"The Transformation of Ben: A Journey Through the Unfamiliar"
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Ben stood in the cereal aisle, his small hands clinging to the handle of the metal shopping cart. The grocery store was dimly lit, just a few fluorescent bulbs still flickered overhead as they made their rounds in the middle of a zombie pandemic in the year 2020. Ben was seven years old, a small white boy wearing a bright red hoodie with a T-Rex roaring on the front. His mom, a single figure of solace in this turned-upside-down world, was inspecting a can of beans nearby.
Her name was Maggie. At 34 years old, Maggie stood at 5'6" and weighed around 135 pounds. Born on June 14, 1986, she had flowing auburn hair tied up in a messy bun and emerald green eyes that darted around cautiously as she checked the label. She wore comfortable sneakers, a long-sleeved shirt, and jeans—a simple outfit for such chaotic times. She had an athletic build and a resilience that had become a cornerstone of their survival.
"Mommy, why are yer feet so small for a grow-up?" Ben’s innocent voice filled the silence. "Are mine gunna be that tiny when I grow up?"
Maggie looked down and chuckled, slightly taken aback by the question amid their dire circumstances. “No, sweetie. Since you’re a boy and not a girl, your feet should grow very big. Probably a size 10 or 11 when you’re grown up.”
She absentmindedly glanced at her own feet, which fit snugly in her size 7 sneakers.
They hastily continued filling the cart with essential supplies—canned goods, bottled water, and any other necessities they could find. The place was eerily quiet, a stark contrast to the bustling grocery stores from the pre-pandemic days.
Suddenly, a commotion broke out by the store entrance. Zombies began pouring in, their groans echoing through the aisles as a dreadful chorus. Maggie grabbed Ben’s hand in a flash. “Run, Ben!” she yelled, her voice barely above a whisper because of the lump forming in her throat.
They sprinted down the aisle, the clattering of the metal cart abandoned behind them, and dove into another row. As they rounded the corner, they saw six Korean women, each wearing elegant blouses and skirts. The women’s blouses were of various pastel colors—sky blue, mint green, soft lavender, pale yellow, blush pink, and creamy white. Their skirts ranged from A-line to pencil styles, all stopping modestly at their knees.
The women wore platform shoes and sandals of various shades. The mint green blouse paired with soft beige platform sandals, the sky blue blouse with white platform shoes, the soft lavender with black platforms, pale yellow paired with tan platform shoes, blush pink with red platforms, and creamy white with silver sandals. They had brightly painted nails—red, pink, yellow, green, blue, and lavender, coordinating with their blouses.
Some of them wore wedding rings—simple yet elegant, visible on their delicate fingers as they rummaged through the aisles alongside Maggie. Their names were Jiyoung, Minji, Soohyun, Bora (who was much older), Hyejin, and Sora. Ranging in age from mid-30s to early 50s, these women were all shorter than Maggie, each about 5’3” in height, and all weighed between 110 and 130 pounds. They each had short Korean hairstyles, ranging from bob cuts to pixie cuts, and displayed a graceful array of colored hair—black to dark brown.
Jiyoung, age 40, was a salon stylist from Dallas, Texas with a size 6 shoe and weighing 115 pounds. Her bob cut framed her round face, giving her an approachable look. Minji was 38 and 5'2", weighing 110 pounds with short jet-black hair and born in Los Angeles, she had been a stylist for 12 years. Soohyun, 37, incredibly athletic-looking, hailed from Chicago and stood at 5'1" with a size 6.5 shoe. Bora, the oldest at 52, bearing a gentle yet commanding presence, wore her hair like a short wave, and was from South Korea, having worked as a stylist for 20 years.
The remaining trio—Hyejin, Sora, and Minji—were sisters. Hyejin, 35, was born in New York with a bob that complimented her angular features, she weighed 120 pounds. Sora, 40, lived in Seattle and wore her hair in a choppy pixie cut, weighing 125 pounds. Minji, the third sister, wore a short bob, worked in San Francisco, weighed 110 pounds, and wore a size 5.5 shoe.
Minji noticed Ben and spoke to him softly in Korean, reaching out with gentle intentions. "Cannot lehav a child alone," she said, her almond-shaped eyes full of concern.
Ben instinctively tried to dodge her touch, but Minji’s hand was quick, and as she grabbed him, dizziness overwhelmed him, and his vision went black.
