Claudia Knight pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled sharply before leveling her gaze at the woman seated across the expansive oak conference table.
“Gemma,” she began, “please tell me again how many lawsuits PetraTec faces.”
Gemma Fawkes, the newly hired General Counsel, consulted a small tablet and pursed her lips. “Forty-seven, but we’re working with the lawyers and the subjects’ families on rolling them all into a class action. Then we’d just be facing one lawsuit.”
“That doesn’t sound like an improvement.”
“On the contrary,” Naomi Nakamura said, “a class action suit will allow us to focus our PR campaign instead of playing the media equivalent of whack-a-mole.”
“Well, I’m thrilled my VP of Public Relations approves,” Claudia replied, “but we should have gotten ahead of this instead of playing defense.”
“Yes, of course, Claudia. I wasn’t born yesterday, but I was hired yesterday, so I’m making the most of a sub-optimal situation.”
Claudia nodded. “Yeah, I understand. I’m just frustrated. I knew PetraTec would face significant legal challenges, but I thought we’d have more time to prepare.”
“We’ll have our day in court soon enough,” Gemma replied, “and we’ll win. I’m sure of that. Our subjects all signed an agreement stating their willingness to undergo a permanent inanimate transformation. We have informed consent on our side. It’s a slam-dunk case from a legal standpoint. Public perception is the wildcard, so that’s where we need to focus our efforts.”
“Agreed,” Claudia said, turning to Naomi. “What’s our game plan?”
“We need to control the narrative,” Naomi replied. “I recommend we go to the media. Let’s get an ambitious reporter here to film an exclusive story on our transformation subjects and technology. This could include interviewing a subject and filming their conversion to stone.”
Claudia’s eyes lit up. “I love it!”
Gemma nodded. “I second that sentiment. I’ll stall the class action while we focus on our PR strategy. Excellent work, Naomi.”
“Thanks! I have a good feeling about this.”
Celine sat at her desk in the local TV newsroom, staring at a blank wall as she absently wrapped a lock of raven hair around a pen.
“Scooped again,” she muttered. “When will I get a fucking exclusive.”
Her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. Celine fished it out and answered.
“Celine Moreau here. How may I help you?”
“Hi, Celine. My name is Naomi Nakamura. I’m the VP of Public Relations at PetraTec. I’m calling to see if you’d be interested in an exclusive on our company’s process for making statues.”
Celine’s jaw hit the floor. Her phone almost did, too.
“Seriously? An exclusive on PetraTec?”
“Absolutely. Are you in?”
“Hell, yes!” Celine exclaimed. “I’m in!”
“Excellent. Can you be here this evening?”
“Absolutely!”
“Cool,” replied Naomi. “I’ll see you at 5:00.”
“Yeah, sounds good. Thank you!”
“You’re very welcome. I love your style, so you’re the first person I called.”
“Wow,” said Celine. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that.”
“See you soon, Celine.”
“Sure thing, Naomi.”
Celine hung up and pumped her fist. “Fuck, yeah, baby!”
The other newsroom staff turned to look at her, but Celine didn’t care. Her big break had just landed in her lap, and she planned to take full advantage.
At 4:45, Celine stepped from the taxi with a video camera and entered PetraTec headquarters, walking across the polished marble floor between two lifelike nude statues. The receptionist smiled as Celine approached.
“Hi there, Ms. Moreau! I’m Sarah. It’s so lovely to meet you!”
“Likewise. Please let Ms. Nakamura know I’m here.”
“Oh, she expected you to arrive early and is waiting for you on our production floor. Just head to the end of this hallway and out the backdoor. It’s the building behind this one on the left.”
“Got it. Thanks, Sarah.”
“You bet!”
Celine pulled open the door and stepped onto the processing floor. Naomi stood next to a large device that appeared to be a laser cannon. She was chatting with a woman in a lab coat. They turned and smiled as Celine approached.
“Hey there!” Naomi exclaimed. “So glad you could make it, Celine. This is Gwen Gordon, PetraTec’s Chief Technology Officer.”
Celine shook their hands. “It’s so amazing to meet both of you! Honestly, I can’t believe I’m here.”
“Well, our subjects for the day will be arriving shortly,” said Gwen. “Where’s your videographer?”
Celine grinned. “Slight change of plans. Would you mind filling in, Naomi?”
Naomi shrugged. “Yeah, if you give me a crash course on your fancy camera.”
“Sure, no problem. It’s pretty much point-and-shoot.”
“Cool,” Naomi replied. “What’s the new plan?”
Celine laughed. “Let’s just say it’ll be an immersive story.”
