Dream Big

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“How long has this been going on?”

“I noticed my toes were longer the other day. Just a bit. But this is a little freaky,” he said, tentatively wiggling his long, half webbed toes.

“Your dick is almost a foot long, Charlie, and you’ve been packing on size like no tomorrow — and apparently you can now breathe underwater?”

“Everything else was cool and made you happy,” he said, smiling.

“You are amazing,” I said, kissing him. “But I really wish I knew what was going on.”

“Me too,” he said.


The next thing we noticed, the following morning, was that his hands were bigger. And the reason we noticed was that I rolled over and he was half awake, dreamily stroking his cock.

“Did your cock shrink?”

“Huh?” Yup, he wasn’t even really awake yet.

I placed my hand next to his, grabbing the top half of his foot long (and I guessed he had hit that mythical mark overnight as he slept), and the difference was obvious. He’d gone from a little bit bigger than me to making my hand look like a child’s. Eyes wide open and fully awake, we compared hands palm to palm. Not only was his hand half again as wide as mine, but his fingers outreached my fingertips by a full knuckle and a half. And he had slightly deeper webs between his fingers, too.

“Shit, man,” he said. On one level, *something* finally rattled his calm. But on the other, he wasn’t the only one growing concerned.

“Wait,” I said, and reached for the measuring tape.

The tape unfurled, from top base along the shaft. Without his enormous mitt around it, the size was much more evident. The 12-inch mark hit just below his cock head, near as I could tell from the bulge of the foreskin. The verdict?

“Fourteen and one quarter inches,” I said, swallowing hard. That was a massive gain, unlike anything we’d seen over the last few months. “And seven and a quarter around.”

“Fuck,” he said. He started angrily stroking his huge dick. “I’m too big. This is too much, so fucking big, but I don’t wanna hurt you, buddy!”

I hated seeing him upset, but angry masturbation proved an unexpected turn on and my lust switch flipped to ON. I looked at his dick hungrily, feeling my pucker twitch. I thought I could just about take him....

We were lost in lust, and just starting our third round of the morning, when Charlies thrusts were interrupted by a solid knock at the door. Straining, he bottomed out in me, eliciting a moan and a spurt or two from my well drained cock. By any measure I was reaching personal bests lately, but I was finally flagging.

“One sec, bro!” He yelled. “Uno momento, Poe favor!”

Gently he pulled out, still hard and seemingly ready to go again with his monster. I pulled the covers over, soaked though they were, out of modesty, while he grabbed a pillow and tried in vain to shield his junk from view.

Paolo entered with a shy but knowing smile, pushing a cart of food. Grilled fish, eggs, toast, and mimosas. And a stack of fresh towels.

“I suspected you might be hungry by now. You were a little loud, I ma afraid.” He said, with a hint of mischief in his eyes. “Also, fresh towels for the beach, if you wish to go there. Did you enjoy it?”

“Oh yeah, man, that beach was great, Charlie replied, as though he weren’t hiding his 14-plus inch monster behind a pillow and wasn’t covered in cum, and I wasn’t lying in bed like a used up fleshlight. “Probably go back today.”

Paolo nodded happily, looking at Charlie. “I bet you liked it a lot. You take coffee with sugar and cream, yes?”

“He does,” Charlie nodded at me. “I just want some water this morning.”

Paolo nodded warmly at me. “You looks like maybe you have not rested so well. Perhaps a massage?”

“Thanks, but I think the coffee and food is what I really need. And a hot shower.”

“Then I will leave you to it,” Paulo said. “By the way, mister Charlie, it seems the sea air agrees with you, no? You look very healthy today. They say it is like magic for some people.”

And with a wave and small bow, he backed out of the room, shutting the door.
 

Dream Big

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Looking back now, I may have found Shape of the Water hotter than I realized at the time. :)

Nah, he's still very much human looking -- just unusually long toes and big hands and fingers, and a bit more webbing than usual.

For now. Who knows what the future holds, except perhaps Paolo? :)
 

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Looking back now, I may have found Shape of the Water hotter than I realized at the time. :)

Nah, he's still very much human looking -- just unusually long toes and big hands and fingers, and a bit more webbing than usual.

