Seal Morphing in London

Had a great opportunity to take part in a day of water-based animal morphs on Saturday.  It was a bit unusual, as it wasn't based in the sea, but in fresh water docks in London!  I've only got a dolphin morph, which doesn't tend to like fresh water, but at the event there were a few species of fresh water seal that you could acquire as part of the entrance fee.

It was a big day, with about 3000 morphers coming from all over the region, and further afield, all joining together just south of Canary Wharf.  The day was perfect - bright blue skies and nice and warm, which makes it more comfortable when you're standing around in morphing gear.  There were loads of estreens, plus elite speed morphers but most of us were here to try a new morph and have some fun. 

When we'd registered, we'd automatically be put into groups, or "waves", about 100 per group.  This was so that everyone had a chance to morph.  You got a 2 hour slot in the water, although you could pay more for extra slots.  A few hours before your slot, the morning waves were called to acquire the seals.  The rules are very strict about keeping animals for acquiring - the standards of animal welfare are very high and everything is controlled through the animal rights groups to make sure they are not abused or taken advantage of.  The seals were given a separate part of the dock to swim in, and called to small pens several times a day for people to acquire them.

My seal was a large, fat female, with huge black eyes and glossy fur.  Beautiful and well suited to the water.  She looked happy and well fed.  When it was my turn, I reached through the bars and laid a hand on the seal's back, concentrating.  There were about 5 or 6 others acquiring at the same time, and we all managed it in about 10 seconds.  All the seals were female, as they get along fine in groups, and so it would be easier to control the instincts than if you had both males and females!!!

It's always weird knowing there's now another animal's DNA inside you, but even weirder is the thought of being it!  Luckily I didn't have long to wait.  Out wave got changed into our morphing gear (mostly swimsuits and wetsuits) and then headed out into the water.  You were allowed 20 minutes to practice morphing and getting used to the animal's instincts, and then you had to demorph and all re-morph together in the main area.  You then had 2 hours to plan around, including getting called back to demorph which might take some people at least 6 minutes.

We all got part way into the water to to morph, as the seals weren't too agile on land.  Wetsuits were a good idea, just incase you had to demorph for some reason, far from the pontoon and have to treat water as human, getting cold.  They're skintight, so work fine.  The water was cold, but it didn't matter as we were soon concentrating on our mental images of the seal and starting the morphing process.  I tried to control mine as best as I could, so focused on the thick blubber and fur.  My skin turned grey and waxy, and layers of fat bubbled up inside of me, like I'd eaten a few hundred pizzas in the last week.  Eyes turned black and bulged out - making it easy to see under water, my nose sank into my face to become little slits, and my neck totally vanished.  Freaky!  Inside my bones crunched and dissolved, organs shifting and re-arranging.  Looking round at the group, it was a shock to see so many different stages of morph and the different order in which the morph processed happened in everyone.  Some people were almost fully seal, except for human hands and feet, and others had barely started - they had fins and grey skin but that was it.

After about a minute, I was all set.  <Awesome!> I thought-spoke to some random morphers - they were loving it too!  We had a few minutes to warm up, so let the seal's instincts surface - hunger, mostly wanted fish, ignored the other seals that were of the same DNA but was vaguely interested in the other females.  Fairly easy to control.  Best thing to do with the instincts is to just let them appear, accept they'll be influencing your thoughts, movements and what you do it morph, and then put it all to one side.  A worrisome instinct is like a feeling of dread that you can't shake off, there's always a feeling in the back of your mind that you're in danger.  Others are a easier, but still give you a weird feeling - like when you know you're in debt but try not to think about it.  The seal was more like, "not sure when I'm going to be eating next, I'm going to need to get food soon so i don't starve, now please!".

The body was odd, but very similar to my dolphin, so I was used to the large bodymass yet so streamlined and buoyant in the water.  Eyesight was good under water!  It's like having your own built in goggles.  And she was a great swimmer!  Like a rocket speeding through the water!  A few of us headed into a swim, round the smaller zone reserved for people just trying out the morph.  Loads of fun!  We were so fast!  After 20 minutes we had to de-morph and allow the next group to morph, but we got to have the fun of being in the main dock!

Had a brilliant couple of hours, zipping, darting and swishing through the water like I had an engine powering me!  We played games - tag - and had races up and down the dock.  It was such a laugh, and even more fun were all the kids watching from the side with huge smiles on their faces.  It felt like we'd only just started when lights round the edge and horns sounded, indicating it was time to head back and demorph.  Reluctantly we swam back and performed the demorph.  It took a bit longer than usual - I'd spend up so much energy in the water that my human heart was pounding and my lungs were burning as I completed the change back to human.  By the time I was done, I was totally out of breath, like I'd just done a 400 meter sprint!

It was a mega day, and I was a bit sad to return home, but before I left I spent some time watching the next wave have their fun in the water.  Morphing in your own time might be a lot of fun, but it's nothing compared to doing it alongside 3000 other morphers!

I can't wait to do it again - bring on next year!