The Transformation

By Joshua A. Smith

“Come now. You cannot be serious.”

“Oh, but I am. Your colleagues speak most highly of your collection, professor. I’m certain that a few quotes and some pictures would do wonders for my book.”

The old man eyed his visitor. She was pretty and young, with a hint of some exotic heritage in her bright turquoise eyes. Such a woman was quite a rarity in his study these days. He stood up.

“These are my most prized specimens.”

A discernible tremor shook the professor’s usually steady voice. He undid a latch on the tall, wooden cabinet and extracted from within a flat viewing case about eighteen inches wide. Similar cases hung from every available bit of wall in the small study. Each was filled with various species of insects, neatly pinned and labeled with cards that gave their scientific name and the date and region where they had been collected. Beetles, moths, butterflies, ants, and a thousand other creatures seemed to watch as their collector set his masterpieces upon his desk.

“Iphiclides podalirinus, from Tibet. Nymphaliidae specimens from Ecuador, Peru, and Mexico.” The professor indicated each specimen with a careful tap of his long, bony finger against the protective glass.

“Most exquisite,” commented his visitor. Her voice was quiet, almost contemplative. She flicked her gaze from the case to its possessor. “Did you collect them yourself?”

“In my younger days.” The professor sighed gently and stroked the case. “I am afraid that I do not get to travel as much as I used to. And yet.”

“Yes?”

The professor’s eyes gleamed, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. “Here. I found this one only a month ago.”

He pointed to an addition near the center of the case. The label indicated that it had indeed been placed only a few weeks prior. The space for the name, however, was left blank.

The palm-sized specimen itself looked misshapen at first glance. The right side bore the shimmering blue wings of a butterfly of exquisite beauty. The left was a perfect imitation of an orchid whose blue color exactly matched the dominant hue of the wings. Between the two sides, the insect was twisted and contorted in the connection of these two divergent forms.

The professor’s visitor gave a faint gasp. “Is it real?”

“Incredibly real.”

“What is it?”

He shook his head. “I do not know. I chanced to see it during an early morning walk. At first I thought I must have been mistaken, but then I actually saw it change from flower to butterfly and back again.”

“How did you capture it?”

The professor’s smile widened and he gave a little chuckle. “I waited until it was in the middle of a change, so that it could not fly away. Then I reached out and–”

He threw out his hand and tapped his visitor on her cheek with startling swiftness. She gave a little cry of surprise.

“ –Just like that. Stuck it with a pin. I daresay I’ve still got some of my old skill, eh?”

“I must agree,” she answered. Her tone was mild, but her blue eyes flashed as she massaged her cheek. She nodded toward the tag underneath. “No name?”

He shrugged. “I must confess that I am a bit uncertain how to proceed. It is absolutely a new species, and I shall indeed have the honor of naming it. And yet, how am I to show it to my colleagues? Any of them might claim that I merely glued a bit of flower to a bit of bug. They would need to inspect it, and I am certain the specimen would not survive the examination.”

“Perhaps you should have captured it alive.”

There was a bit of edge to the statement. If the professor heard it, however, he gave no sign.

“No, no. I had to make certain it could not escape. Still…”

He sighed heavily, sinking into the cushioned chair behind the desk. He gazed at the creature. A disappointed frown wrinkled his brow.

“So much unknown. Was it a form of camouflage? An ambush, like a predator? Was it limited to the orchid, or could it have changed into something else?”

“Imagine what more of them might change into if they worked together.”

“An intriguing idea. But where could I find more?”

The professor’s question was met with cold silence. He turned to face his visitor.

He gave a short, choked yell. The entire form of the woman, from her beautiful face to her flattering clothes, had broken into fragments. The pieces hung in the air for a heartbeat before they changed into a swarm of palm-sized butterflies with wings of the most beautiful turquoise blue.

The professor snapped up to his feet. The swarm surrounded him in an instant, flying thick and fast. He swatted at them, but they dodged his frantic blows.

The professor’s eyes danced over the horde of fantastic creatures swirling about him. His face was flushed, his jaw slack. The edges of his mouth alternated between a childlike grin and a terrified grimace.

A portion of the swarm gathered to the professor’s left. They writhed and twisted together into the form of a face. Something predatory, yet shifting and indistinct, opened its maw to reveal sharp fangs larger than the professor’s head.

The face roared. The professor screamed.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Joshua A. Smith is a hobgoblin given human form as a joke; whether the joke is on him or humanity is hard to tell. He dwelt in nearly a dozen states before settling in southern Wisconsin. He is somehow married to a heavenly creature who has given him two half-goblin sons. He enjoys reading, video games, and tormenting his friends with Dungeons & Dragons.

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