User:JonBuck/Changing America/Frasier Interview
Placeholder... this will probably be a somewhat lengthy interview. If it works out I may repeat it with Dr. Clay, with Brian's permission.
This interview took place at the Harborview Medical Center in downtown Seattle. The receptionist pointed me to the newly-created Furry Medicine Department where Dr. Frasier has his office. Serena and I found the area by scent and the sheer disorganization. Apparently the department had only just been created a couple weeks ago. Veterinarians and human doctors have been basically thrown into the mix together. From the harried odors and expressions, it's not getting off to a good start. We met Dr. Frasier in his office. Full transcript follows.
Richard Sobel: Thank you for agreeing to see us, Doctor. We know how frantic things must be right now. I understand you just got back from Washington?
Dr. Edward Frasier: You're not going to ask me about the Sandrick Hearings, are you? I've had my fill of that crap.
RS: I don't need to go over that again. Your testimony and the interviews you've given the other members of the media cover everything. Congratulations on the pardon, though.
EF: We did what needed to be done, even if we had to break the law to save lives. The President saw that, bless her soul.
RS: To start off, can you tell me about your daughter and when you first realized something was amiss?
EF: Annette Changed... wow... almost seven years ago now. She was thirteen at the time. For a while I dismissed it as just a teenage fantasy. I humored her for almost a year, then I finally saw the evidence in front of me. Red fur clogging the bathroom drains, the paw prints, occasionally I felt her tail brush against me.
I've always been an artist, so when I started seeing flashes through the Veil and finally told her I believed her, she was delighted. I thank God every moment that rebellion wasn't in her nature, or it would have been much harder for both of us to deal with. Anyway, I started drawing what I saw. Then I saw others, here in this hospital.
RS: Did you treat them?
EF: My specialty is abdominal surgery. I saw furfolk brought in with injuries that had no human counterpart. Badly broken tails. In one case, a missing tail. Patients died because they reacted badly to medication and untreated wounds. I recall one bighorn sheep brought in who had part of his skull missing because one horn had been ripped off in a construction accident. I interfered whenever I could, but the Veil was pretty tight back then.
Thankfully for every furry who died due to medical errors there were one or two who went through surgeries without problems.
RS: When did you first become a part of the furry community?
EF: Late 2004 or so. Annette insisted that I start putting my art up on the web. So I opened a Deviant Art account under an assumed name and started posting drawings of my daughter and the other furs I'd seen here and there. By them there were Changed and Known communities forming--thanks to Sandrick's efforts I might add--so they sent me photos and I would draw them.
RS: I heard you got some nasty surprises and requests.
EF: (He actually looked ill) You have no idea. I still refuse to draw any yiff, though I have drawn nudes. Besides, since I Changed myself in '08 I've had to learn how to draw all over again. Marten fingers are a little stubby, and the claws don't retract. Unlike yours, Mr. Sobel.
RS: You'd be amazed, Doctor.
EF: I'm certain I would. I live in a state of constant amazement. Call it "Furry Shock", sort of like "Culture Shock" or "Future Shock". We see three to four people here daily in the midst of a Change, since the out-of-phase changes started. Even one or to Gender-Changed, though those tend to take minutes rather than the hour or more that's pretty common with furries. I understand you and your wife are role-reversed?
Serena Sobel: It's fairly complicated. But that's more or less correct.
RS: I've been a man since '01. Only got the stripes last November.
EF: Another out-of-phase. I'm afraid I have to cut this interview short. We're trying to mash together two completely different medical disciplines here. Thankfully with the economy the way it is, since we're offering money for testing furs to establish baselines we have no trouble finding volunteers.
Oh, and my daughter follows your blog pretty religiously. She told me she'd be thrilled if you needed someone else to interview.
RS: We'll keep that in mind on the way south, Doctor. Thank you for your time.
Unfortunately Judge Pickford had to cancel. Hopefully Dr. Clay won't cancel also, but he's been very difficult to contact.