**Metamorphosis: Lost in Translation**
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**Chapter One: Amid the Shelves of Fear**
It was 2020, the world gripped by an unprecedented crisis. Seven-year-old Ben's small hand clutched the very bottom of the shopping cart, his fingers tight around the cold metal as he trotted close behind his mother. Even at such a young age, he could feel the weight of the world around him. His short blonde hair was partially hidden beneath a dark blue cap, and he wore a red t-shirt featuring a superhero along with a pair of slightly worn jeans and scuffed sneakers. His bright blue eyes darted around nervously.
Benâs mother, Claire, was in her mid-thirties, standing at 5'6" and weighing around 135 pounds. She had straight, dark brown hair cascading down to her shoulders and piercing green eyesâmuch like emeralds. Born on June 15, 1985, she had a nurturing aura, one that Ben found immensely comforting despite the panicky world. Today, she had on a simple grey hoodie, blue jeans, and sneakers, her shoe size being a standard US 8. As she moved with hurried caution, filling the cart with food and supplies, she glanced frequently at the store's entrance.
"Stay close, Ben," Claire's voice was soft yet firm, hinting at underlying stress.
The grocery store buzzed with a blend of anxiety and hurried footfalls. People were trying to stock up, wary of the barely-understood zombie pandemic that had swept through so abruptly. Shelves were half-empty, and loudspeaker announcements periodically crackled through the tension-filled air, reminding everyone to remain calm and maintain distance.
Just as Claire reached out for another can of beans, an alarming noise erupted from the store's front. Shattering glass followed by unearthly screams sent waves of panic through the aisles. Zombies, with their gaunt, grotesque faces and jerky, inhuman movements, began pouring into the store.
"Run, Ben!" Claire screamed, abandoning the cart. She grabbed his hand and dashed towards the back, weaving through shelving units and other fleeing customers. Benâs small legs struggled to keep pace, but he stuck close to his mother, the sight of her dark hair a constant beacon in the chaos.
Suddenly, from around a corner, five Korean women appeared, forming a curious, formidable quintet. Leading them was a woman named Jiyoung, who wore a white blouse with delicate lace accents on the sleeves and a knee-length floral skirt that flowed as she moved. Her platform sandals were beige, modestly adorned with tiny pearls, and she wore pastel turquoise nail polish. Her fingers and wrists held six pieces of feminine jewelry: two silver bangles, a charm bracelet, a delicate gemstone ring, and two small, ornate hairpins embedded in her short, auburn hair styled smartly by traditional Korean standards. With dark brown eyes, she stood at 5'2" and weighed roughly 110 pounds. Jiyoung, born on May 7, 1970, had come from Incheon but had lived in San Francisco for the last decades, leading her friends through the chaos of the modern American grocery store.
The other women, Kim Eun-ji, Lee Sook-ja, Park Yeon-hee, and the elderly Mun Hee-soon, similarly displayed Korean elegance combined with practical attire for their provisioning trip. Sook-ja wore a lemon-yellow blouse tucked into a high-waisted navy skirt, polished off with white flats. Eun-ji's outfit consisted of a black blouse with delicate embroidery over a tan skirt and black sneakers, while Yeon-hee donned a striped blouse paired with denim overalls and slip-on shoes adorned with small bows, each with nails painted in pastel shades. Mun Hee-soon stood out with her carefully maintained short gray hair and wisdom-filled wrinkles beneath simple, modest attire befitting her advanced age.
As Ben and Claire barreled towards them in their frantic escape, Jiyoung noticed Ben's disorientation. "ěě´ěź! (Child!)" she called out in Korean, her outstretched hand reaching for him.
"No!" Ben shouted, his voice trembling as he tried to dodge her. But Jiyoung's grip was firm, and as soon as she touched him, Ben's perception twisted. Dizzy and overwhelmed, his vision went black.
**Chapter Two: Transformation**
When Ben opened his eyes again, nothing seemed right. He felt differentâtaller, more mature. His heart raced as he looked down to see Jiyoung's white blouse and floral skirt hanging loosely on a body that wasnât his own. His once pale skin was now Jiyoung's warm beige, his fingers adorned with the pastel turquoise nail polish she had worn. He stumbled in her platform sandals.
"Mommy?!" he cried out in broken English, "Mommy wherre arrre you?!" He meant to say, "Mommy, where are you?!"
He tried to run, but the platform sandals felt foreign and excessively clunky. His steps were awkward, each motion a battle against imbalance, resulting in repeated trips and stumbles. The bulkiness of the floral skirt seemed to mock his every move, swirling in ways that made him gag at how excessively girly it all was. His female voice added another layer to his distress, an unfamiliar squeak that heightened his sense of panic.
