accommodate his body, but as he sat down and put his feet through it, the suit easily opened to allow him access.

Max marveled at how easily the fabric of the suit slid on over his skin, the smooth texture glided up his legs as he inserted them into their respective sleeves. Once he had the hole up to his chest came the real test, normally it almost took two people to put on a traditional piece, but this model continued to impress the male with its ability to expand as he slid his hands into the hole and pushed them into the arms. By the time it reached his neck he looked down at his body and at the rubbery material that covered it. Unlike his last suit it contoured around his body, and despite the thickness of it, he could see the fit definition of his form as he hooked his latex-covered fingers into the hole.

For once Max was thankful in his short haircut as he slid the material over his head and tucked his ears in. He expected the suit to leave his whole face open but as the hole shrunk to its original configuration he found it just big enough for his eyes. Despite it covering his face he found he could still breathe easily through the material around his mouth and nose, which as he examined it seemed thinner and more permeable than the rest of it. Even as he knocked on the door to let Evan back in he could feel the suit to continue to contour around his head, it had the surreal feel of gel more than neoprene or rubber as his friend walked back into the room.

"Looking good if I do say so myself," Evan stated while he went over to the box and rummaged around in it. "Now for the last piece..." he dug around for a few more second before he pulled out a metallic silver visor that was about the same size as the hole in Max's suit. "Just press this against the opening and it'll integrate itself automatically."

"There's no way I'm walking around like this, Evan," Max said as he stretched out his arms and legs to show how exposed he was, which just caused his friend to chuckle. "I'm not kidding, I'm going to get cited for indecent exposure or something!"

As Evan continued to laugh he held up a hand to prompt Max to wait, then once he finished he closed his eyes and seemed to concentrate. Max watched in awe as the features of Evan's clothing melted away into dark blue rubber and crawled over his hands and face until he stood there in a suit similar to his own. "All the employees got to test the alphaware of this suit, Max," Evan explained as it shifted back to its previous form. "Now if you'd quit complaining and let me calibrate the suit you'll find that your options aren't just nearly-naked black; that's the default state of the suit we like to call Second Skin for the obvious reasons you pointed out. Now put the visor on and get you set up quickly, seeing you all out on display like that is... disconcerting."

Max smirked and took the visor from Evan's hands and pressed it up against his face, where he felt the rubbery material around his eyes peel up slightly to fuse with the piece of machinery. When it activated it was like he was looking through a pair of goggles, though his vision was already good everything looked crystal clear. As he looked around a prompt suddenly filled his field of vision, thanking him for the purchase of his new suit and to complete the registration process. Most of it the suit took care of for him, and the rest he just had to state out loud and watch as the forms in front of him were filled out.

As he reached one in particular it caused him slight pause, then looked over at the other male. "What's this one about securing a release password and to make sure I give it to a friend or family member?" he asked. "Am I potentially in some sort of danger?"

"It is a safety precaution," Evan admitted. "In the case of total suit malfunction you can use that password to completely disable it and render the whole thing inert. The reason you would give it to a friend is in case you are somehow unable to speak with it on. Just make sure it's something complex, you don't want someone next to you to say it accidently and then you're suddenly out of a suit."

Max sighed and set the password, then told Evan what it was as he moved on to the next form. What came after that was several disclaimers and terms of service he skimmed through, then it got to the final screen that showed him the cost of everything. "Huh, that's... cheaper than I expected," he said as he looked over at his friend, who was trying not to look at him. "Evan..."

"Alright... so technically not a product launch..." Evan admitted as his face turned red. "It's... a beta test." Max raised his voice to shout when the other male quickly waved his hands in the air to quiet him. "I know you don't like beta testing new technology, but if you'd see the price tag for what something like this normally costs you'd have walked out the door!"

"I'm about to, anyway!" Max cried out. "You know I hate being a guinea pig for these places, one wrong bit of code and my insides are on my outsides or I'm a steaming pile of goo!"

