Hello and welcome to my readers. I appreciate your votes, comments and feedback on my previous submittals. It is always a pleasure to hear from you. Your votes and feedback on this story are most welcome as well. Thanks to Bluebell7 for her skillful editing and invaluable advice.
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Harry was puzzled when his chest hairs pulled out so easily.
He stared in disbelief at the reddish brown tuft tangled in his favorite pelt brush. It was nowhere near the shedding season and the hair was long and silky, not dry and withered as it usually appeared when it fell out. He continued to groom himself, wondering whether more would come loose if he brushed too vigorously.
"Need me to do your back?" asked his mate Peggy, walking into their sleep chamber. "You always miss a spot." She saw the confused look on his face and patted his cheek comfortingly. "What's wrong? Did you find another silver hair? That's normal for a male over 40 sun-cycles. The healer told you that."
"Look at this," he replied, showing her the brush, "look how much came out.
We've had our mange shots and taken our Keratin tablets, what could be wrong?"
"I'm not sure. But you need to go." Peggy said, handing him his carrybelt. "You'll miss the hoverbus and you know what The Director said would happen if you were late again. I don't want our food ration reduced."
"I'm ready, I'm ready," he muttered, buckling the belt around his waist as the door to their dwelling block irised open. "I'm sure it was just some loose strands." Hugging her goodbye, he stepped into the nullgrav lift and was gone.
***
Harry sipped a cup of steaming pakah juice and stared gloomily at his proton screen. Hovercraft traffic was light for a workday and the proximity alarms were activated, so the streams of vehicles did not demand his full attention.
He was still concerned about the loss of hair when James appeared at the door of the controllers cube. "How's it going, Harry?" he asked amiably. "Traffic's light today isn't it?"
"Yeah, light." Harry replied, wondering if he should ask such a personal question.
We're friends. He won't mind.
"Tell me James, have you had a lot of hair come out on your pelt brush recently? I mean a lot. Not just a few strands?"
"Matter of fact I had quite a few come out this morning," James replied. "Funny thing, it's nowhere near shedding season. I wonder what's…" The squawk of a proximity alarm from the proton screen ended the conversation as Harry turned and expertly adjusted the robotic traffic flow. "See you later, Harry," James said and walked away to his own cube. Harry glanced at the floor where his friend had been standing. Dark brown hairs lay scattered on the white tiles.
I'm shedding, now James. What is happening to us?
***
"…Terran ancestors settled our planet 300 sun cycles ago, they began to grow pelts, thus blocking the solar radiation that was…" the news gatherer said as Harry stared absently at the hoverbus' plasma screen.
Ancient history, get to the real news. Why am I shedding out of season? Why is everyone shedding?
"…have determined that Sun Beta's radiation levels have dropped suddenly, while Sun Alpha's have…" He arose, stepped from the bus as it settled on his residential tower's ped platform and entered the lift.
"…theory is that the decrease is triggering a devolutionary reaction in our pelt follicles causing the shedding …" Slumped on the recliner bench, Peggy was staring fixedly at the wall screen when Harry entered their block, her brush full of golden hairs held limply in her hand and her eyes filled with tears. He rushed to her and took her tenderly in his arms as she buried her face in his shoulder and sobbed.
"Oh Harry," she said mournfully, "My beautiful pelt is falling out. It's happening to everyone all over the planet. Even faster at the meridian and the poles. The Knowledgeable Ones are powerless to stop it, it's beyond their abilities. The World Director has urged everyone to remain calm, but there have already been disturbances. I just had a trim and a shampoo…" She began to cry again and he hugged her tight, their hairs drifting to the floor.
***
When Harry walked in Sector Gamma Traffic Control next morning, he could not believe how the 'Shedding Plague' as the news gatherers had named it, had progressed. He could actually see pale brown patches of skin on many of his co-workers, even glimpses of nipples and genitalia. He felt less embarrassed of his own bare patches as they conversed around the pakah dispenser before the work chimes rang. He had left Peggy weeping on their sleep platform when she awoke to find it covered with their hairs after a full REM cycle, too frightened to groom herself for fear of losing more of her pelt.
***
Chewing carefully on his midday nutrient bar, Harry was suddenly aware of how desirable many of his female co-workers were as their pelts began to thin out. Bare arms, legs, breasts, vaginas and firm buttocks began to appear more frequently as the day went on. Harry noticed several of them looking at his increasingly exposed chest, buttocks and especially his semi-hard penis. It was not the Season of Coupling and yet he was becoming aroused.
It must be seeing their skin. It's erotic. Their bodies are exciting.