When Ben's eyes fluttered open, he felt different. He looked down and saw a woman’s body instead of his own. The blouse he now wore was a much smaller pastel color, and the knee-length skirt felt weird against his slender thighs. His feet, now in the same platform sandals Minji had worn with polished nails the same as earlier, looked minuscule. He shouted, "Mommy!" though it came out as a strained, high-pitched, “Momwee!” with the result being in broken English.
Frantic, Ben tried to run, stumbling clumsily in the platform sandals, but the woman’s form was uncomfortably restrictive. As he tripped over something, his new voice startled him, causing him to gag at how girly it was. “I want to go home. I want Mommy!” he stammered, sounding even more strained as it unwillingly came out in broken English: “I nanny to go ohm, I want Mahmee.”
His eyes welled up with tears, and he started sobbing at the unfamiliar sound of his voice. He ran his new hands through the short hair, a bob cut, while noticing the brightly colored polish on his nails. He couldn’t change his new appearance back to the boyish look he longed for.
Desperately, he tried to remove the blouse and skirt, yanking, pulling, and tearing at them only to find them inexplicably stuck. He must have tried to slip them off, unzip them, unbutton them, and even pulled them over his head, yet nothing worked.
Next, he lunged at the platform sandals. First, he tried slipping them off without unbuckling, then he futilely unbuckled and re-buckled them. He twisted, pulled with all his might, and even stood on one foot to shake the sandals off—but they remained stubbornly on his tiny female feet which looked even smaller than Maggie’s.
Gazing at his feet, he muttered in broken English, “I gunna haf girl feet and tawk like dese furever.” It miserably came it out: “I no hav girl fee and taak lie dis foweber.”
Moving his female feet caused him to lose his balance, causing a series of stumbling attempts at walking in a feminine, fast-paced gait. His new body swayed slightly as if it was accustomed to walking in such attire, but the platform sandals kept thumping against the ground.
He tried to remove Minji's delicate jewelry, starting with the earrings, but they seemed resistant. He then focused on the necklace, tugging frantically, but it wouldn't budge. The bracelet and rings were next, yet even they clung to him obstinately. The last piece, an anklet, made him strain in frustration.
Suddenly, Ben shouted, “I’m scared!” but his voice again betrayed him, coming out as “I scawrd!” in broken English.
Just then, the five other Korean women ran up to him, grabbing his hands and guiding him out of the store.
“You shouldn’t wander off like that, Minji-ssi,” said Hyejin in Korean, calling him by the name of the woman whose body he now inhabited.
“Minji, you have to be more careful! Think of your family!” Bora reminded, also in Korean.
Ben couldn't understand a word, sinking into further confusion. He struggled to run as they hurried him outside, the parking lot appeared deserted. Trembling, he squeezed his eyes shut, overwhelmed by the terror of his predicament.
This story was generated by user manemansteve with assistance by one of OpenAI’s 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 Ben make a comment about his mom's feet being small for a grown up and have it be in quoted text asking if his feet were gonna be that tiny when he grew up in an innocent voice and spell words wrong showing what he wanted to say versus what he said in his little kid voice. Have his mom laugh and say no and have it be in quoted text saying since he's a boy and not a girl his feet should grow very big and have her guess what size his feet will be when he's older. 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 6 Korean women appear wearing blouses and skirts with detailed descriptions of the colors and types of blouses and skirts and have all be wearing platform sandals and platform shoes with detailed descriptions of the colors of the platform sandals and platform shoes and have all of them have painted nails and include the colors and have some of them be wearing wedding rings with descriptions of the wedding rings. Include all 6 Korean women's names, ages all being older than his mom, heights all being shorter than his mom, weights, birthdays, birth years all being older than his mom with one of the 6 women being much older than the other 4 women and three of the women being related to each other and how, hair colors and styles all being short Korean styles and where they were from in the US or if they were from South Korea and their shoe sizes. Have one of the women 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. Reveal which woman grabbed him and include her information a second time including her name, age, birthday, birth year, height, weight, hair color and style and eye color and where she was from and her shoe size being much smaller than his moms and mention her blouse type and color being the same as it was earlier and her skirt type and color being the same as it was earlier and her platform sandals color and type being the same as it was earlier and the color of her