Hannah tapped her pen against the clipboard in her hand as she studied the heart monitor. She was using the repetitive tat-tat-tat to keep time as she watched the subject’s heart and breathing rates. When she was satisfied with the numbers, she jotted them down and moved to check the IV bag. She had been taken off the genetic cocktail for an hour to get some saline and nutrients into her, and to allow the most recent dose to set in so Hannah could properly observe the results.

The subject had first been put under two weeks ago, and so far the results were immensely pleasing. She was keeping the girl under for most of the procedure, only rousing her at specific intervals to prevent her body from becoming dependent on the sedatives. In those windows - usually only an hour or two - Hannah would sit the girl up, take her vitals, and sponge down her hair and skin to keep her from getting any sores or infections from lying prone. The procedure had caused her to bleed at a few different intervals and Hannah wanted to make sure the dried fluid was cleaned off her skin. Through these times, the girl didn’t struggle or really show any signs of awareness. She remained limp and pliable, her expression vacant. To keep her from weakening, Hannah would move the girl’s limbs, force them to carefully bend and stretch to keep the muscles loose and active.

It was obvious her conscious mind had fled. Whether it would return or be replaced with the wild instincts of the animal she was becoming remained to be seen, but Hannah hoped she would not remain this empty shell for too long. Mr. Winston would not be very impressed with that outcome. It was possible with a little gentle electrostimulation, they could get the brain tissue firing again if necessary.

Dr. Manson continued her rounds of examination, taking note of her subject’s pulse and breathing rates, looking over her form for any blemishes or inconsistencies. Afterwards, she pulled her recorder back out and began to talk into it. “Day twenty-one since the subject’s initial arrival. Fourteen days since omega genome serum was first introduced. The experiment has progressed well so far, with external changes beginning to manifest.” She paused to pull the sheet back off the teenager’s body. Already, the girl’s feet had begun to flatten and push outwards from her ankles. The bones cracked noisily every couple of hours as the change progressed. At the moment, what remained of her feet appeared rather grotesque, as the floppy, fleshy bundles pooled over one another and began to merge. It was not pretty, and bled often, but already was beginning to take the shape of a fluke.

“Subject appears to be diverting in design from the original genetic host, with feet merging into one large fluke rather than separate fins as anticipated. There is potential for a possible split in the future, but it seems a single propulsion limb will be formed from what is visible so far,” she reported into the handheld mic. Hannah stepped up to the girl’s face and carefully pushed her upper lip back with a gloved thumb. “Subject’s fangs have fully formed and the jaw widened to accommodate the new length of the teeth. No manual intervention was required for this to occur. Her fangs appear to be shorter than the original host, but no doubt just as capable of dealing devastating wounds. For handling safety, it may be prudent to have the fangs of both mermaids filed down and capped to reduce risk of injury. We’ll see how the subject’s temperament is when the procedure has been completed.”

Then Hannah carefully peeled open the left eyelid of the girl. Her browned iris was rolled back in her skull and the whites were slightly bloodshot. Both side effects of the deep sedation she was being kept under. “The eyes have taken on a slightly watery, glossy effect. No doubt a fine pigment layer to reduce light distortion and blurred vision underwater.” Slowly, Hannah rubbed the tip of her finger in the corner of the limp girl’s eye, watching as a protective inner lid instinctively slid shut over the orb. “The second lid has grown in nicely. A feature for protecting the eye from sand and particles out in the water. Response appears unconscious and instinctive. There should be no need to teach the creature how to use this feature in the future.”

Hannah Manson checked her watch. Within the next few hours, she expected a few more radical changes to begin to take place, and she was worried about the development of the girl’s gills. She would need to be awake, and possibly submerged for it. If her gills opened while she was under sedation, she could asphyxiate before they could get it properly under control.