Eventually, he squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on simply pacing himself enough to put distance between him and the oncoming zombies. Breathless, he found his way to the emptiest section of the parking lot. Reflective surfaces on parked cars provided glimpses of himself. He traced his eyes with slender fingers, attempting to understand the reflection that bore no semblance to his motherâs features. His efforts to revert to his original state proved futile.
"I wan to go homeâŚI wan mommy," he tearfully muttered, his broken English echoing his overwhelming sadness, "I want to go home. I want mommy."
The new voice felt foreign and wrong. Tears pooled in his eyes as he replayed the sound, feeling utterly lost. His hair, now short and polished, was beyond his control as he tried futilely to mess it up into a more familiar boyish style, only to halt upon the sight of the turquoise nails.
Desperation drove him to try and remove the blouse and skirt. He tugged at the hem, yanked at the collar, and twisted his body in attempts to slip out. Nothing worked. He even tried unbuttoning the blouse, but the delicate buttons were like puzzles his fingers couldn't solve.
Ben then focused on the platform sandals, crouching down and prying at them with his fingers. Five different waysâhe pulled at the ankle straps, scratched at the soles, tried sliding his feet out, even used nearby sticks to lever them, but every effort failed.
Next, he attacked the jewelry. The silver bangles wouldnât slip over his wrist, seemingly contracted around his skin. The charm braceletâs clasp wouldnât budge, no matter how hard he pinched it. The gemstone ring was tightly fitted, refusing to waver under his persistent pulls. The ornate hairpins seemed magically intertwined with his strands, immovable. Lastly, the small pendant necklace lay snugly, and every time he tried to unfasten it, his fingers fumbled excessively.
"I'm scaredâŚ" he choked in broken English, "Iâm scarceâŚ" Muffled by his own sobs, "I'm scared."
The appearance of the other four women didn't escape his notice as they moved towards him, grabbing hisâJiyoungâsâhands firmly. Yeon-hee, her voice high-pitched with irritation, scolded him in fragmented English.
âYou no wander offf! You danger you make!â
Mun Hee-soonâs wise yet firm reprimand carried her age-old authority. âYou too old forrr mischief! Age no excuse, child. ë ëë ę˛ě´ ě ě íě§ ěěľëë¤!ââThe phrase rang inexplicable to him.
Ben, or rather Jiyoungâs body, struggled to stay upright in the platform sandals as they approached the parking lot. The scene was chillingâan abandoned expanse populated by relentless zombies. His heart raced, terror replacing the recent taste of relief. The women tightened their grip on him, subtly guiding him towards an uncertain sanctuary.
Benâs young mind grappled with the stark transformation, mounting anxiety, and the foreign, nightmarish reality that had replaced his ordinary life.
This story was generated by user manemansteve with assistance by one of OpenAIâs large-scale language-generation model; prompts used to help generate the story are shown below.
Images were generated with OpenAI's AI system, DALL¡E 2, or uploaded by the user.
AI Prompts
Prompt: A long and thorough and detailed story taking place in the year 2020 starring 7 year old Ben with a description of what he's wearing and his race being white and have him be shopping with his mom in the middle of a zombie pandemic. Include his mom's name, age, height, weight, birthday, birth year, hair color and style and eye color, and her shoe size mentioned. Have them be wearily grabbing food and supplies putting it in the cart when zombies started pouring in to the grocery store. Have his mom start running with him following close behind. Have a woman appear wearing a blouse and a knee length skirt with a description of the blouse and knee length skirt and a pair of platform sandals with a description of the platform sandals with her nails painted but not red and include what color they are and a total of 6 pieces of feminine jewelry she was wearing with some of them being Korean in culture. Include the woman's name, age, height, weight, birthday, birth year being 15-20 years before his mom, being Korean and from what part of the US or being from South Korea, hair color and style being a short Korean woman style and eye color and her shoe size mentioned being much smaller than his moms and include a reason for why she was at the store and where she came from and why. Have her be with 4 other Korean women and include their names, ages, heights, weights, birthdays, birth years being 15-20 years before his mom, being Korean and from what parts of the US or being from South Korea, hair colors and styles being short Korean woman styles, and eye colors and have one of the 5 women be much older than the other 4 and include a description of what the other Korean women are wearing outfits, accessories and shoes included and have them all have their nails painted. Have her notice the boy saying something to him in Korean and reaching out to grab him and have him try to avoid her still being grabbed by the woman getting dizzy and have his vision go black. Have him open his eyes realizing he's taller and feels different with his the blouse and knee length skirt he was now wearing and his different skin tone and the platform sandals and his polished nails and have him look for his mommy worriedly realizing she's now gone. Have him yell for mommy and have it be in quoted text