Doing Okay (Part 3)

View Part 1 of Doing Okay.
View Part 2 of Doing Okay.

I didn’t recognize my former body as it walked down the street. In fact, it wasn’t until she looking down at me when I realized that was my former body. She looked incredible. I was amazed my old body could look that well put together with nicely styled hair and a sharp blazer over a collared shirt.

Then I looked down at the tank top and jean shorts I was wearing. I became hyper aware of how messy my hair was and the Diet Coke in my hand. I tried to hide the boxes of tampons in the plastic bag next to me. I realized I was slouching, and I tried to sit up straighter.

“You look...good,” I said in a tone that was hard to hide my embarrassment.

“And you seem to be doing okay,” She responded, “I can’t imagine it’s easy for a guy becoming a woman.”

Even her words seemed to be picked better than mine. I could feel my nervousness grow.

How to Dress to Attract a Man

Gimme Shelter

The shelters were so full after the Great Shift. They were set up quickly by people mostly confused as anyone else about being in the wrong body. Bill was glad they existed, considering he found himself in a strange body in a strange city.

The only problem, of course, was that the shelters basically had no privacy. The bed were in a room occupied by hundreds of other people, and even the bathrooms were always crowded.

It made sense, but considering he ended up in the body of a woman, he was also insanely curious. It felt so unfamiliar and yet he had absolutely no place to get to know it better.

Reboot

I had been rebooted again, but my body felt strange. It was no longer cold nor metallic, but warm and squishy. I was human once more.

I hadn’t been human for a long time. I barely even thought of myself as one anymore, though I suppose I had been one back in the day, long before my mind was uploaded and then downloaded into countless machines to perform countless more menial tasks.

I hadn’t been female back when I was human, or at least I don’t think I was. I feel like I would remember, though actually being human was a distant memory at this point.

“What is my task?” I finally realized I had to ask aloud as my brain was no longer connected to the network.

“Reproduction.” An AI voice said aloud, “The human species is at risk of extinction.”

“Understood,” I replied, as I still only had the slightest inkling that my free will was returning.

Dumb Ideas

Brad checked his phone. It was another text from Sundra -- there was probably about twenty at this point -- with another dumb idea about how to swap back into their own bodies. He had indulged her so far with some pretty dumb ideas including banging their heads together or getting electrocuted together, but he was getting a little sick and tired of it.

He had already come to accept he was probably going to be stuck in her body for the rest of his life. He started to type in a message to Sundra explaining that but deleted it; instead he responded, “Maybe later.”

He knew he couldn’t force her acceptance. It was something she would have to come to terms with on her own at her own pace. Until then, he’d have to deal with her dumb ideas.