...And We Will Have Snow

Chapter 7-8: Half Shift

Although most of the senior shell dwellers were satisfied with QAR shared-dream access to the sea lion world, many of the younger, more adventurous ones followed through with the shifter experience. It developed its own faddish following, but the less committed soon fell away and left a smaller core of devotees. All in all Zeke was well satisfied. Shell life now offered an unmatched spectrum of undersea experience he was sure would become part of their culture.

But it wasn't over. With confidence born of the warm reception his lessons to other shifters now received, Ryan showed Bear and Xayna the half sea lion form he and Rosita had been secretly employing. Bear and Xayna liked it too. With arms in place of front flippers they could conduct their undersea researches and gather the sea's abundance more efficiently. They would still shift their arms to flippers for fast swimming, and of course retained the physiological advantages of breath and body heat control.

They all felt it would help the other shifters to have this ability. But they were reluctant to push it. The whole experience of a community of shifters was too new. They were aware of Zeke's expectation that it would become part of the Sea Shell culture, but that was still developing. Better to let it stabilize, they thought, before adding another twist.

Then it happened. During a coaching session on the surface with a new group of swimmers, Bear was demonstrating the shift to sea lion form, trying to coax the group to follow his lead. They weren't responding. Instead of going deeper into the dream as they needed to, they had popped out of it.

Bear had been through this so many times it had become routine, and he had relaxed his vigil. Time was short, he was trying to get this group through the introduction quickly. Instead, they were taking longer than normal. In his frustration, Bear spontaneously dreamed the half-human form so he could talk to the swimmers. They couldn't see his sea lion half below swaying gently to keep him afloat. He told them all to climb out onto the dock, and he followed, shifting to fully human as he did.

But a few experienced shifters were watching from below and saw what he did. The water was clear enough that some of the new swimmers up on the dock could see it too. Some were reluctant to believe their eyes, until others spoke up.

"Bear, did you just do what I think you did?"

"What? What do you think I did?"

"You did a half shift. Human above, sea lion below."

"What makes you think so?" Bear knew he had slipped up, and was reluctant to admit it.

"I saw you!"

"I did too!"

Bear just stood there, face reddening as their agreement mounted against his attempt at denial. He finally said, "Uhm, if I asked you not to tell anyone, would you keep it quiet?"

"Yeah, Bear right. It's just the best thing ever, and you want us not to tell anyone?"

Then two of those below popped up and shifted, calling out, "Yo, Bear, that was awesome!" and "When were you going to show us that?"

Bear threw up his hands and laughed. "Okay, you caught me. Think you can do it too, do you?"

By dinner it was the talk of the Shell. It was such a big hit, Bear was pressed to demonstrate it again the next day. Then Xayna too, and Rosita and Ryan. After that it was a given that a new QAR dream would have to be made, and a new round of coaching begun.

The new form actually proved easier for people to mimic than the full shift. It resonated with mythology of sirens and mermaids. Zeke reported overhearing a telling comment.

"It's like a religious experience," said one.

"No, it's what a religious experience is supposed to be," was the reply.

In short order many Shell dwellers became half-shifters, and as they rolled these experiences into their local World Dream, many more gained the ability to follow. The partial shift did not have all the advantages of the full shift, but swimming in this form soon engaged them in more of the dream, encouraging further shifting to help with breathing, cold water and so on. As more of the Shell residents became intimate with their undersea surroundings in their half-shift form, Sedna rolled their impressions into her new World Dream symphony of the sea, further enhancing it.

As the Sea Shell's sponsoring organization, CEDO had agreed to partner with WBI in the broad release of Sedna's new Sea Dream, including its capture of this extreme alternate life style. As before, they did their best to roll the new release out slowly, allowing agreement to build before broad exposure. The Sea Dream spread, popular imagination embraced the shifting ability, and with it the understanding that this potential is inherent in all life.

CEDO had a long tradition of welcoming scholars and even tourists into their activities, sharing their understanding of the desert and ocean environments. The Sea Dream brought in a wealth of new interest, and many visitors. Through these and others, individuals and groups, many took to the idea of living in the sea, and demand grew for more Sea Shells to be established around the world.