Ten minutes later, the evening news broadcast began in a local TV studio.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. And welcome to the 5:00 news. I’m Allen Johnson. We have a full slate for you tonight, including sports and weather, but we begin the show with Celine Moreau live at PetraTec. Celine, are you there?”
The broadcast cut over to a naked woman with long black hair standing in a group of other nude people.
“Yes, Allen. I’m here on the processing floor with a dozen volunteers. As you can see, all of us are naked.”
Allen’s eyes opened wide. “Umm, yes, I can see that, Celine. I know why the volunteers are nude, but why are you?”
Celine laughed. “Same reason as them, silly. We’re becoming statues!”
“Wow, Celine. I must say I did not expect this.”
“That makes two of us, Allen. I was sitting at my desk today without a single lead to investigate. Now I have an exclusive on PetraTec! I decided to go big or go home, so here I am, about to be turned to stone.”
“That’s amazing, Celine. How soon is this happening?”
“Well, Gwen is waving me over to the Perseus right now, so let’s do this!”
Celine dashed across the floor—perky breasts bouncing and bare ass jiggling—and hopped onto a marble pedestal in front of a laser cannon.
“Allen, I’d like you to meet Gwen Gordon, PetraTec’s CTO.”
“Oh, hi, Gwen. Great to meet you.”
Gwen waved to the camera. “Likewise, Allen. Your reporter here is quite a badass! She has some serious dedication to her journalistic craft.”
“Yes, that certainly seems to be the case. So, you’re really going to petrify her?”
Gwen nodded. “She’ll be solid marble in about fifteen seconds. Any final words for your viewers, Celine?”
“Yes, it’s been a privilege to bring you interesting stories from around town. This is Celine Moreau signing off for the last time. Now let’s send it back to the studio and Emily with our sports report. Take it away, Emily!”
Celine struck a statuesque pose before Gwen fired the Perseus cannon. The laser beam hit the reporter on her bare chest, immediately overwhelming her body with petrifying energy. The transformation began in her feet, fusing her to the marble pedestal before sweeping up her shapely legs. Celine gasped as her womanhood transmuted into marble. The wave continued unabated, flowing over her torso, breasts, and shoulders before spilling down her arms. Finally, her neck yielded to the stone, followed closely by her mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. The conversion crested her head and cascaded down her tangled locks. And with that, it was finished.
The camera lingered on Celine’s nude statue for ten seconds before the broadcast cut over to a young woman standing slack-jawed in the TV studio. After an uncomfortable silence, Allen spoke.
“Emily? The sports report?”
“Umm, I don’t think I can follow that, but I’ll do my best. Hey, everyone. Umm, how about those Wildcats? Let’s, uh, roll the highlights…”
Naomi strode into Claudia’s office the following morning, grinning like a Cheshire cat. Claudia looked up from some papers and raised an eyebrow.
“Looks like somebody is happy this morning. What’s up?”
“PetraTec, baby! That’s what’s up! Celine’s broadcast went viral last night. I’m talking global, Claudia. Billions of views! Camille is already buried under an avalanche of purchase orders.”
Claudia’s eyes lit up. “Damn, that’s fantastic! And Luisa?”
“Her phone is ringing constantly with people eager to volunteer. I’m talking thousands, Claudia! And that’s not all.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, the lawyers are dropping the class action lawsuit! They know public opinion just swung massively in our favor. They don’t even have a case anymore. We’re in the clear!”
“Wow! That’s amazing news, Naomi! This certainly calls for a celebration.”
Claudia pulled a bottle of tequila from one of her desk drawers along with two shot glasses. She filled them both and slid one across the desk to Naomi. Claudia raised her glass with a grin.
“To the future of art.”
Naomi laughed. “I’ll drink to that.”
The two women downed their shots and poured another round. And another. And another after that. The loud festivities attracted Gemma, Madi, and Gwen from down the hall. Camille and Luisa soon joined them with fresh bottles of rum and vodka. Even Erik wandered in with some scotch to see what the drunken singing was about.
The eight intrepid pioneers of human transformation had much to celebrate but also much to achieve. PetraTec had only just begun to redefine the nature of art.
Copyright 2024 Olivia Zoe Quinn
Photo by TopSphere Media on Unsplash
Story notes
The PetraTec saga continues to unfold in this third installment of “Rise of PetraTec.” I recently expanded my plans to publish stories set in this universe. I’ve scoped out six separate series so far. This is a longer-term project and a labor of love since I’m very invested in this story world and its characters. I hope you enjoy the petrifying journey!
Article Tags: Female · Male · Nudity · Sci-Fi · Statue · Stone · Volunteer