She worked silently as she disconnected the girl’s IV tube from the saline drip and reconnected it to the omega cocktail. Then she gently pulled the short nasal tubes from her nose. She’d placed the tubes - barely the length of the first joint of a finger - to continue to pump the sedatives in a gaseous form into the lungs. She tugged them free and turned off the gas supply before injecting the reversal drug into the girl’s arm directly via the IV.

After about thirty seconds, the girl’s fingers began to twitch and her eyes fluttered open. She appeared to be breathing fine on her own, but her expression was just as vacant as every other time since they’d initially put her under. Hannah pursed her lips and hoisted the girl’s torso up so she was sitting upright. Despite the lights appearing to be off upstairs, the girl would sit upright on her own, and if Hannah raised one of her arms, she would hold it there rather than it simply falling limply back to her side, so something was working. She would not move about on her own, however, simply remain as she was placed until moved. It was a little eerie, like having a living doll. Hannah was very careful with the delicate specimen, however. She imagined if left unattended, she would eventually quiver and collapse. Her body was very low on nutrients and energy reserves. It was not hard to put her under, and she appeared to fall asleep naturally very quickly even when she wasn’t breathing the drugs. The transformation was clearly extracting a heavy toll.

As Hannah moved her, a loud, echoing crack snapped through the room. A glance down at the former feet revealed that the forming fin had flattened even further. A new wound had opened and it was bleeding again, but Hannah left it alone. She had learned quickly simply to let it bleed. It would close rapidly on its own, but if she tried to bind or stitch it, the blood would merely pool beneath the skin until the pressure ruptured a larger injury.

“How are we feeling today, sweetheart?” she cooed softly as she began running a small brush through the soon-to-be mermaid’s long hair to rid it of any tangles. There was no answer, not even a grunt or gurgle to show that the girl had heard. There was never a response, so Hannah didn’t anticipate one, but she continued to speak softly to the girl whenever she woke her anyways. It was good for her. She wasn’t sure if perhaps the drug haze was simply keeping her mind disconnected from her body, or if she would develop a new being altogether, but Hannah wanted to keep her calm and affiliated by human contact. If she grew accustomed to hearing Hannah speak, her voice might be a calming recognition in the future. It would be ideal, since Hannah would be overseeing her adjustment and working with her personally for several months to years after the initial transformation period. It would be good to build trust now, while the girl was in a helpless state and Hannah was at no risk.

“You’re doing very well,” Hannah continued. “We’re going to have to get you into the water shortly. Just for a little while. I don’t want you to hurt yourself when your gills open. Just one more week, maybe two, and you’ll be ready to get into the water properly. Everything has been such a success so far. You’ll be happy with your new life, I’m sure. It may take some getting used to, but you’ll be a spoiled pet, living a carefree, playful life without any stress at all. I’m almost jealous.”

There was still no reaction, but it made Hannah feel a little less guilty to talk to her. One would think it would humanize the girl more, but it actually helped Hannah feel more like she was talking to a dog or cat - something that would never answer back - and it was easier then to forget that this had once been a young human girl with her entire life still ahead of her. This was for the best, and for the sake of the science, Hannah had to know, but she still had a heart and a conscience, and both tended to berate her for what she was doing at the most inopportune times. It was far too late now anyways for guilt; there was no going back, no changing what had already been done.

Hannah chewed her lip as she examined the girl and mulled over her next move. There was already a tank set up in the far corner of the room. It was just long and deep enough to properly submerge the subject, but Hannah hesitated to move her. She didn’t want to risk upsetting the change or causing internal injury by shifting her from the bed, nor risk her falling slack and drowning herself before her gills formed, but she also could not just leave her above water where she could begin to choke just as easily. She supposed she had best move her and keep her sitting up until she was sure one way or another that she was either going to be fine in the air, or if she would need to be submerged through the remainder of her transition. That might be for the best anyways, but she had yet to make the decision.