unwillingly in broken English spelling words wrong and show the quote the way he wanted to say it versus how he said it. Have him try to run stumbling over the platform sandals he was now wearing and have the woman's outfit be very bulky and have him trip over something hearing his female voice and have him gag at how girly it all was and have him squeeze his eyes shut. Have him do everything to pace himself trying to run away from the zombies and and have the platform sandals be hard to run in and have him consistently trip over the platform sandals eventually getting far enough away from the zombies. Have him innocently study his new reflection tracing his eyes with his new hands and have him try to change his eyes back to normal noticing they look nothing like his mother's but give up on trying being specific as to what he did. Have him say i want to go home i want mommy and have it be in quoted text unwillingly speaking in broken English and saying some words wrong and show the quoted text the way he said versus how he wanted to say it. Have him start crying at the sound of his voice. Have him play with his short female hair and what he did with it noticing his polished nails on his female hands as he played with it but being unable to change it back to his boyish hair. Have him try to remove the blouse and skirt in different ways being unsuccessful and including each of the ways in the story with a detailed description. Have him try to remove the platform sandals being unable to trying in 5 different ways and including each of the 5 ways in the story but the platform sandals aren't glued to her feet they just won't come off. Have him try to remove the first piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the second piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the third piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the fourth piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the fifth piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to remove the sixth piece of the woman's jewelry being detailed and specific but being unable to remove it and why. Have him try to say I'm scared and have it be in quoted text unwillingly speaking in broken English spelling words wrong and show the quote the way he said versus how he wanted to say it and have him squeeze his eyes shut in fear. Have the woman's 4 other friends find her and grab her by the hands guiding her somewhere. Have one of the other woman criticize her for wandering off and have it be in quoted text in broken English and spell the words wrong in the quoted text. Have one of the other friends criticize her reminding her her age and have it be in quoted text in broken English spelling certain words wrong and have her end her quote with a Korean saying. Have the boy in the woman's body hear the Korean saying unable to understand it at all. Have him struggle to run out in the platform sandals as the women and him made it out to the parking lot and have the parking lot be empty but full of zombies. Have him be terrified.
Response: **Chapter One: Amid the Shelves of Fear** It was 2020, the world gripped by an unprecedented crisis. Seven-year-old Ben's small hand clutched the very bottom of the shopping cart, his fingers tight around the cold metal as he trotted close behind his mother. Even at such a young age, he could feel the weight of the world around him. His short blonde hair was partially hidden beneath a dark blue cap, and he wore a red t-shirt featuring a superhero along with a pair of slightly worn jeans and scuffed sneakers. His bright blue eyes darted around nervously. Benâs mother, Claire, was in her mid-thirties, standing at 5'6" and weighing around 135 pounds. She had straight, dark brown hair cascading down to her shoulders and piercing green eyesâmuch like emeralds. Born on June 15, 1985, she had a nurturing aura, one that Ben found immensely comforting despite the panicky world. Today, she had on a simple grey hoodie, blue jeans, and sneakers, her shoe size being a standard US 8. As she moved with hurried caution, filling the cart with food and supplies, she glanced frequently at the store's entrance. "Stay close, Ben," Claire's voice was soft yet firm, hinting at underlying stress. The grocery store buzzed with a blend of anxiety and hurried footfalls. People were trying to stock up, wary of the barely-understood zombie pandemic that had swept through so abruptly. Shelves were half-empty, and loudspeaker announcements periodically crackled through the tension-filled air, reminding everyone to remain calm and maintain distance. Just as Claire reached out for another can of beans, an alarming noise erupted from the store's front. Shattering glass followed by unearthly screams sent waves of panic through the aisles. Zombies, with their gaunt, grotesque faces and jerky, inhuman movements, began pouring into the store. "Run, Ben!" Claire screamed, abandoning the cart. She grabbed his hand and dashed towards the back, weaving through shelving units and other fleeing customers. Benâs small legs struggled to keep pace, but he stuck close to his mother, the sight of her dark hair a constant beacon in the chaos. Suddenly, from around a corner, five Korean women appeared, forming a curious, formidable quintet. Leading them was a woman named Jiyoung, who wore a white blouse with delicate lace accents on the sleeves and a knee-length floral skirt that flowed as she moved. Her platform sandals were beige, modestly adorned with tiny pearls, and she wore pastel