nail polish being the same as it was earlier.. Have all of the women be salon stylists and include them all being salon stylists in the story and how long each of them had been one for. Have him open his eyes realizing he's taller and feels different looking down and noticing the blouse and knee length skirt he was now wearing being the same consistent color they were earlier in the story and his different skin tone and the platform sandals being the same they were earlier in the story and the polished nails being the same color they were earlier in the story 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 uncomfortable 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 almond shaped eyes with his new hands and have him try to change his eyes back to the normal wide eyes 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 how he wanted to say it versus how he said 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 notice his female feet actually look smaller than his mom's feet and have him say something and have it be in quoted text in very broken English about how he's gonna have girl feet and talk like the funny lady he now is for the rest of his life and show the quote he wanted to say it versus how he said it in very broken English. Have him move one of his female feet losing balance and tripping causing himself to fly up to his two feet stumbling unwillingly walking in a feminine fast speedwalk with a description of how the Korean woman's body moved as he unintentionally walked in the platform sandals with them thumping against the ground. 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 he couldn't. 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 how he wanted to say it versus how he said it and have him squeeze his eyes shut in fear. Have the woman's 5 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 mentioning how many years she had been a salon hair stylist and have it be in quoted text in Korean calling the boy by their friend's name who had grabbed him earlier and who he was in the body of. Have another one of the other women criticize her reminding her her age and of her family she had and have it be in quoted text in Korean mentioning how old she is specifically calling the boy by their friend's name who had grabbed him earlier and who he was in the body of. Have the boy in the woman's body hear the Korean women speaking to him thinking he's their friend unable to understand it at all. Have him struggle to run out in the platform sandals as the women drag him and have him make it out to the parking lot and have the parking lot be empty. Have him be terrified squeezing his eyes shut again.
Response: Ben stood in the cereal aisle, his small hands clinging to the handle of the metal shopping cart. The grocery store was dimly lit, just a few fluorescent bulbs still flickered overhead as they made their rounds in the middle of a zombie pandemic in the year 2020. Ben was seven years old, a small white boy wearing a bright red hoodie with a T-Rex roaring on the front. His mom, a single figure of solace in this turned-upside-down world, was inspecting a can of beans nearby. Her name was Maggie. At 34 years old, Maggie stood at 5'6" and weighed around 135 pounds. Born on June 14, 1986, she had flowing auburn hair tied up in a messy bun and emerald green eyes that darted around cautiously as she checked the label. She wore comfortable sneakers, a long-sleeved shirt, and jeans—a simple outfit for such chaotic times. She had an athletic build and a resilience that had become a cornerstone of their survival. "Mommy, why are yer feet so small for a grow-up?" Ben’s innocent voice filled the silence. "Are mine gunna be that tiny when I grow up?" Maggie looked down and chuckled, slightly taken aback by the question amid their dire circumstances. “No, sweetie. Since you’re a boy and not a girl, your feet should grow very big. Probably a size 10 or 11 when you’re grown up.” She absentmindedly glanced at her own feet, which fit snugly in her size 7 sneakers. They hastily continued filling the cart with essential supplies—canned goods, bottled water, and any other necessities they could find. The place was eerily quiet, a stark contrast to the bustling grocery stores from the pre-pandemic days. Suddenly, a commotion broke out by the store entrance. Zombies began pouring in, their groans echoing through the aisles as a dreadful chorus. Maggie grabbed Ben’s hand in a flash. “Run, Ben!” she yelled, her voice barely above a whisper because of the lump forming in her throat. They sprinted down the aisle, the clattering of the metal cart abandoned behind them, and dove into another row. As they rounded the corner, they saw six Korean women, each wearing elegant blouses and skirts. The women’s blouses were of various pastel colors—sky blue, mint green, soft lavender, pale yellow, blush pink, and creamy white. Their skirts ranged from A-line to pencil styles, all stopping modestly at their knees. The women wore platform shoes and sandals of various shades. The mint green blouse paired with soft beige platform sandals, the sky blue blouse with white platform shoes, the soft lavender with black platforms, pale