For now, she did need to get her patient into the water and continue to monitor her progress. She tugged the thin sheet off the bed and let it pool on the floor. It was coated in patches of dried blood and would need to be washed anyways. The girl still had legs all the way down to just above her ankles, where the skin was beginning to properly fuse and flatten into a fin. Hannah examined it closely and decided that it would be dangerous to move her as is. If either of her legs sagged away from the other, it could tear open the thin, fleshy membrane that was currently knitting itself across the deformed mass of flattened meat that were formerly her feet.

She would have to bind them first, and carefully as the skin on her legs was already stretching; becoming thin and fragile. It tended to split a few times every day or two. The wounds always closed, but Hannah suspected that after the fin, the legs would be next to warp and fuse together. The procedure had never been properly tested before, so while she knew the general basics of what to expect and what safety measures to keep in place, she was running blind with how things would progress step by step. She had seen the end result though, and the original specimen still took her breath away. She could not help but wonder how many similarities the two would share. Would many of their features be carbon copies, or would recessive or inactive genes activate in the cocktail to give her subject a look all her own?

It was the not knowing, the nagging curiosity that drove Hannah every day as she worked tirelessly in the pursuit of knowledge. She wanted to know how things worked, how they functioned. Even as a child, Hannah had always delighted in taking things apart to see how each individual piece worked in the whole. Then she would have a new puzzle to fascinate over as she figured out how to fit all the pieces back together again. She would do this with toys, remote control things especially, with converters and toasters, and once her father’s old radio. He had not been very impressed with her at the time. The sciences had only deepened her thirst in school. Dissections were just like taking apart her old toys, and chemistry woke a new passion. Instead of simply taking things apart or putting them together, she learned she could combine things to create something entirely new. Improve them or totally break them down in a fiery blaze or corrosive toxin.

This was by far the most unique, intensive, and exhilarating change she had ever attempted, and so long as everything went well, and the girl’s body stayed strong, the change should be both effective and an incredible improvement. It made Hannah’s heart flutter with delight simply getting to watch.

She placed a hand flat on the girl’s back and applied pressure to her front to carefully lay her back down. She needed some supplies - and quickly - and did not want to risk her toppling over and hurting herself. The restraints on her ankles had been removed hours after initially putting her under, and Hannah had only left one wrist restraint applied as a precaution. If the girl fainted or fell over the wrong way, she could topple out of the bed and cause serious damage.

After getting her situated in a prone position, Hannah hurried out of the room to collect what she needed from the supply room just down the hall.

It took her about five minutes to find what she was looking for, and then Hannah came rushing back into the room with laden arms. She was genuinely worried about her specimen’s wellbeing through the more crucial and extravagant changes, and did not want to leave her unattended for any longer than absolutely necessary at any given time.

She had brought back a thick, heavy, padded wrap that was both airtight and waterproof. Several sturdy leather belt buckles swung from it as she carried it over and flopped it noisily down on a small trolley beside the medical bed. It was more commonly used as a brace for the injured tails of dolphins and small porpoises, either to keep the limb ridgid through healing or to help hold medical patches and salves in place. It would be equally effective in holding her subject’s legs together while she was in the water without impeding the transformation in any way.

Hannah glanced at her watch again. It was nearly two in the morning, and this wing of the small, underground lab was basically deserted. Her real dilemma was how to get the padded brace on by herself, without jostling the limp girl around too much. “This would be so much easier if you were in there,” Hannah sighed. For a moment, she almost wished the girl still was, but then she shook it off. It wasn’t that she felt no remorse at wiping away the human mind that went with the identity. Katherine had seemed like a decent kid, and she did feel bad about it, but she figured it would be easier for the new creature to adapt if she wasn’t bogged down by the misery of the memories and thoughts of her former life. An animal could be trained and taught, and allowed to enjoy the merits and spoils of a life in captivity. This mermaid would have never known freedom, and the life of a pet in a tank promised to be one of affection and ease, with a full belly and all the time in the world to laze and play. An animal could appreciate that. A human girl trapped in an animal’s body would only be filled with depression and loss, and yearning for the life she led before.