turquoise nail polish. Her fingers and wrists held six pieces of feminine jewelry: two silver bangles, a charm bracelet, a delicate gemstone ring, and two small, ornate hairpins embedded in her short, auburn hair styled smartly by traditional Korean standards. With dark brown eyes, she stood at 5'2" and weighed roughly 110 pounds. Jiyoung, born on May 7, 1970, had come from Incheon but had lived in San Francisco for the last decades, leading her friends through the chaos of the modern American grocery store. The other women, Kim Eun-ji, Lee Sook-ja, Park Yeon-hee, and the elderly Mun Hee-soon, similarly displayed Korean elegance combined with practical attire for their provisioning trip. Sook-ja wore a lemon-yellow blouse tucked into a high-waisted navy skirt, polished off with white flats. Eun-ji's outfit consisted of a black blouse with delicate embroidery over a tan skirt and black sneakers, while Yeon-hee donned a striped blouse paired with denim overalls and slip-on shoes adorned with small bows, each with nails painted in pastel shades. Mun Hee-soon stood out with her carefully maintained short gray hair and wisdom-filled wrinkles beneath simple, modest attire befitting her advanced age. As Ben and Claire barreled towards them in their frantic escape, Jiyoung noticed Ben's disorientation. "ěě´ěź! (Child!)" she called out in Korean, her outstretched hand reaching for him. "No!" Ben shouted, his voice trembling as he tried to dodge her. But Jiyoung's grip was firm, and as soon as she touched him, Ben's perception twisted. Dizzy and overwhelmed, his vision went black. **Chapter Two: Transformation** When Ben opened his eyes again, nothing seemed right. He felt differentâtaller, more mature. His heart raced as he looked down to see Jiyoung's white blouse and floral skirt hanging loosely on a body that wasnât his own. His once pale skin was now Jiyoung's warm beige, his fingers adorned with the pastel turquoise nail polish she had worn. He stumbled in her platform sandals. "Mommy?!" he cried out in broken English, "Mommy wherre arrre you?!" He meant to say, "Mommy, where are you?!" He tried to run, but the platform sandals felt foreign and excessively clunky. His steps were awkward, each motion a battle against imbalance, resulting in repeated trips and stumbles. The bulkiness of the floral skirt seemed to mock his every move, swirling in ways that made him gag at how excessively girly it all was. His female voice added another layer to his distress, an unfamiliar squeak that heightened his sense of panic. Eventually, he squeezed his eyes shut, concentrating on simply pacing himself enough to put distance between him and the oncoming zombies. Breathless, he found his way to the emptiest section of the parking lot. Reflective surfaces on parked cars provided glimpses of himself. He traced his eyes with slender fingers, attempting to understand the reflection that bore no semblance to his motherâs features. His efforts to revert to his original state proved futile. "I wan to go homeâŚI wan mommy," he tearfully muttered, his broken English echoing his overwhelming sadness, "I want to go home. I want mommy." The new voice felt foreign and wrong. Tears pooled in his eyes as he replayed the sound, feeling utterly lost. His hair, now short and polished, was beyond his control as he tried futilely to mess it up into a more familiar boyish style, only to halt upon the sight of the turquoise nails. Desperation drove him to try and remove the blouse and skirt. He tugged at the hem, yanked at the collar, and twisted his body in attempts to slip out. Nothing worked. He even tried unbuttoning the blouse, but the delicate buttons were like puzzles his fingers couldn't solve. Ben then focused on the platform sandals, crouching down and prying at them with his fingers. Five different waysâhe pulled at the ankle straps, scratched at the soles, tried sliding his feet out, even used nearby sticks to lever them, but every effort failed. Next, he attacked the jewelry. The silver bangles wouldnât slip over his wrist, seemingly contracted around his skin. The charm braceletâs clasp wouldnât budge, no matter how hard he pinched it. The gemstone ring was tightly fitted, refusing to waver under his persistent pulls. The ornate hairpins seemed magically intertwined with his strands, immovable. Lastly, the small pendant necklace lay snugly, and every time he tried to unfasten it, his fingers fumbled excessively. "I'm scaredâŚ" he choked in broken English, "Iâm scarceâŚ" Muffled by his own sobs, "I'm scared." The appearance of the other four women didn't escape his notice as they moved towards him, grabbing hisâJiyoungâsâhands firmly. Yeon-hee, her voice high-pitched with irritation, scolded him in fragmented English. âYou no wander offf! You danger you make!â Mun Hee-soonâs wise yet firm reprimand carried her age-old authority. âYou too old forrr mischief! Age no excuse, child. ë ëë ę˛ě´ ě ě íě§ ěěľëë¤!ââThe phrase rang inexplicable to him. Ben, or rather Jiyoungâs body, struggled to stay upright in the platform sandals as they approached the parking lot. The scene was chillingâan abandoned expanse populated by relentless zombies. His heart raced, terror replacing the recent taste of relief. The women tightened their grip on him, subtly guiding him towards an uncertain sanctuary. Benâs young mind grappled with the stark transformation, mounting anxiety, and the foreign, nightmarish reality that had replaced his ordinary life.
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