yellow paired with tan platform shoes, blush pink with red platforms, and creamy white with silver sandals. They had brightly painted nails—red, pink, yellow, green, blue, and lavender, coordinating with their blouses. Some of them wore wedding rings—simple yet elegant, visible on their delicate fingers as they rummaged through the aisles alongside Maggie. Their names were Jiyoung, Minji, Soohyun, Bora (who was much older), Hyejin, and Sora. Ranging in age from mid-30s to early 50s, these women were all shorter than Maggie, each about 5’3” in height, and all weighed between 110 and 130 pounds. They each had short Korean hairstyles, ranging from bob cuts to pixie cuts, and displayed a graceful array of colored hair—black to dark brown. Jiyoung, age 40, was a salon stylist from Dallas, Texas with a size 6 shoe and weighing 115 pounds. Her bob cut framed her round face, giving her an approachable look. Minji was 38 and 5'2", weighing 110 pounds with short jet-black hair and born in Los Angeles, she had been a stylist for 12 years. Soohyun, 37, incredibly athletic-looking, hailed from Chicago and stood at 5'1" with a size 6.5 shoe. Bora, the oldest at 52, bearing a gentle yet commanding presence, wore her hair like a short wave, and was from South Korea, having worked as a stylist for 20 years. The remaining trio—Hyejin, Sora, and Minji—were sisters. Hyejin, 35, was born in New York with a bob that complimented her angular features, she weighed 120 pounds. Sora, 40, lived in Seattle and wore her hair in a choppy pixie cut, weighing 125 pounds. Minji, the third sister, wore a short bob, worked in San Francisco, weighed 110 pounds, and wore a size 5.5 shoe. Minji noticed Ben and spoke to him softly in Korean, reaching out with gentle intentions. "Cannot lehav a child alone," she said, her almond-shaped eyes full of concern. Ben instinctively tried to dodge her touch, but Minji’s hand was quick, and as she grabbed him, dizziness overwhelmed him, and his vision went black. When Ben's eyes fluttered open, he felt different. He looked down and saw a woman’s body instead of his own. The blouse he now wore was a much smaller pastel color, and the knee-length skirt felt weird against his slender thighs. His feet, now in the same platform sandals Minji had worn with polished nails the same as earlier, looked minuscule. He shouted, "Mommy!" though it came out as a strained, high-pitched, “Momwee!” with the result being in broken English. Frantic, Ben tried to run, stumbling clumsily in the platform sandals, but the woman’s form was uncomfortably restrictive. As he tripped over something, his new voice startled him, causing him to gag at how girly it was. “I want to go home. I want Mommy!” he stammered, sounding even more strained as it unwillingly came out in broken English: “I nanny to go ohm, I want Mahmee.” His eyes welled up with tears, and he started sobbing at the unfamiliar sound of his voice. He ran his new hands through the short hair, a bob cut, while noticing the brightly colored polish on his nails. He couldn’t change his new appearance back to the boyish look he longed for. Desperately, he tried to remove the blouse and skirt, yanking, pulling, and tearing at them only to find them inexplicably stuck. He must have tried to slip them off, unzip them, unbutton them, and even pulled them over his head, yet nothing worked. Next, he lunged at the platform sandals. First, he tried slipping them off without unbuckling, then he futilely unbuckled and re-buckled them. He twisted, pulled with all his might, and even stood on one foot to shake the sandals off—but they remained stubbornly on his tiny female feet which looked even smaller than Maggie’s. Gazing at his feet, he muttered in broken English, “I gunna haf girl feet and tawk like dese furever.” It miserably came it out: “I no hav girl fee and taak lie dis foweber.” Moving his female feet caused him to lose his balance, causing a series of stumbling attempts at walking in a feminine, fast-paced gait. His new body swayed slightly as if it was accustomed to walking in such attire, but the platform sandals kept thumping against the ground. He tried to remove Minji's delicate jewelry, starting with the earrings, but they seemed resistant. He then focused on the necklace, tugging frantically, but it wouldn't budge. The bracelet and rings were next, yet even they clung to him obstinately. The last piece, an anklet, made him strain in frustration. Suddenly, Ben shouted, “I’m scared!” but his voice again betrayed him, coming out as “I scawrd!” in broken English. Just then, the five other Korean women ran up to him, grabbing his hands and guiding him out of the store. “You shouldn’t wander off like that, Minji-ssi,” said Hyejin in Korean, calling him by the name of the woman whose body he now inhabited. “Minji, you have to be more careful! Think of your family!” Bora reminded, also in Korean. Ben couldn't understand a word, sinking into further confusion. He struggled to run as they hurried him outside, the parking lot appeared deserted. Trembling, he squeezed his eyes shut, overwhelmed by the terror of his predicament.
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