While Hannah would have led her experiment regardless, she did find it regrettable that the girl seemed to have a lovely and fulfilling life. They needed someone of relatively similar age to their own specimen - though they could only guess at the apparent age of the wild caught mermaid - to best ensure the DNA would take, but given the choice, Hannah would have chosen an orphan or struggling child off the street. Someone who wouldn’t have much else to lose and the potential to gain a safer or more fulfilling life. But it hadn’t been her choice and she was not about to refuse the opportunity to see her work and research come to fruition; she had spent too much time on it already.

Hannah shook herself out of her thoughts. She needed to focus on the task at hand, not get trapped in her head fretting over things that could not be changed. She hefted the wrap up off the trolley and laid it on the bed beside the girl. Starting with the buckles, she carefully lifted the girl’s hips a fraction and slid the buckle underneath her to the other side of the bed. Working as quickly but delicately as she dared, Hannah moved down the girl’s legs and continued to push the belts under her. It was a risk, she could still jostle her more than intended, but it had to be done.

Once all the belts were situated, she moved around the girl’s opposite side and began carefully tugging on the individual straps as she carefully, slowly pulled the wrap until the girl was laying flat atop the wrap. Leaning over her, Hannah grabbed the far side and pulled it over her legs. She was much skinnier than a dolphin, so Hannah had to wrench it much tighter. It took considerable strength and effort, and her arms shook a little by the time she finished. Now she just needed to get her into the tank.

Paisley. Hannah mulled the name over in her mind. She supposed she should get used to using it. The mermaid would need a name when she finished her transition. Although she was as much a science project - now and in the future - she was also a highly intelligent creature that would benefit more from an identity than an ID number. Mr. Winston - being the owner and caretaker - was well within his rights to choose it, and Hannah would have to log her results with it, so she supposed it was time to begin associating the creature with the name.

She carefully eased Paisley back into an upright position and pulled her arms up around her neck. She wasn’t sure if Paisley would actually hold on, but when she moved her neck, the subject’s grip didn’t break, which was a relief. From there, Hannah was able to slip one hand around the girl’s hips and the other under her ankles. She twisted her arm so that much of the malformed fin was draped up her arm rather than flapping in the air. It wasn’t perfect, and Hannah winced at the popping sounds the fin made as she moved it, as well as at the squishy texture as it rested over her skin. It truly was a mess right now. She hoped it would even out properly and become much like the original specimen’s tail.

Despite wanting to set the girl down quickly, Hannah took slow, deliberate steps as she crossed the room to help jostle her as little as humanly possible. Thankfully, the small size of the room meant she did not have to disconnect Paisley from the IV bag or the EKG machine. Since the nodes for the heart monitor were water resistant, Hannah was able to simply lower her charge into the lukewarm water of the small tank. She soaked her sleeves up to the elbow carefully setting the girl down in the tank. Then she withdrew and pried Paisley’s hands away from her neck so that she could stand back up. She wheeled the IV stand, and then the EKG over so that none of the cables and tubes would be stretched across the room.

All the while, Paisley remained sitting up, staring blankly at the far wall with the beginnings of her new fin flopped flat to the glass floor of the tank and the ends of her long brown hair floating around her across the surface of the water. Hannah sighed. It would be comforting to see her move, even just a twitch on her own to be reassured her brain was still going to function properly. Mr. Winston would not be happy to see her like this.

Hannah also didn’t want to risk Paisley slipping or collapsing, so she crouched back down and gently pulled the girl back in the water until she was propped up against one wall of the tank. The water level rose to the top of her chest, so that just her head and shoulders were above the surface. She was still wearing the thin hospital gown - which was now soaked - and Hannah contemplated removing it. It wasn’t like it was doing her any good, sodden as it was. It was not very water efficient.