For now. Who knows what the future holds, except perhaps Paolo? :)
I just love how you wrote it to where you guys’ friendship was. That’s what I like about it man
 

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We ate like we’d been fucking all morning, which of course we had. Even without that, Charlie’s remarkable evolution — I had to think of it that way, like he was some sort of fantasy creature that was leveling up, or I might start to get panicky — had to have extracted a toll on his calorie reserves. Already he looked leaner, yet more muscular, than the day before. Either way, we were both famished, and concerns about whatever was happening seemed elusive for the moment.

“I’m still not sure I understand fish for breakfast,” I said, crunching my way through the toast. “I guess England and japan both do it, though. It’s not bad, but I like bacon, or better yet sausage, with my eggs.”

“And here I thought you had enough sausage,” Charlie smiled. “Besides, I like it. Really hits the spot. Good protein.”

I looked over at him as he ate. Some sort of local fish, lightly charred and pleasantly oily, but evidently he was enjoying them. I’d had one piece to his three. In fact, he out ate me two to one pretty much across he board, except for the toast. Now I was content to slurp my coffee, and let the food settle. I leaned against his beefy shoulder, finding myself much the same height relative to him, but his legs were longer.

“guess we were both hungry,” he purred. “What else are you up for today?”

“We basically just have today and tomorrow. Then a red eye back.”

“I wouldn’t mind staying, but sooner or later they will want us to pay for something.”

“Yup. Though maybe we can get Paolo to accept payment in sex.”

“From me, or you?”

“I’m not the one he was staring at with his big brown eyes,” I chuckled.

Charlie fell silent.

“We can joke, but it’s true. I am going to get a lot of stares. Jesus, Am I been human anymore?”

“Human enough for me,” I kissed back. Somehow none of it was bothering me. I had a nagging feeling it should, but instead I brushed my hand against his firm abdomen and down to his nethers.

“I’m serious,” he said. “At some point we need to figure out what to do. This isn’t like before. They didn’t find anything then.” He held up a massive hand. “They’re going to have to look a little closer, because this is definitely not nothing.”

I reached out and take his hand, and it felt like I was a child thanks to the difference in sizes. He was right, of course. But how odd that it was me, now, who sought to reassure him and blow off concern.

“Kiss me,” I demanded. He complied, a deep kiss, his longer tongue gently probing and easily overpowering my own as they danced. He tasted amazing, lemony and salty, probably lingering umami from the fish. I wanted nothing more than to stay here, enjoying his warm smooth skin and tasting his flesh.

“I love you,” I said.

“Me too,” he replied, somewhat sadly.

“I don’t want to leave. I dont really want to go back, you know. I don’t hate my job but I don’t love it. This is fucking paradise.”

He hugged me tighter.

“I think we should enjoy it while we can,” he said. “Let’s go for a walk.”



Of course we found ourselves quickly annoyed with the crowded tourist areas, and Charlie was still feeling weird about his feet, so we made for the secluded cove Paolo had sent us to. It was miraculously deserted. I was sweaty, and quickly shucked my outer clothes, and Charlie was just as fast to shuck his. We stood there glistening for a moment, then made for the water, and I caught a glimpse of his tattoo as he passed.

It was much, much larger.

“Wait,” I said. I grabbed my phone and took a quick shot, and showed it to him.

Unmistakably larger, the design had grown until it was the size of my entire open hand. It kept much of the same pattern but the scaled area was much larger and more iridescent. The border seaweed spiraled out in intricate patterns, one right up his spine and half way up his back.

“Holy crap,” he said.

“I think we can stop pretending this is anything other than supernatural, don’t you?” I sighed. “I can make all the notes I want, but this isn’t anything to do with science. Not now.”

“Do you think the water is making it worse?”

Or better? I thought. It might well be accelerating his changes.

“I’m not sure, but there is one way to find out.”
 

Dream Big

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It would be ...inaccurate, I suppose, to say that we weren't worried about the state of affairs. But whatever was happening was happening regardless of any action we'd taken, as far as we could tell. We simply didn't have information, not really, despite an ever-growing google spreadsheet full of measurements and notes. No obvious triggers.