"I told you that all the employees already wear them!" Evan shot back. "You don't know how many strings I had to pull to get you in on this, now you and I have something state of the art for once! Just please... trust me on this, Max, give it a few days and you'll be buying me drinks the next time you see me."

Max was about to say something else, but held back when he saw the look on his friend's face. They had come to the station together and despite being in different areas continued to hang out, and one of the things they had discussed was moving up in the station. As much as he hated the idea of being a test subject for something, the comfort of the suit was growing on him and it was rather cheap. After a minute of internal debate he sighed and said he accepted the charges, which activated and purchased the suit for him.

"You won't regret this," Evan said happily as he continued to work on his handheld while Max felt his skin tingle. "Alright so you're going to have to wear the suit for at least twelve continuous hours for it to calibrate itself to your body, though I would wait a full twenty-four until you start messing with it. Whenever you want to alter the suit after that just use the visor, as you can see you can take the hood and gloves off or even reduce the whole thing down to a speedo, though its abilities are significantly reduced if you do that. All in all have fun, and I'll talk to you in two weeks to get a product satisfaction survey. I'll be traveling until then, so if you have any problems feel free to call the company and they'll help you immediately since you're a beta tester."

"I still can't believe you talked me into this," Max said as he continued to rub his body through the strange new material that covered it. "I expect that when you get you get your promotion off of this that you'll take me out somewhere nice, you corporate whore."

"Hey, gotta climb that ladder somehow," Evan replied with a chuckle. "Oh, one more thing, keep the fact you're beta testing a new suit on the down low, okay? This isn't a public trial and there are those out there that circle these things like vultures in order to try and get their hands on them, either for good or ill. Not saying you'll have a problem, just don't advertise it, okay?"

Max nodded and after a bit more conversation they agreed to have a drink once Evan got back from his product launch. Once they were done he put his old suit on over the new one, and after being surprised that it still fit him he said goodbye and went home. While full body suits weren't rare he did get his share of looks as he walked home, and once he got to his apartment he was thankful he didn't have to go out for the next day. After ordering some takeout, which took some maneuvering to eat that involved removing the visor and pulling down the hole of the hood, he stayed up for only another hour before he went to bed. As he laid there he thought having to sleep with the suit on would drive him mad, but like his friend had said, it felt almost like he wore nothing at all as he quickly fell asleep.

***************************************************

The next morning Max awoke to his alarm as usual, but as he rolled over to turn it off he realized that the music wasn't coming from the device. He looked curiously at his clock, then at his suit, and when he said the word snooze the music turned off. After a few seconds of revelation he bolted off the bed and ran towards the visor he had left on his table, and when he put it on he immediately saw the next time his alarm was going to ring next. "Alarm off?" Max asked and watched as the HUD displayed alarm off before it went back to normal vision mode.

"You definitely know how to pick them, Evan," Max said to himself as he gestured up towards some of the symbols in his augmented field of vision and let out a small chuckle of amusement when they opened up with a swipe. "I wonder what else this thing will do." Despite his eagerness to continue to play with his new suit he remembered that he wanted to give it a full day to calibrate to him, which made his day off rather uneventful as he opted to stay inside until he could alter the suit. He set a timer to tell him exactly when the day would be up and then proceeded to play games to otherwise occupy his time while he waited.

Time passed by slower than ever before as Max tried to keep himself active, though he was thankful for the unintrusive nature of the suit it soon became clear it was going to be more of a challenge than he thought. After the initial twelve hours he accessed the suit's functionality to allow him to eat easier and use the restroom, but other than that he remained on the couch and channel surfed or played games. Just as he finished beating a particularly hard level of one of his games he heard a chirp in his ears and the countdown timer that had been in the corner of his visor suddenly filled his vision and announced the calibration was finished. He quickly shut down everything and accessed the suit's adjustment menu, which opened to a huge variety of potential styles and colors.

The first thing Max attempted to do was retract the hood and felt the synthetic fabric flow away from his head for the first time all day. Once his head was free of the confining material he did the same with his hands and feet as well, leaving him with a more traditional suit design. He was amazed at how quickly the material reacted to his adjustments, especially when he used the visor. Without the suit they wrapped around his head and rested against his ears like a pair of sunglasses, still allowing him to use the gesture function of the HUD.