She reached for the ties and was halfway through pulling one of the two knots free when she changed her mind and left it be. When the transformation was finished, Paisley would have several rows of glistening scales across her chest. Until then, Hannah decided to leave the gown where it was. It was not hurting her to keep, and Hannah decided it would be a single gesture of respect to the girl she used to be, to preserve what little modesty she had been afforded.

Hannah sighed. She knew it was dangerous to grow sentimentally attached to Paisley. She had no idea what the final outcome would hold behaviorally, and the trial was untested. Paisley could perish at any point. Growing attached to a science experiment was only going to risk getting her heart hurt or distract her from conducting her research thoroughly and effectively.

Still, it was hard not to look at the blank face of a very human looking girl and not feel a stab of sympathy, especially knowing that she’d played a hand in putting that expression on Paisley’s face. Not intentionally, but she was still at fault. She sighed again and pulled her chair over to the tank so she could perch herself behind the girl. Hannah pulled out the small brush from earlier and began to gather Paisley’s long locks into a bundle in her hands. She brushed out all the bumps and then began to weave the strands into a braid down the girl’s back.

It’s more efficient this way, and will help keep the hair out of the way when the gills come through. I’ll need to be able to access them easily and not have to worry about a mess of hair obscuring the site, she tried to rationalize. There was a logic to it, but she knew the truth was simply that she was placating her guilty conscience.

After tying off the braid, Hannah patted the girl on the head and then - though she would scold herself for it afterwards - she bent and kissed the crown of Paisley’s skull. “You’ll be alright,” she whispered. “I’m being careful and cautious, and I’m staying right here in case anything happens. You’ll be fine and you’ll live a good life, and I know the sedation drugs are keeping you free of pain right now. That’s what they’re meant to do and they clearly work just fine on you. I’m sorry about your mind, but even if you don’t get it back, we’ll take good, proper care of you,” she assured the girl. There was no response.

Hannah sighed again and rose from her chair to meander over to the small coffee pot she had plugged in to the wall and perched on the corner of the counter. She poured herself a mug and cradled the ceramic vessel as she sipped at the brown mix within and returned to her seat. She needed to keep an eye on Paisley through the night - she was at a crucial stage of development - and it was unfortunate that she was virtually the only one on call at the moment.

In the morning, her research assistant would bring her in breakfast like he always did, and she would leave him to take measurements and supervise while she showered quickly upstairs and then returned to nap in the corner of the room. If Paisley still needed the water, she might even use the medical cot for a few hours. Then she would work through the afternoon and remain at night once again. She had vowed not to leave her subject for any length of time through the change. She had not been back to her flat in almost two weeks. This strange routine, however taxing and haphazard, was worth it to keep tabs on the experiment, and there was something oddly satisfying about it too.

Hannah took some more notes, collecting data off the EKG monitor and jotting down her observations and predictions idly as she drank her coffee. She just had to power through the night. She tapped a finger against the ceramic of her mug, listening to the soft chink-chink sound. Between that, the steady beeping of the heart monitor, and the low, continuous hum of the tank filter, the room was subtly noisy. Hannah Manson preferred it that way. She never quite worked well in total silence. She was used to hustle and bustle; glass clinking and machines beeping or whirring, people rushing about and shouting in delight or dismay over accomplishments or failures. There was always at least the amplified sound of someone writing on a clipboard. It calmed her. Without noise, the room would just feel eerie.

Hannah took a long draught of her coffee, and then carefully set her mug aside and picked up the clipboard she’d set aside earlier. The first few pages were all notes and charts for recording data, but underneath were a few crossword printouts. Hannah grabbed one and pulled it free, sliding it under the clamp at the top of the pile and uncapping her pen. There was little else to do now that Paisley was set up as best she could be for the moment. Hannah might as well do something to pass the time. She smiled softly as she wrote in the first answer to the word puzzle.