I'd also be lying if I said that I didn't have, by this point, a suspicion about what was happening. Or rather, the direction it was taking. See, I used to read a lot more than I have time to now, and I'd read some old stories once about quaint little New England towns full of odd people and Secrets Man Was Not Meant To Know. They creeped the fuck out of me then.

What if.... What if my breathtaking Charlie had some horrifying family legacy that doomed him, like the tiny fishing town's residents, to devolve into a horrid fish-person, all the better to welcome a tentacled monster to devour us all? Would his teeth turn jagged or would he gain a frog's freakish tongue? I imagined all sorts of frightening and squicky mutations that would mar his handsome face, or turn his aesthetic muscularity into rubbery inhuman limbs...

No, of course not. Besides, until the recent webbing and water-breathing stuff came out of nowhere, he just kept getting more and more perfectly human. Just, you know, improved a bit. More like he was evolving faster than the rest of us, but definitely in a positive direction. But the webbing and elongated fingers gave me pause.

There was also the tattoo, which suggested an intelligence and purpose behind whatever was happening to him. That was just adding to the mystery now, especially with it changing over time. Luckily, it was kind of sexy.

That was the other big thing. Whereas at first, Charlie was unbothered by his evolution, he'd become more trepidatious lately as the more recent changes were less flattering. But somehow I, who was originally pretty freaked out by it all, was becoming less worried -- even though I knew, intellectually, that I should be unnerved by it all.

Charlie said little, but his sweet face was frowning and every so often, he'd open his wide hand, as if it were someone else's.



We walked in silent thought several miles down the shoreline, back to the little cove where he'd discovered his latest trick while blowing me. It seemed an endless time ago, but it was only a day or two, surely? Time seemed oddly irrelevant with him next to me, as we found the vegetation-covered entrance.

"After you," I said, beckoning.

"Is that so you can watch my butt as I go in?"

"I do love watching your butt," I admitted. Then, whispered, "But I mostly want to see if we're being followed."

He gave me an odd look, but nodded. As if he read my thoughts, he made a show of showing his ass as he scampered up the little hill. I admit, I looked, but not TOO long. Instead I scanned the area around us, then made a show of squeezing through the bushes myself, only to drop low and peer through after I crossed the little hill. Only when I was sure there was nobody behind us did I turn around to check out the cove.


"So, should I just go in, or dip my toes, or what?"

"I don't know. What do you WANT do to?"

"I want to swim, I think. Plus the water's nice and cold and this boner is getting ridiculous."

It really was obscene, its porn-star length throbbing past his belly-button, fourteen and a quarter inches as of this morning. That's measured along the top.

"Let's start with just standing in the water, and I'll look for anything that changes."

"Which side would you prefer to look at?"

"Either view is pretty amazing," I answered truthfully. So of course, he showed his ass as he slowly walked into the water until he was up to his knees. From before, I knew there was a nice sharp drop a step or two beyond where he stood facing the horizon.

I stared intently at him as he scooped up the water and poured it over his arms, letting it cascade off his fingers. It rolled down his back and into his butt-crack. It really was an incredible ass.

"wait," I said. "I want to be closer. It's a little hard to see."

"Okay....how about if I turn around?"

"I don't see any changes on this side, so..."

Suddenly he moaned.

"Oh fuck. FUCK." He lost his footing and landed on his butt right in front of me.

"The hell was that?" I stepped around to see his face, eyes almost rolling back, and mouth slack.

"Shit, are you okay?"

"oh man, Ben, my head just suddenly hurt like hell. Lost my balance."

"you scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry, buddy, it just really hurt!"

"wait a sec." I sloshed around to his back again, and sure enough, the spiraling tattoo pattern now reached fully up his neck and under his left ear.

"Anything feel different now? The tattoo grew up into your ear," I explained. "My guess is all at once."

"Hmm." He listened, very quietly, and so did I. The waves moving around, the sea birds nearby. Nothing too weird.

"Thump thump thump...thump thump, thump thump...dude, I think I can hear your heart beat."

"Cute," I said. offering my hand up. "I was being serious."

"So am I," he replied, taking my hand and using leverage to pull himself out of the water. "I'm pretty sure I can hear your heartbeat."

