Seal of Approval

I - Déja Vu

     As I hopped off the bus, I sat down on the bench at the stop. I dug my head into my hands, and thought about my life leading up to this point. All my life I've been good for nothing. I'm a high school dropout, unemployed, and leeching off of my parents' backs my entire life. But is this really the answer? To throw it all away for this? Will this really cure my depression and get rid of all my anxieties? I thought, beginning to cry as I reflected back on all the people I've hurt. My parents will be glad to be rid of me. Everyone I've affected will be benefited by my absence, I reassured myself. I stood up, my cheeks red and damp, as I headed for the entrance to the laboratory that was soon to become my temporary home. Before long I was right in front of the door. I took a deep breath, and walked in. Immediately, a rush of cold came flushing out the door. Nice, air conditioning.
I walked up to the receptionist and greeted them, "Oh, hello there— oh, what's wrong sweetie?" She asked me.
"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine." I told her.
"Alright, dear, what's your name?"
"Christian." I said affirmatively.
"And you're here for the Endangered Species Revitalization Program, yes?" She questioned.
"Yeah." I confirmed.
"Okay, you can have a look around or take a seat until they're ready." She dismissed me. I walked away from the desk and saw a hologram of a man, seamlessly becoming a gorilla, with a small plaque underneath it.
"Dedicated to Mr. William Howell,
      who's sacrifice to save an endangered species
                         will not go unnoticed."
As I take note of the smooth transition, I note how much they pride themselves in their work. I take a seat near the corner and keep watching the hologram for what seemed like an eternity, but only a few minutes would have passed each time I checked my watch. After a brisk 10 minutes pass, I hear my name called.
"Christian?" The newly present scientist called. I stood up and walked over towards her. "I'm Dr. Lambrick, I'm going to be taking care of you during your transition. Shall we begin?"
"Yeah, I guess so." I nonchalantly replied.
"Christian, I must remind you that you are now the legal property of MAYLabs, and, under the ESRP, are identifiable as your chosen species. Which means that I am to be treated with respect and acknowledgement. Do you understand me?" She firmly told me.
"Yes, sorry; I understand." I replied. Hard-ass. Wonder what she did to get the ability to boss people around like that.
"Good, then let's begin." She stated while gesturing me to the double doors. She began walking towards the doors and I started following her. Once we made it through the doors I noticed two guards that blocked the doors in front of me. I stopped for a moment, then I felt breathing down my neck, and I saw two more guards standing behind me, trapping me in this corridor. "It is best that you are asleep for the first stage of your transition." She said as I turned around, and she promptly nodded. A split second later I felt the coldness of a needle pierce my neck, then a moment later, I neither felt, nor saw anything.
I woke up to myself stripped naked and spread out on a table. I could still feel everything, just faintly, but enough to know that everything was still there. "Your about to begin transforming. As of now we only removed your clothes. You won't be needing them anymore." She told me condescendingly.
"You knocked me out to take my clothes off? You could've just asked me to, y'know." I said, admittedly a little pissed off.
"We also castrated you, but figured we'd spare you that knowledge, until you just insisted. Anyway, let's begin. A big portion of your transition is mentally becoming your species. So throughout your transformation, we will teach you the ways of the Elephant Seal. But before we do that, here's a fun fact: Fifty years ago Elephant seals were of our least concern as in terms of endangerment, but about twenty years ago, it was discovered that their blubber could do... strange things. Needless to say, the population has become very scarce, so you need to help propagate the species and revitalize it back to what it used to be. That is your role." She informed me. What magical powers could a friggin' seal possibly have?