Through a wondrous combination of magical hand waving and VR tech, we have developed a method of plugging your mind into the brain of any real world animal that actually exists in the world right now (with a couple of limits discussed below). You cannot control or influence the animal in any way but you can see, hear, feel and experience everything the selected animal goes through as it happen, in real time.
As an added bonus, you can choose, on a minute by minute basis, how much of your human nature you wish to overlay over the perceptions of the host animal. Say, just for example, you want to experience life as a cheetah on the African Savannah, giving yourself over completely to the experience. You’ll feel gnawing hunger as your host stalks the gazelle. You’ll feel the cheetah’s instincts respond as the scent changes on the wind. It will feel natural and right to you as the cheetah shifts from the slow stealthy approach to the all out charge for the kill. You’ll feel the pain as the gazelle kicks your animal jaw and you’ll feel whatever level fear and desperation that drives the cheetah forward despite the pain. And, finally, with luck, you’ll feel whatever level of glee and satisfaction goes through the cheetah’s brain as it swallows that first bloody mouthful of gazelle rump. You and you fuzzy younglings will survive one more day.
As an alternative, you can skip the instinctual connections entirely and just experience the sensory inputs, You can see, hear and smell what the cheetah does but it feels no more ‘real’ to you than a good nature documentary. You can shift between these modes instantly and at will.
Important user rules:
You cannot select a specific domesticated animal belonging to a specific individual. You may want to link up the labradoodle that you hot neighbor lets sleep in his/her bed but that’s not going to happen. Domesticated animals living in any private residences are specifically off limits unless the animal’s owner has signed them up for the service in which case they know someone is tuning in. These animals show up in our experience catalog as “suburban dog” or “farm cat” or other such generic titles.
When you start our service, you are seated in one of our experience couches, fitted with a VR helmet, nutrient IV and waste collection probe. At this point, you’re connected and and your life as an animal begins. You can stay as long as you like – anywhere from an hour to the natural duration of the animal’s life. You cannot change animals once you are connected – whatever you pick is yours for this session. You can leave at any time but if you do then you go to the back of the line for the next available session - and the list is years long.
So, do you want to give this try? Maybe you want to live as a wild mustang running with your herd across the Wyoming grass. Maybe try life as a monkey in a zoo snickering at the funny humans. Do you want to know what a seal tastes like? We’ve got just the great white shark for you. Do you want to feel the coyote chase the rabbit? Do you want to BE the rabbit? Nobody has tried the manatee for years. That one is discounted. Sign up and find your inner beast! What’s your pleasure?
Bird. I’d have to do further research as to which sort of bird, but it has to be one that (a) is really good at flying, and (b) is reasonably high on the food chain.
I’d love to try out a plain old domestic cat (by the terms of the OP, whichever one is signed up for the service). I think it would help me have a better understanding of what my furry little companions experience every day.
If you’re on our couch and plugged in, who is taking care of your cats?
Upon sufficient proof of residency and signed releases from all resident adults and animal caretakers within the residence, you may select your own animal companion for this link.
In that case, I’ll take my tabby boy, Nabby. My spouse can take care of the herd while I’m out, and then I’m sure he’ll want to try it too so I’ll return the favor.
lol my cats only need me for 3 things 1 the litter box 2 the dry food box since I got one they cant open and opening the can of soft food they get at night everything else is at their option/mood
Brown-headed Cowbird. They mate for life, leave the kids in someone else’s nest to feed and raise, and fly off nomadically across the sunny prairies feasting on yummy bugs and whole grains out of cow poo. Then they winter on the coast of Mexico.
I’m on the same train as Atomic Alex - let’s do something far outside the realm of human.
My first choice by far would be a Mantis Shrimp - hyperspectral vision that can see colors we literally can’t even dream of, trinocular vision and depth perception, a striking claw that can go so fast it creates sonoluminescence the temperature of the sun, and they flouresce for mating and communication. How unbelievably awesome would that be??
I was going to suggest any animal with distinctly non-human abilities - a bird with soaring or aerobatic capabilities, a high-speed quadruped, a monkey with a prehensile tail, a bat with echolocation, or an elephant, with its prehensile trunk.
But I think you might have nailed it with the mantis shrimp and its amazing visual system (and I’ll note that you omitted its ability to detect polarization).