"You sure it's not yours?" I asked wryly, pointing at his erection still throbbing away.

He closed his eyes and concentrated. "Nope, pretty sure that's you I hear. It sounds like when I lay my head on your chest. I'd know that sound anywhere."

I released his hand.

"Now it's not quite as loud. Try walking away a bit."

"Sure, whatever," I replied, slowly sloshing backward a few steps."

"Farther, go back up into the shallow area."

I complied.

"Your heart is beating a little faster now."

This was getting unnerving. I walked to the very edge of the water, and then stepped out into the sand.

"I can't hear it nearly so well now," he said. "Is my ear huge or something?"

But it wasn't his ear I was looking at.

His cock was at least two inches larger, throbbing up by his pecs.
 

Dream Big

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“Sheesh, I thought it was big before,” he said.

“You should probably get out of the water before it grows over your head,” I said. I was only half joking.

“I don’t understand why my hearing is better,” he said.

“Will you please come out of the water?” I was a little frightened of what more exposure might do to him, really

He nodded and walked back toward me, glistening and sexier than ever.

I measured, my sphincter instinctively clenching as we passed the 14-inch mark and kept going. I was pretty sure I’d already hit my limit.

15 came and went, the slight natural curve having partly hidden the full extent of it.

Then 16. And then...

“Congratulations,” I said, in awe. “You have an utterly ridiculous amount of cock.”

“Oh man,” he said, genuinely put out. “Seriously, how bad?”

“Let’s go with 17 and a quarter.” Fuck,it felt ridiculous saying it out loud.

“Fuck,” he said. “It’s ridiculous, alright. I can barely get my — WHOA”

Oh, those hands. They’d grown a little too, with the webbing more pronounced than ever, and the long, thin fingers nearly an inch longer than. They had been. And then we both glanced down, and his feet were much the same. He’d already needed a 13 sneaker, but we’d been in sandals or flip flops for days now, and a quick measurement there confirmed he was at least another inch longer than he had been. That would probably mean those sneakers were a lost cause.

He flopped down to the sandy beach, almost in shock, which proved a poor choice. Because now his massive cock head was right there in his face. In fact, it poked him in the eye.

“Dammit. Serves me right for being dramatic, that’s so not me.”

“Jesus, you wouldn’t even have to work at it to suck your own dick,” I said. I lowered myself to the ground, too, a little more elegantly, but not without some discomfort, as I was sporting a pretty solid boner myself.

I’m sorry, I was turned on. I’ve already talked about his ever improving physique, and it was having its effect on me.

“Dude, you’re not wrong. And you’re almost as bad. If I didn’t know better...”

I glanced down. Shit, I did look a bit bigger. Curious, I reached for the measuring tape, only to find his massive mitt in my way.

“My turn,” he said. Almost lovingly — though he had to peer around his own monstrous cock to see — he grabbed my dong and extracted it from my shorts, stroked it a few times, and then took a measurement.”

We were both surprised by the reading.

“Huh,” we both said.

“But I’ve always been about 7 inches,” I said.

“Last month you measured yourself at 7 and an eighth,” he replied. “I remember you adding it to your spreadsheet as a control.”

“I just figured it was a particularly good day You’ve had me so oversexed lately.”

“Can’t help it, buddy.” He smiled, but it was hidden behind the whale of a cock . “Apparently you’ve put on a little muscle there too, mister 8.75...”
 

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And now, I was suddenly feeling the same rising panic I'd seen in my lover's face when his own changes became undeniable.

"Hey, buddy. It's okay, right?"

"Not really, no!"

"Calm down--"

"Calm down? Charlie, I've been holding it together with duct tape for a week or two now. This is unreal."

He put a reassuring (but massive) hand on my shoulder. "Yeah, I know."

"Do you? You've always been so easygoing. One little blip, and you were over it..."

"Babe, you really think that's all I've had? Man, inside I've been running around like Kermit the Frog, arms flailing and screaming. But I guess I've always been able to keep that locked away."

"Thanks for that image." It nearly brought a smile to my face, but then I realized that at the rate he was going, Kermit might be a little too on-the-nose.

"...and now I'm regretting bringing up Kermit," Charlie said, smiling. "Will you still love me if I turn into a frog guy?"