Without even realizing it hours had passed while he continued to tinker with the look of his suit. At first he had stuck with the more traditional designs, but as he continued deeper into the different categories he realized he could make it look like anything from normal clothes to crazy prints. At one point he changed it to make him look like he was wearing a tiger costume, complete with ears that twitched and a tail that actually swished behind him.

"I'm sure someone's going to get a kick out of that," Max said with a chuckle as he used his paw-like hand to return his suit back to its saved configuration of a stylish silver and black. Now that it looked like he was wearing normal clothes he considered going out to eat and exercise and wondered what the shoe options were, but as he cycled around the menu he saw something that caused him to pause. It was a box labeled body augmentations which had an open lock on it and a note that said the feature was open for beta testers and premium subscribers only.

Max paused slightly as his hand hovered over the next button. Part of him was curious about what this suit could really do, but he was still apprehensive of using features that hadn't be completely vetted yet. After a minute or so of debate he sighed and opened the list of possible additional features. He knew if he didn't see anything he liked he could just exit out, he reasoned as his suit returned back to a simple body-hugging black fabric. The menu informed him his clothing choice would return once he was finished with the list as he went into the features themselves.

As Max looked through the various options he realized that his friend had been right in that the scope was limited on what he could do. While it had options to grow taller or more muscular the slider didn't go very far in either direction. There were also modder options like grow pointed ears, longer hair, or even claws, but didn't have anything major like grow a tail or wings. What did catch him by surprise was that it also had mental modifications as well, such as get smarter or break bad habits. As he looked down at his own body he rationalized that while he was fairly fit, it would never hurt to add a little extra muscle as he selected that option.

A strange tingle began to suffuse through Max's skin as the material against his skin felt like it had begun to vibrate. On his HUD display a new icon appeared in his field of vision, which after looking it up was the indicator that the augmentation option was active. Even though he had been told that the process was gradual and wouldn't produce any results immediately, he swore his chest looked slightly thicker with muscle. As he flexed his bicep to see if there was a difference, his eyes widened when he saw the black fabric crawl over his hands again, the same happening to his feet as the visor displayed that his hands and feet had to be covered for this augmentation.

Once the electric tingles subsided and he felt his body return to normal he clicked out of the menus and looked up options for gloves and boots. Finally he found a pair of both that matched his current outfit and saved it to his configuration, then decided to go out for the first time all day. As he reached for his credstick and keys another pop-up appeared on his visor that asked him if he would like to link the two to his suit for easier access. "Damn, this thing does everything!" he exclaimed as he walked out the door.

That night as Max went about his usual routine he still felt slightly self-conscious about his new clothes as he walked through the space station's main atrium. If anyone did know about his new suit no one seemed to show it, and eventually it put him more at ease. He was still amazed by how good it felt on him as he walked, even though it looked like normal clothes it felt like he was wearing little at all. Plus the suit's functionality continued to surprise him, particularly when he purchased his dinner and merely had to wave his hand over the reader, or when he felt every muscle in his body thrum after a particularly vigorous workout.

By the time he had gone to bed he had grown to admire it, and gave himself a mental reminder to buy the first round of drinks when Evan got back from his trip. Despite his newfound respect for it he turned off the muscle augmentation before he put the suit into sleep mode. He had wanted to take the whole thing off, but from the warning it would take several hours to calibrate it again and since he had already slept in it once, he decided it couldn't hurt to continue wearing it while he figured it out. Finally he put the visor on the nearby nightstand and drifted off to sleep, helped along by the suit's advanced biometric functions that adjusted itself to ensure a fast and deep sleep.

As the night passed and the visor glowed with the time on the lenses, it suddenly turned off completely. While Max continued to sleep words began to scroll by on the dual screens, continuing for a few minutes before the words remote access granted flashed on them. Those words continued to flash for nearly an hour before it shut off once again, then returned back to its normal configuration...