"I suppose," I said.

"It's not easy being green, you know," he said.

Fuckin' love this goofball.

* * *

Calming down mostly worked, after a little mutual blowjob to keep our boners under some kind of control. We scooted further up away from the water to talk.

"Okay, let's break it down," I said. "We know it's definitely nothing like regular science. We know that exposure to sea water seems to be accelerating it. And we know that it seems to be at least partly contagious."

"Do we know that?" Charlie said, wondering out loud. "Wait, let's check your back..."

"Well?" He took the opportunity to brush the sand off me and give my butt a squeeze.

"Your ass looks really good," he said. "uhhh... huh. You didn't have a tramp stamp before, right?"

"What?"

"Kidding. No, there's --- oh shit, there *is* something there. Right now it's small, but there's a small gold dot back there, about the size of a hole punch."

"gold? really?"

"Yeah," he said, brushing at my lower back. "Yeah, it looks like a single scale."

"Fuck. It is contagious."

We sat there for a few more minutes, digesting this information. Finally, Charlie stood up.

"Well, can't do much about it right now, and I'm starving."

I was too, so after he helped me to my feet, we grabbed our stuff and headed back.

It was a longish walk, and the last part of it was through a more populated part of the resort, where we attracted some attention. Understandably. Charlie was ridiculously sexy, and looked like he was smuggling a tuna in his britches. But objectively, I'd gotten into decent shape, and without realizing it, had almost certainly started down the same path as Charlie. I looked pretty good, if I say so myself.

Charlie whispered, almost too faintly for me to hear, "damn, my hearing is stupidly good now. I can hear those guys over by the pier whispering about us."

I looked around and narrowed my gaze, and realized the guys he was talking about were well out of normal earshot, especially with the noise of the ocean filling the background.

"What are they saying?" What, like you wouldn't be curious?

"They think we're really hot and that I'm probably an athlete, but the one guy thinks you're his ideal man."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he's the hot one, too. He's got good taste."

"Shut up," I whispered back.

* * *

When we returned to our room, it seemed that Paolo was ready for us. He was just exiting the room as we walked up, and waved cheerily at us.

"Good walk, yes? You like the spot I suggested?"

"Very much so," Charlie said. "I'm going to go shower, order dinner will you?"

I turned to Paolo. "What's on offer?"

"I have ordered you the fish dinner, you seemed to enjoy it. Broiled sea bass with salad and quinoa. But I can add to the order if you wish."

It sounded fantastic, actually, and I said as much.

"I have also mix up some smoothies for you, in the mini fridge. Enjoy, let me know if there is anything else."

"Actually..."

"Yes?"

"Do you think you can find us some clothes? Charlie's seem to be a little tight."

"He is eating well and exercising, no?"

"Very much so. Probably should have picked up some larger stuff before we came," I replied.

"I will see what we have here. But it is very casual, no need for anything beyond swim clothes."

"See what you can do?"

"Of course! Dinner should be ready in about 15 minutes, but I can make it 25 if you need a bit more time."

25 minutes later, I'd done my shower -- the water felt almost like silk flowing over me, and l banged out another load in there while I was at it. Talk about oversexed. But at least I was thinking more clearly.

"You just missed Paolo, but the food's ready," Charlie said.

Boy was it. Two whole fish, broiled perfectly, an excellent lightly dressed salad, and toasted quinoa. We tore into it like no tomorrow. It should have been enough for a family of four. We left nothing behind but bones.

"Fuck, I can't believe I'm still hungry." I hated to agree with him because objectively, that had been a lot of food, but I still felt a little empty.

"There's smoothies," I offered. And soon they, too, were gone, but despite being suspiciously healthy, we both felt a little more sated.

"Wonder what's in them," I said.

"Juice, some kind of vitamin mix, maybe a little whey protein or greens or something, ice, and fruit," he replied. "He told us the first day."

Hmmm. I kept thinking as we relaxed, cuddled with him as some cheesy old movie played on the TV. Paolo, the perfect host, was a little too interested in us, and a little too eager to help. Or maybe not, maybe I was overthinking it, but...he had been very obviously interested in Charlie's progress, and he *had* to have noticed the changes. Or at least raised concerns about the damage we'd done to the sheets -- they'd put fresh ones (and a mattress cover) on each day. A certain glint in his eye as he said suggestive things, recommended dinner items, even pointed us toward the hidden cove.

Exactly what did Paolo know, really?
 

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Paolo returned just as our movie ended, while the closing credits rolled and we roused ourselves from each other’s extremely comfortable embrace.

I was determined to get some answers this time.

“Sirs, we have here some lounge pants that are loose, and some swimsuits that may fit, but we don’t have much in larger sizes,” he said apologetically.

I nodded at Charlie, who reached out with one long arm and deliberately brushed Paolo’s hand with his extra large, extra webbed fingers. I was watching carefully for a reaction, and I nearly missed it; he wasn’t quite able to hold his surprise at Charlie’s touch.

And time to press, I thought.

“Goodness, Charlie, your hand must be twice the size of his!”

Paolos blush was instant.

“Hey you’re right,” Charlie said. He made a point of taking our hosts hand in his, and unfolding it so they were palm to palm. My boyfriends massive mitts really were twice the size of Paolo’s.

I loomed up behind him , and could sense his building reaction.

“Wow, Paulo. Something here is really doing us some good. Maybe the sun and surf, maybe those smoothies of yours...I mean, look at him!” This in my most seductive purr.

oh, I had him now. The growing tent in his shorts was obvious almost instantly.

Charlie grasped Paolo’s hand a little more firmly.

“I mean, it couldn’t be something in the water, right?”

Paolo’s body language shifted visibly, and we sprung our trap. Charlie pushed Paolo down almost effortlessly, and we had him cornered.

“Sirs, what are you —“

“No, Paolo. No more sirs, no more games. Time to talk.”

That crack in his persona? Well, it cracked all the way, and it was like he became a different man entirely. The genial and subservient demeanor disappeared, and his eyes grew more piercing and intelligent.

“Well then,” he said, his once thick accent nearly gone, “It seemed I underestimated you.”
 

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It’s nice to feel missed! Knowing I have an audience definitely helps.

I will likely follow up on several stories soon, but I tend to write only when I’m in the zone, because otherwise I don’t know where things are going, or how to get there. Tends to coincide with my general level of horniness. One week I counted, I wrote about 12,000 words, and (blushes) was spending way more time jerking off than I really felt was appropriate. But this last month, it’s been harder to get in the zone, and I’d prefer my work not suck.
 
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“Spill,” I said, sounding a bit bolder than i felt.

“Yah, man, time to talk,” Charlie loomed up behind me.

Paolo — or whoever he really was — eyed us warily, then seemed to reach some decision.

“Very well. But let’s sit and discuss this rationally.” He said. The nerve! He acted like he was in control, breezily sidling between us (two objectively intimidatingly large, built, guys) and parked on the settee. I guess we were surprised enough to follow him.

“First, please understand, i am not responsible for your... for what has been happening to you. But i have been encouraging it, and studying it.”

“Explain.”

“I am by training a doctor of medicine, specializing in genetics. Some years ago, when i was doing research at UCLA, a student came to me and told a tale quite similar to what I suspect Charlie here told: he had fallen overboard, and then washed up the next day miles down the beach, apparently non the worse for wear. And then, his body began to change. Sound familiar?”

Charlie nodded, engrossed.

“This student....we knew each other socially, and he had asked me in confidence. But i was also researching genetic mutation. Watching how the creatures of the seas reacted to the changes we have made to their world,” he said, and casually poured a glass from the water pitcher and drank it. “Don’t worry, i will not stand on my soap box here. I only tell you to explain my initial interest. Anyway, Steven, the student, progressed slowly on the surface, but still at an astounding rate from my perspective. I realized i needed to keep my research to myself, both for his safety and for my own. And of course by that time, we were spending a lot of time together and ...well, we fell in love.” He smiled sadly.

“That was seven years ago,” he said. “Anyway, he became my lover, and that made certain changes more obvious than they would have been to me as his doctor. Eventually, my late nights and equipment use began to draw unwanted attention.”

“This I could have weathered, but our department was full of very curious scientists used to sharing their work. As i was stressed about this, steven asked me what was happening at work. Imagine my shock when it turned out my boyfriend was ridiculously wealthy!”

“And so he just bought a failing resort, and we set up shop here. The cover story was that we were setting up a wildlife study sanctuary, and i was to be the director. We rushed through the planning and poured millions into the lab, but on arriving, something began to change. Or rather, Steven did — his changes began to accelerate. And something else happened which was that i became aware of at least two other young men with similar stories,” he said.

“Whoa, there are more of us?”

“At least a dozen, by this point. Three others are here, but ....well, that’s a story for later.”

“Wait,” I said. “You said you were his lover. Its pretty obvious to me that being Charlies lover has had an effect on me...so...”

“You are luckier than me. Or un luckier. But please, allow me to finish.”

“As i said, three of the other men came here, and by pure luck two were graduate students in the sciences. We set to work studying this phenomenon — which by this point ,for Steven, was progressing slowly, but for the other men had begun to rapidly change them in ways that seemed alarming at the time. And then it dawned on me, that they were intimate with each other. And while the exchange of bodily fluids had done little to change me (though i confess to being fitter now than i was then), it was accelerating their mutual evolution.”

That explained a lot, actually.

“We made several breakthroughs in that first year, freed of the constraints of university. FIrst, I was able to better see what was happening, at the deepest level, though i still lack a proper cause. DNA was being rewritten in an astounding fashion, but with many structures I recognized; some quite old, and some novel. And second, we determined that i lacked the genetic markers that would accept the changes.”

“By this point, my two friends and associates had progressed quite far, and could not be seen inn public. It was clear they weren’t human anymore, and one day they simply announced they were leaving. They thanked us, and left quite a stock of testing materials, but their absence left us with few options. We needed to find others who had been changed in this way if we were to solve the mystery. And so we hit upon the idea of reopening the resort, and bringing others who shared the markers here to study.”
 

Dream Big

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“I still maintained my relationship with the university, and my mentor asked for my help with analyzing results for a study of college men in the University of California system. And suddenly I had access to genetic records of thousands of healthy young men. It wasn’t entirely ethical of me, but I copied the data set and searched it for the genetic markers I’d seen in the three young men I knew of, and did NOT see in myself.”

He paused, as if weighing his words carefully.

“My initial findings were troubling. I quickly circulated a set of mostly bogus genetic markers among other colleagues, with the real ones I cared about buried in them. I had to let a couple colleagues in on part of the research, eventually. But as the results came in, it became clear that two things were at play. First, a relatively large amount of the male population carries the right markers to be susceptible to this evolution. And second, it skews young — the oldest carrier we’ve identified is 73 years old, but he’s an outlier. Maybe 4% is over 40, but that jumps to 10 percent for the 30-40 set, and between 19 and 22% of the population of males under the age of 25.”

“So whatever is triggering this, it’s basically shown up in the last 50 years or so?”

“Or at least, something changed in the early 1950s that triggered these markers. And it has continued to trigger them with greater frequency since the postwar baby boom.”

“And it got worse since the mid 1990s?”

“More frequent. Possibly just an issue of hitting critical mass.”

“Wait, you said males.”

“Yes. Males only. Which, biologically speaking, is a bit weird. Also, it seems to be pretty consistent across the ethnic groups. And the more diverse the ethnic makeup, the higher the chances of carrying the markers.”

“That seems super unlikely,” Charlie said. “Or am i off base?”

“No, you’re right. It almost seems deliberately built. But anyway” he continued, “we began to network and locate many folks who were carriers and who had experienced a traumatic sea exposure, or a prolonged time in the ocean. We watched and waited, then found reasons to bring them here.”

“How long before you noticed the tattoos?” Charlie asked.

“We picked up on that with the first few men,” Paolo said. “That seemed to cement the idea of a design at work.”

“Wait, you said the old guy was 73,” I said. “How long has he been changing?”

“He hasn’t. He just has the markers. Lives in Montana.”

“And the ones who got triggered...they’re all hung, muscular, and increasingly tattooed?”

Paolo smiled. “Oh yes.”

“Are any...farther along than Charlie?”

“Just one.”